Billed as a 'city within a city' and as an alternative to the urbanity and lack of green space downtown, Century City is a prime example of what went wrong with cities in the 1960's. It's no longer the biggest suburban skyline, but it does still have more 300ft towers than numerous US cities (and that's not even including the nearby Wilshire/Westwood corridor).
Festooned with office and residential towers in a park-like setting, settled around a giant shopping mall, and all served with underground parking. What more could a 1960's planner want? It's an odd juxtaposition in scales, with 40+ story towers right next to multi-million dollar single family mansions. Leafy and quiet green spaces, set amidst thousands of office and apartment dwellers.
As a skyline and a place of architecture, it's a who's who of architects (Welton Beckett, Yamasaki, Pelli, Pei, AC Martin, SOM, Scott Johnson, Stern, Handel, Henry Cobb), but the resultant buildings are mostly sedate. I suspect that has more to do with both the era of the earlier towers, and the tenacity of the local NIMBY's with the more recent (the latter I know for a fact).
Interesting fact: Alcoa funded most of the original development, and as with their HQ tower in Pittsburgh, encouraged the use of aluminum in the facades. The result is that most of the original towers (including the still crowning Century Plaza Towers twins) are clad in the material. Some better than others.
I was down there in November for the client meeting and snapped some shots...
191015 CENTURY CITY 132 by
Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Scott Johnson does some wonderful facades...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Stern's entry...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Yippee Ki Yay!
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Gensler
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Yamasaki wonderfulness...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Yamasaki also designed the curvilinear Century Plaza Hotel, now being renovated. Originally it also had a 30 story tower that later became the St. Regis Hotel and then was demolished for Stern's The Century.
191015 CENTURY CITY 160 by
Michael Stroh, on Flickr
AC Martin couldn't be left out, a really nice facade...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
cannot come soon enough...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Watt Plaza with it's curved feet...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Until the sun goes down...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
Handel did a nice job, but Nouvel's would have been better...
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
the ubiquitous shopping mall, with it's only slightly ostentatious Westfield signage...but I do love the pedestrian bridge...
191015 CENTURY CITY 118 by
Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
...and coming soon of course, the twin 46 story Century Plaza, designed by Henry Cobb of PeiCobbFreed:
https://thecenturyplaza.com/
They are under construction...here's what it looked like in November (more current pics from others are in the construction thread)
191015 CENTURY CITY 001 by
Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr
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Michael Stroh, on Flickr