Two of the world’s most notable architects will soon be making their imprint on the Santa Monica coastal skyline. First, earlier this year, renowned architect Frank Gehry was tapped to design the 22-story mixed-use tower and 36,000-square-foot art museum near the corner of Ocean and Santa Monica. Now, it has been announced that Rem Koolhaas, a/k/a “the world’s most controversial architect“, and his firm OMA will design the proposed Plaza at Santa Monica project at Fourth and Arizona.
The Plaza will become one of Santa Monica’s staples for activities and entertainment, with 400,000 square feet of restaurants, cultural areas, shops, and even a 225-room hotel. According to Curbed Los Angeles, the project “would require a $330-million investment, and they would pay the city $1.3 million in ground rent per year.” Plans should be finalized by 2014. Renditions were released last week by OMA (see gallery below).
Koolhaas, who, in 2008, Time Magazine picked as one of the World’s Top 100 Most Influential People, has designed such notable buildings as the Seoul National University Museum of Art, the CCTV Headquarters in China, and the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas.
Curbed Los Angeles notes that the Santa Monica City Council must still vote to “move the project forward.”
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