LIVING Magnolia Nineteen Blossoms Los Angeles firm Brooks + Scarpa shapes a new mixed-use corner “guardian of the block” building in the San Fernando Valley. By Jessica Ritz
The intersection of Magnolia and Colfax is a microcosm of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. With neighbors that include a public high school, a fast-food restaurant, various small businesses, and multifamily residential buildings, Magnolia Nineteen, a mixed-use building designed by Brooks + Scarpa, respects context while also differentiating itself from the extant built environment. The site, which formerly housed a gas station, shaped the firm’s approach. “Corner buildings are the guardian of the block,” says Lawrence Scarpa, lead designer and principal-in-charge. “If you have a bad corner building, you lose the whole block. If you have a good one, it enhances it.” The Flatiron Building, for example, has a very different impact from a blocky tower.
COURTESY TARA WUJCIK
Magnolia Nineteen is a mixed-use, multifamily housing project designed by Brooks + Scarpa in Los Angeles. Located on a corner site that formerly housed a gas station, the project contains three stories of apartments and 1,600 square feet of retail on the ground floor.
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