Design Unveiled for AltaSea’s Ocean-Based “Campus for Innovation” AltaSea today unveiled Gensler’s architectural renderings of its newlydesigned, 35-acre “campus for innovation” at the Port of Los Angeles, where stunning new architecture is juxtaposed with restored historic structures and public plazas, creating a space where scientists, businesses and educators will launch a new era of exploration and discovery of Earth’s most challenging frontier, the ocean.
AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles is a public-private partnership dedicated to unlocking the potential of the ocean to generate innovative solutions to global challenges of human and environmental sustainability. Already an important connector in the community through its myriad partnerships, AltaSea brings people together to expand scientific-based understanding of the ocean, incubate and sustain ocean-related business and pioneer new ocean-related education programs. Today’s release of the renderings and detailed construction timeline reflects an important turning point for the organization as it transitions from visioning to implementation.
The digital renderings are available on AltaSea’s website and were shared with civic and business leaders at a reception May 26 at the Los Angeles offices of Gensler, the global architecture, design and planning firm working with AltaSea. The reception was entitled “Transformation” to epitomize the role AltaSea will play as a catalyst for sustainable ocean discovery and engagement.
“AltaSea will be a campus dedicated to finding ocean-related solutions to our most pressing challenges: food security, energy security and climate security. Our campus, brilliantly designed by Gensler, is flexible, dynamic and inclusive – allowing us to embrace bold new ideas and opportunities that unfold as we explore the ocean,” said AltaSea Executive Director Jenny Krusoe. “In keeping with this ethos, the iconic design of our Engagement Center will inspire the diverse communities surrounding the Port to connect with the ocean in new ways to promote a balanced and sustainable life.”
Built on the Port’s historic City Dock No. 1 with access to the deep ocean, AltaSea is a net-positive energy use campus. The buildings’ form and spaces are designed for visitors and users to experience the coming together of land and ocean. Rejuvenation is woven into the design of each part of the overall campus: the tower’s renewable energy models, the rooftop solar fields and the renovation of the dock’s historic structures all speak to this purpose of AltaSea.
“Gensler’s design was inspired by AltaSea’s core idea that its campus should be a space where innovators in science, business and education can come together to fulfill AltaSea’s vision of an ocean that will sustain future generations,” said Andy Cohen, Co-CEO of Gensler. “The campus will also create a vital link in the chain of projects that are remaking the Los Angeles Waterfront in San Pedro.”
“This facility will catalyze the connections among scientists, educators and business men and women that will accelerate finding solutions to some of the ocean’s greatest challenges,” added Dr. Sandra Whitehouse, AltaSea’s Chief Scientific Officer.
Outlining AltaSea’s $150 million Phase 1 projects, Krusoe said Phase 1A will break ground in 2016 and include construction of the Wharf Plaza, Education Pavilion and renovation of 180,000 square feet of freespan space in the historic warehouses 58-60, to be completed by 2017. These warehouses will comprise the Research and Business Hub, for new and existing businesses that commercialize scientific breakthroughs and emerging technologies to create ocean-related projects, services and local jobs. The Research and Business Hub will also house AltaSea’s two newly announced focus areas: a Blue Tech “cluster” dedicated to developing technology and business applications for remote monitoring, sensing and ocean exploration, and an Aquaculture “cluster” for developing ocean-centered solutions to the critical challenges of food security and environmental sustainability.
In Phase 1B, Warehouse 57 will be transformed into the Science Hub, a new, state-of-the-art oceanographic and marine biology research facility, which will open by 2020. The Science Hub’s anchor tenant will be the Southern California Marine Institute, a strategic alliance of 22 major regional universities, colleges and foundations for ocean research and education. The building contains more than 60,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space, flanked by an elevated public promenade with overlook spots allowing the public to observe science in process.
In Phase 1C, AltaSea will construct the Engagement Center at Berth 56, a modern educational facility that serves as the gateway to the campus. It will house public education and exhibition programming and will allow school children and students to explore the sciences of the ocean, with the hope that visits to the Engagement Center will inspire students to find their futures in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Engagement Center is due to open in 2023.
According to a study by Kosmont Companies, a nationally recognized real estate, financial advisory and economic development services firm, AltaSea’s Phase 1 will create approximately 4,100 full-time equivalent construction-related jobs. When Phase 1 is completed, it will spur creation of more than 800 ongoing jobs in a range of industries, including opportunities for the local workforce to participate in industries that are new to the Harbor area.
“The ocean is our planet’s last frontier. It is where new solutions lie. There is no project more profound, more impactful, more critical for the tomorrow we hope for our children and our children’s children than AltaSea,” Krusoe said. “AltaSea is creating a new model for collaboration among the public sector, the private sector, institutions of higher education, industry and innovators – and our campus embodies that game-changing concept.”
