Caltrans District 7 Headquarters

Located at First and Main Streets in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the 1.2 million-square-foot complex is comprised of a 13-story tower with 756,000 square feet of office space with four levels of subterranean parking for 1,142 cars. The $165 million building, the largest project built under the State’s Excellence in Public Building Program, features a number of components not usually associated with government spaces, including an operable exterior scrim wall, skip/stop elevator system, a four-story high exterior integrated neon art sculpture, and a building integrated photovoltaic system.

The project won numerous awards for every facet of the construction process, from design and sustainability to teamwork and execution of the design-build process. 

Sustainability

The complicated and unique exterior wall system at Caltrans District 7 Headquarters features adjustable perforated panels. Resembling a giant screen, these panels serve as a shading device for the building. Sensors automatically close off panels of the façade that are exposed to the hot California sun and open sections that are in the shade. The system significantly reduces the heat gain on the building. This façade also provides a visual draw — at dusk the building is transparent, with exposed windows everywhere, while at midday, the structure is buttoned up against the sun, appearing to be devoid of windows entirely.

The south facing façade features a photovoltaic array incorporated into the building envelope—serving the dual purpose of sunshade and capture of solar energy for electrical power. This installation is one of the largest integrated exterior wall/solar cell arrays in the western U.S.