LAC + USC Core Lab Equipment Replacement

LCDG is currently performing construction administration services for the Core Laboratory Equipment Replacement project at the
LAC + USC Medical Campus. This lab is one of the biggest of its kind in the western Unites States. The new state-of-the-art equipment will place the facility at the front of medical industry. 

The project consists of six phases, each introducing new equipment in a planned and well thought-out sequence. New flooring and ceilings are installed within the area of work, and new workstations are provided to meet the lab’s growing needs. Staff offices and conference rooms are reconfigured to provide additional space. Project completion must occur before the end of 2017 to insure timely transition to new compounds used in the lab processing.  

LCDG's Derik Tom joins Architeach in Ghana

Next month, LCDG designer Derik Tom will be traveling to Ghana to work with ARCHITEACH, where he’ll join fifteen other volunteers to build homes in the Abetenim village, which sits about a hundred miles north of the capital city of Accra.

Derik has a Bachelors of Architecture with a minor in Global Studies and five years of experience mentoring high school students from disadvantaged communities. ARCHITEACH contacted him in the spring, asking him to join the team for wall, window, and door construction over the course of four weeks. The volunteers will be living and working alongside village locals who have a great understanding of the vernacular building techniques.

ARCHITEACH was formed by a group of architects in the New York/New Jersey area. One of the core members entered NKA Foundation’s 4th Earth Architecture Competition: Designing a School for Ghana. The NKA Foundation focuses on human capital development through the arts, invited all entries in the competition to Ghana to have the opportunity to build out their designs. Although this is the first for ARCHITEACH, we hope to participate in future events.

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Our Community School

"It is my absolute pleasure to recommend Slavko Vukic and his team at La Cañada Design Group for your design needs."   -Lynn Izakowitz, Principal

Completed in January 2017, the K-8 charter school located on an LAUSD-owned campus has received DSA certification. The much needed $4.2 million modernization was partially funded by the State Allocation Board through the Proposition 1D Rehabilitation Program. Improvements include site and building ADA upgrades to pathways and restrooms, auditorium remodel, fire protection, communication, lighting, HVAC, and building expansions and finishes. 

Lance Bird speaks at 2017 AIA Design Awards

In January, LCDG principal Lance Bird (FAIA) was master of ceremony for the AIA Pasadena & Foothill Chapter Annual Design Awards. The nine recipients demonstrated the size and diversity of today's architectural firms. They included:

• a student with a vision
• a small, relatively young firm
• the work of mature residential architects
• a talented mid-size design firm
• a large, international firm

As the designers were honored, Bird noted that behind each star is a dedicated staff and supportive client.

Lance added that architects are a small, much-admired profession and challenged other architects in the audience to creatively address societal issues such as:

• affordable housing and housing for the aging
• climate change and sustainable design 
• public transportation
• healthcare
• adaptive reuse of abandoned inner-city buildings
• innovative workplaces that are healthy, flexible and accommodate multiple generations of diverse people

LCDG celebrates 35 years!

"Architecture is a tough business. Like old age, it's not for the weak. But the rewards are many, like happy clients, and witnessing young colleagues grow into effective teachers and successful leaders."

Slavko Vukic Licensed!

New architect, Slavko Vukic received notice from the State late October. 

A genius with BIM, and with substantial experience in school design, Slavko has increased his knowledge the past two years in the field, as construction administrator for Norwalk Transit, Our Community School, The Hope Center for Teens, and now a new Adult Medicine Clinic at County USC Medical Center. He believes architects in many ways are public servants, helping people realize their dreams. Slavko said “my best work is my next work”.

Future-Thinking Design

Multi-Specialty Hub, Outpatient Department
LA County USC Medical Center

LCDG prepared plans for the recently completed County USC Multi-Specialty Hub in the 50-year old Outpatient Department building. The County is updating and maintaining their existing facilities to meet and exceed today’s standards for patient care, family involvement, multidisciplinary care teams, and new teaching methods. The clinic enhances the patient’s experience through a number of design features:  improved wayfinding; attractive greeter’s counters; new clinical furniture and equipment; soft tan, green, blues and gray color palettes; and improved lighting and air conditioning. Dedicated rooms for group visits, conferences, and consultations provide ample space for medical discussions.  

To improve patient care, technology has been improved and made more accessible, with convenient, fold-down computers at exam rooms, adjacent corridors, and hoteling-inspired work stations centered on interaction and flexibility. The centrally located team work room facilitates physician-intern patient evaluations for this academic medical center.

In addition to LCDG, credit for this cost effective, successful future-thinking design is due to the Department of Health Services medical staff and Capital Projects Division John Shubin, and Julio Ribeiro.   

Hope Center for At-Risk Teens

The Hope Center for Teens will serve high-risk youth, bringing together all of the services needed to keep them safe and help them successfully transition into adulthood. Renovation of the 90-year old structure has reached 50%. A single new tower has been erected outside the existing structure to provide a second exit, elevator for accessibility, and an HVAC system. The striking form serves as a beacon for new arrivals.

A Brilliant Alternative Career?

As though he doesn’t have enough to do at LCDG, in his spare time Slavko Vukic designed and crafted a glowing, decorative living room lamp. At the core of the 55” high free-form tower is a conventional 48” fluorescent lamp. 3D forms were modeled with Rhino software, contoured in 2” increments. Next came plywood ribs supported on slender wood dowels, then translucent white polycarbonate sheets were lofted between. Slavko’s looking for a developer to scale this up to 55 stories!  

In Our Hearts We Knew Jane Jacobs Was Right

This summer, LCDG principal Lance Bird confirmed what Jane Jacobs preached -- there’s something about the scale of neighborhoods that encourages community. In Lance’s first trip to Cartagena’s Old Town, he savored the friendly scale of 2- and 3-story buildings fronting on narrow streets. Overhead, colorful flower-bedecked balconies are everywhere. Just a mile-or-so square, the walled Old Town abuts new, large-scale development with more than 40 high-rises.  It’s this severe contrast that reminds us the Spanish got it right 500 years ago. In June, with dripping humidity, temperatures soar above 100 degrees. But searing Colombian sunlight rarely reaches pedestrians. Old Town is a joyous blend of race, youth and elderly, workers and tourists, residents, and shoppers. Garden-like squares and plazas attract impromptu high-energy vendors, musicians, artists, and people-watchers. Lance will be back with sketch book in hand.