LA Law Library

Client: Swinerton Builders

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Landscape Architect: Troller Mayer Associates

 

Creating a bold environment for the legal environment.

Originally founded in 1891, The LA Law Library was constructed in its current location in 1953. The Library provides access to legal information and materials to the legal and business communities, government officials, and the general public.  With nearly 1,000,000 volumes it is the second largest public law library in the country, second only to the Law Library of Congress.

 

When the grand old building needed a facelift, designers chose to embrace a southwestern theme.  Warm terra cotta colored paint, coupled with water efficient desert-scaping set the scene.  The entire site sits above a parking garage, so all the soil used was imported, lightweight soil placed in raised planters.  The busy downtown setting posed logistical challenges for us, with little room for men, equipment, and material.  The end result is a dazzling setting for an institution well into its third century of service.