design build blog

This post is a repeat of a post from our old news page on 12.03.07.

Los Angeles has a housing shortage. More specifically it has a shortage of affordable housing. During the latest housing boom, housing prices rose at a dramatic rate, putting home ownership within Los Angeles out of reach for many.

To address these and other housing issues, the city of Los Angeles implemented the Small Lot Ordinance in January of 2005. This innovative ordinance allows developers to subdivide land into smaller lots then previously permitted, providing new types of (fee simple) ownership housing for LA.

At Modative we are dedicated to developing an expertise on this new type of development. We developed the following chart outlining the benefits of this code.

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It sounds simple enough, but proper communication is one of the keys to our success here at Modative. Although much of our daily internal communications are informal: a quick e-mail, a check of the office calendar, or conversation while walking to get coffee; there is a weekly ritual that ties it all together: The Monday Morning Meeting.

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Monday mornings at 9:30 a.m. everyone in the office meets to review all projects and internal office issues. Meetings are guided by a multi-page list showing all tasks, appointments and milestones for each project along with who is responsible for each item. These are not design meetings, but rather organizational open forums - an exchange of information and ideas related to office and project management. These Monday meetings really set the pace for the week around here.

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For us, designing how we do business is as important as what we design in our business.

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Well ...have to go now, the meeting starts in a few minutes.

Having our office a block away from the historic Helms Bakery complex in Culver City/LA means hardly a day goes by without walking past its parking lot which features a solar array shading device. Utilizing photovoltaics (solar panels) to shade parking lots is a great idea to begin with. This device, however, built in 2003, takes it a step further by having the panels also provide power for an electric car charging station.

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Imagine arriving at work daily to have your car charged up for free in an environmentally friendly way - seems perfect right? The only problem is that electric cars, for the most part, are nowhere to be found. The movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car?", clearly illustrates some of the circumstances behind the electric cars' demise in the 1990's. As the green movement grows, hopefully the electric car and its numerous possibilities will be revived.

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As I walked by the solar charging station a few days ago I noticed a car parked in one of the charging spaces that clearly illustrated this problem.

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My brother, the developer (Grant) is in the New York Times today. The photo above is from the article.

See Article Here

Lorcan O’Herlihy (Architect) and Richard Loring (Developer/Builder) did a nice job with this project; another example that there is still quite a market for modern multi-family housing in Los Angeles.

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My brother/Pacific Beacon Properties, LLC and Modative are currently developing/designing a six-unit housing project on Venice Boulevard here in Los Angeles utilizing the new small-lot subdivision ordinance. Even with the current housing slow down, we are enthusiastic about the future of these type of developments.

While on travel over the holidays I had the pleasure of having a few 10+ hour flights back to back. To alleviate some of this strain, my wife and I extended our layover at Heathrow Airport (London) to try to get some rest at the recently opened Yotel
www.yotel.com,
located within Terminal Four.

Yotel is a new chain of pod style hotels springing up in European airports. The concept is simple: provide a micro sized room at a (relatively) affordable rate and have it be conveniently accessible to the long-haul traveler.
Our seven hour layover allowed us a five hour stay in a premium cabin. Yes, they charge by the hour, but not in a sleazy kind of way. Here's my take on the Yotel:

The Good

• Concept - Great idea based on airline first class sleeper cabins.
• Location - Checking-in without leaving the airport is a must if attempting a short layover stay.
• Design - Although windowless (to the outdoors), the small cabins feel roomy and comfortable. The high tech modern look is very appropriate and well done.
• Flexibility- The double bed electronically inclines to a couch or lays flat for sleeping.
• Bathroom - A private bathroom with shower in such a small space was impressive and the glass wall partition to the bedroom helped to avoid either room feeling cramped.

The Bad

• Check-In - A computer (like an ATM) is used for self check-in. It seemed to work fine, but a staff member interrupted and handled some of it manually. Maybe this is because our room wasn't ready. We had to wait about 15 minutes in the tiny seat-less lobby - not really acceptable when you only have the room for 5 hours.
• Room Controls - Like the design, much of the rooms controls are high tech with buttons that control lighting schemes, etc. I'm a techie guy and still found the controls a bit confusing.
• Wi-Fi - Internet access is free through either an ethernet hookup to a laptop or by using the TV system's keyboard. The TV internet system was slow and the interface was barely usable. Wi-Fi would be better, I could have used my iphone.

The Ugly

• NOISE - Between the frequent vacuuming of rooms, others checking-in, toilets flushing, and staff walking down the hall, the frequent noise made it hard to sleep. As far as soundproofing goes I'd give them an F. The rooms have a seemingly unnecessary window to the hall that surely wasn't helping. The walls and floor even seemed to creak every time someone went down the hall. I could even hear the airport announcements from in the room. My suggestion would be to investigate some kind of "white noise" system to drown out all these unwanted sounds.

Overall, the Yotel is a great idea that I would love to see expand if they could only deal with that pesky noise problem.