Santa Monica Place Renovation

Santa Monica, CA | 3 stories | 700,000 sq ft

The original Santa Monica Place Mall was a Frank Gehry-designed, 3-story, 550,000-square-foot enclosed mall constructed in the 1970’s. The renovation called for the conversion of an enclosed mall into an open air mall and an addition of a substantial 3-story-high structure to the west. The new addition provides a space for outdoor dining experiences with breathtaking view of the ocean.

The structure is structural steel construction braced against seismic and wind forces by inverted chevron braced frames and Special Moment Resisting Frames. Each original inverted chevron braced frame is structurally enhanced by only strengthening of the beam and brace connections. Strengthening of the brace and the frame column was deemed unnecessary through rigorous analysis of the bracing system and evaluation of the frame’s post-yield behaviors (a performance based design approach). The seismic strengthening follows the guidelines of ASCE 41-06 (Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings).

Independent new steel structures three stories high were added on the north entrance area of the mall to aid as a visual connection to the existing Third Street Promenade.