American Apparel Los Angeles Factory
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COMPANY BACKGROUND American Apparel 速
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American Apparel ÂŽ
ISSUES At American Apparel, we’ve always felt strongly about the subject of immigration. Even as early as 2003, we were running ads and putting up billboards calling for reform (see here). Today this issue is more contentious than ever and we feel the time is ripe for individuals, companies, and communities to speak out honestly about it.
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Company Background
“At American Apparel we support our workers. We support our community. We support the pride of American and the American dream.�
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American Apparel ®
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Company Background
LEGALIZE LA
LEGALIZE GAY
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ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES
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ORGANIC PRODUCTS
MULTIPLE ISSUES IN ONE IDENTITY American Apparel has integrated manufacturing, distribution and retail as no one has before. With virtually every step of the process executed in downtown LA, our vertically integrated business model allows us more flexibility and faster turnaround times than most in the market. From dyeing, cutting, and sewing to advertising and design, we do everything in-house and do not rely on outsourcing.
VERTICAL INTEGRATION
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American Apparel ®
DOV CHARNEY AND AMERICAN APPAREL “Mr. Charney cultivates his faintly off-color persona, part garmento, part 1970’s pornographer. In fact, he works it studiously preening in a snug polo shirt and white belt, his mustache scrolling from his upper lip to his muttonchop whiskers. He is nearly a ringer for the photographer Terry Richardson, famous downtown for bringing the aesthetics of soft-core
pornography to fashion photography. These days he is wooing retail customers with a mix of social conscience and hedonism. ‘This is a new generation of young adults,” Mr. Charney said. ‘They want what their parents wanted at that age, what kids always want: to have a beer, to smoke a joint,to go to a good movie, to party.’”
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Company Background
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American Apparel ®
VERTICAL INTEGRATION Charney explains American Apparel’s success on its anti-establishment business model, arguing that it made more sense for his company to locate its factory operations in the United States. American Apparel’s ‘vertically integrated’ structure, the concentration and strategic intermingles all company departments under one roof. Charney serves as head fashion
designer, marketer, and CEO—a cost-saving, efficiency enhancing way of doing business that allowed the company to accommodate higher manufacturing costs. The American Apparel factory in Los Angeles has become the country’s largest garment manufacturing facility, with more than 3,000 workers and the ability to produce one million T-shirts per week.
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Company Background
FINANCIAL
PEOPLE
▼▼▼ DESIGNING
▼▼▼ ► MARKETING ▼ KNITTING
DYING ◄
▼ FABRIC STORAGE
► CUTTING ▼ SEWING
▼ WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTION ▼ WHOLESALE SALES
▼ RETAILING IN 19 COUNTRIES
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American Apparel ®
WORKER BENEFITS • HIGHER STANDARDS OF PAY • AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE • IN HOUSE CLINIC • ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASS • FREE BIKE SHARE PROGRAM • SUBSIDIZED MEALS • FREE LONG DISTANCE PHONE • STRETCHING AND MASSAGES • BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS • COMPANY WIDE CELEBRATIONS • $18 MILLION IN COMPANY STOCK
IMMIGRATION REFORM “These people don’t have freedom of mobility, they’re living in the shadows,” he said in an interview. “This is at the core of my company, at the core of my soul.” “What I think is startling is that this is a partisan advertising campaign that advocates for workers and is not advocating for the consumer,” Ms. Schmidt Camacho said. “It’s an ap-
peal that is based on their brand and identification with particular values.” Mr. Charney said American Apparel’s customers appreciate the company’s views on immigration. He said his customers were “borderless.” He named the company American Apparel, rather than “USA Apparel,” he said, on purpose.
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Company Background
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American Apparel 速
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Company Background
“American Apparel attracts customers through internallydeveloped, edgy, high-impact, visual advertising campaigns.�
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American Apparel ®
“Sex is good. Business is good. I don’t see why I should be ashamed,”
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Company Background
PAGE TITLE The company made a name for itself largely on its amateurporn-style ads full of crotch shots, sweat stains and bikini rashes. Former porn star turned Ph.D. sexologist Annie Sprinkle says American Apparel’s promotions tap into American culture’s
contradictory views about sex. “They can be fun, sexy and positive,” Sprinkle says, or they can be a turnoff—depicted as dirty and ugly. “But that’s why it’s a great ad campaign,” she says. “As a feminist, I like the ads and I like the graffiti [the New York billboard was defaced with]. It makes us think about how we view sexuality.”
