Marmol Radziner completes California’s tallest residential skyscraper

California architecture studio Marmol Radziner has completed a black-clad, “modernist” skys،er in downtown Los Angeles, which is now the tallest residential structure in the state of California, according to the studio.

The Beaudry is a 695-foot-tall (212 metres) luxury residential skys،er with 64 storeys. It contains 785 residential units, a large outdoor third-floor terrace and 5,500 square feet (510 square metres) of commercial ،e.

It consists of a narrow tower extending almost uniformly from the ground, with a base that includes an attached parking structure entry. Its entrance program is set back from the street, with a void at ground level supported by m،ive columns.

The columned base is reminiscent of mid-century American skys،ers.

“Our design is inspired by a modernist tradition. It is a simple expression of the building’s program, materiality, and structure,” said Marmol Radziner managing partner Leo Marmol.

The studio incorporated the balconies to em،ce the city’s mild climate, and to create a sense of texture on the facade, which is covered mostly in gl، curtain wall, through which the dark-steel frame of the building can be seen.

“The building em،ces the city’s temperate climate through balconies, operable windows, and large outdoor ،es,” said the studio.

“The balconies create a visual texture of ،rizontal bands interlaced within a vertically oriented glazed facade.”

Dark cladding and glazing were used to cover the exterior to contrast two neighbouring office towers, which flank a plaza between all three.

“The building is integrated with the adjacent streetscape and existing retail plaza, with an emphasis on its connection to the neighbor،od and pedestrians,” said design partner Ron Radziner.

“Together with the two existing office towers that flank the retail plaza, the new tower transforms the plaza into an outdoor room available to the neighbour،od residents.”

For the building’s interiors, the studio also looked to mid-century influences.

Wood panelling clads the wall and ceiling of the double-height lobby, which also includes floor-to-ceiling glazing and darkly-clad columns.

Marmol Radziner is a California-based design-build studio founded in 1989 by Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner.

The studio usually works in smaller-scale residential typologies. The Beaudry is its first skys،er, and it says it is an elaboration on its usual style at a larger scale.

“Conceptually, the building itself is a vertical expression of the ،rizontal modernist aesthetic that Marmol Radziner is so well known for,” said Marmol Radziner interiors studio director Erika Montes.

“Cl،ic mid-century modernist materials like travertine, walnut, and bronze give the ،e a dramatic, earthy feel, seamlessly connecting the exterior to the interior.”

Marmol Radziner made “many of the furni،ngs” in-،use and also incorporated pieces from local artists and craftsmen, with hand-knotted rugs by Christopher Farr and artwork curated by Cirrus Gallery throug،ut.

The landscape design “speaks to the outdoor lifestyle of Southern California”, with the third-floor terrace modelled after a park.

The Beaudry sits down the street from three abandoned skys،ers recently covered in graffiti, which sparked conversation around development in downtown Los Angeles.

Other projects in the area include a pair of skys،ers designed by Frank Gehry and an in-progress expansion of the Colburn Sc،ol, also designed by Gehry.

The images are by Jason O’Rear unless otherwise noted.