Sited on the last developable lot in the Playa Vista Specific Plan, WE3 (an acronym for Building 3 at Water’s Edge) is the third and final structure of the sprawling 260,000-square-foot campus, located at the intersection of Lincoln and Jefferson boulevards and currently occupied by Electronic Arts and LA Fitness.

Given the physical scope of the project and the aesthetic requirements needed to attract the top-level tech and creative talent the area is known for (including Google, Yahoo, YouTube, and USC’s Institute of Creative Technologies), SPF:a’s main challenge was to create a plan fully integrated with existing conditions that both maximized the lot’s buildable area and maintained a compelling architectural standard. Initially asked by the client to design around the already established space and structures, the project evolved to create a longer, more flexible office space, allowing more light and views on each elevation and creating a new public courtyard.  

The resulting construction will be 400-feet in length with a total usable area of 160,000 square feet. Horizontally expressed along the entirety of the campus’ eastern edge, when coupled with the two standing structures the created effect is a classical collegiate environment with the three buildings bracketing an open quadrangle. As part of the site strategy, the existing soccer pitch will be relocated, with the new synthetic grass field set to anchor the planned plaza and provide visual connection between all of the site’s elements.

The structure encompasses four levels of parking—two subterranean, one at grade and one above grade— and four floors of open workspace, reflecting the modern trend in office planning and culture. Each of the four units are approximately 40,000 square feet and fifteen feet floor to floor, with the entirety of the concrete superstructure left exposed. 

A premium was placed on natural light, and every effort was made to ensure that the whole of each office space was provided as much exposure as possible. This was most significantly achieved through the building’s outer design: the exterior is shrouded by a “floating”, perforated skin, designed to dematerialize, visually lightening the load of the structure while functionally shielding the glass façade, filtering in natural light from every direction and giving way to a circulation corridor on the structure’s west side.