the Preserve LA

Originally home to the Anne Banning Community House, a two-story wood building designed by pioneering African American architect Paul Williams, this site also housed a Family Resource Center with both above- and below-ground parking. Today, the $20 million facility has been transformed into a distinctive collection of 60 oval-shaped office “bungalows” and supporting workspaces. Nestled within an integrated garden, the design creates a co-working campus for individuals and small groups of collaborators.

The design architect selected cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a key structural element for the workspace pods due to its high strength, simple detailing, efficient low-waste offsite fabrication, and lighter environmental impact.

Completed in 1964, the Anne Banning Community House served as the headquarters for the Assistance League of Southern California for the latter half of the twentieth century. To preserve this historic landmark, the project team replaced the above-ground portion of the Family Resource Center with a newly landscaped setting. The updated design features individual office bungalows dispersed throughout a lush garden with more than 6,500 plants and trees.