Century City Tower Features Curved Profile

1999 Avenue of the Stars, JMB/Urban Development’s flagship project for the Western United States, is under construction in Century City at the northwest corner of Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars, with occupancy scheduled for 1990.

The 38-story tower, which also represents a “next generation” of buildings by architect Scott Johnson of Johnson Fain & Pereira Associates, will provide a dramatic curved profile to the Westside skyline.

“It’s important to understand how a building works in relation to neighboring structures,” Johnson said. “With Fox Plaza (his first Century City design) we were working on a mound on the perimeter of Century City that called for an obelisk approach to be viewed from a distance as an isolated object.

“With 1999 Avenue of the Stars we were working with a 100% corner site, smack in the center of the community, to be hugged by older buildings,” Johnson explained. “And what we came up with was an elliptical edge for one fourth of the building as its corner facade and a variation of flat and faceted surfaces for its sides, using a variety of materials to render the structure lively and dynamic with a resulting kinetic effect.”

In the tradition of classical architecture, golden limestone was the architect’s choice of material for the building’s lobby areas. “The end result, we hope, will be a serene and classic image. The building will be clad in Verde Fontain green and sapphire tinted glass highlighted by Venetian Gold granite and its windows will be outlined in custom bronze trim.”

Other design features are a limestone and granite arcade at ground level, a vest-pocket park on the west side of the tower and a sycamore tree-lined motor court to the north. Contemporary art work will be featured both inside and outside the building.

The elevator lobbies, with 17 high-speed elevators, will have valet parking and centralized, 24-hour security.

Steve Meixner, regional director and vice president of Chicago-based JMB/Urban, with offices in Century City, said his firm’s intent is to develop quality projects in vital marketplaces, particularly in the Southern California area.

The Century City project, with 738,200 square feet of rentable space, will provide three parking spaces per 1,000 rentable square feet. Dinwiddie Construction Co. is the general contractor.