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American Apparel 速
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Company Background
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Company Background
“One ad I remember even encouraged shoppers to Google the model, only to find out she was a rising Canadian porn star.�
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American Apparel ®
“The company made a name for itself largely on its amateurporn-style ads full of crotch shots, sweat stains and bikini rashes.”
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Company Background
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American Apparel ®
At American Apparel there is no logo in sight.
Anti-Brand “There is a highbrow stand against commercial culture right now,” said Alex Wipperfürth, a partner in Plan B, a marketing firm in San Francisco. “People are sick of being walking advertisements for clothing. By stripping brands of logos and of pretense, by being more subtle in your cues, you are saying that you are more about quality than image.” American Ap-
parel reflects a cultural shift. Younger consumers have grown suspicious of corporate branding. At American Apparel there is no logo in sight.
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Company Background
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American Apparel 速
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Company Background
BUTT is an important art magazine that I support. No question, that it is going to offend people and it is my feeling that that is the nature of provocative art. At times, to make progress, you end up offending people. And people were offended by many things I have done over the years. But I did what I felt was right, especially from an art and creative point of view.
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American Apparel ®
“Almost every stage of our union-bursting and sexual harassment occurs in the same building in downtown Los Angeles.”
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Company Background
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American Apparel ®
It’s basically like, ‘Here’s my a--, f--- me’,” if you want to be as blunt as possible, says Steve Hall, the creator of Adrants, an advertising blog.”
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Company Background
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HISTORICAL PRECIDENTS American Apparel 速
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American Apparel 速
Improved social aspects of working in a factory. Large outdoor sporting and leisure facilities for the workers. Curved office block. Raw products were taken to the top floor and moved down a floor after each stage of processing. Eight levels for tobacco, five levels for the coffee section with double height spaces. Circular tea room on top floor.
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Historical Precidents
Van Nelle Factory LOCATION: ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (URBAN) ARCHITECT: JOHANNES BRINKMAN DATE: 1926-1930 PROGRAM: COFFEE, TEA AND TOBACCO FACTORY
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American Apparel ®
Goal was to create a new kind of public meeting place to match the new form of public life. Melnikov stated, “It was a search without tradition and without a clear programme.”
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Historical Precidents
Rusakov Worker’s Clob LOCATION: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (URBAN) ARCHITECT: KONSTANTIN MELNIKOV DATE: 1927-1929 PROGRAM: SOCIAL GATHERING PLACE FOR INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
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King Henri IV proposed Place de Vosgues as a silk factory on the north side of the square with the remaining three sides would serve as factory worker housing. Though backed by Henri IV, Place de Vosges was not built by the crown, but by private investors, nobles of the robe, merchants and artisans.
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Historical Precidents
Place Des Vosges LOCATION: PARIS, FRANCE (URBAN) ARCHITECT: KING HENRI IV DATE: 1605 - 1612 DIMENSIONS: 140m by 140m PROGRAM: SILK FACTORY & HOUSING
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Combined warehousing with internal railcar and freight truck off-loading as a solution to the cost of traffic delays in NYC. Tracks lead directly from the piers on the Hudson into the building where freight cars carried by boat from New Jersey could be moved in 30 foot, 300,000 pound capacity elevators to truck pits on upper floors. Every floor could host a factory. Upper floor setbacks (set by building code) created massive outdoor terraces
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Historical Precidents
Starrett Leigh Building LOCATION: NEW YORK, NEW YORK (URBAN) ARCHITECT: CORY & CORY, PRUDY & HENDERSON DATE: 1930 DIMENSIONS: 20 STORY, 2,309,739 (FULL NYC BLOCK) PROGRAM: WAREHOUSE, FREIGHT TRUCK OFFLOADING
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American Apparel ®
Design features which improved the quality of the work environment to prevent labor turnover and attract skill workers. Plan reflected the latest innovations in Ford mass production. The Highland Park Plant was the birth place of the moving assembly line. It had an arrangement that would facilitate expansion and allow for adaptation as production systems improved. Policies on efficiency and productivity drove the design. Built in a tight formation to assist movement of materials. Known as a “daylight” factory because of its expanse of windows.
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Historical Precidents
Ford Motor Company LOCATION: HIGHLAND PARK, MICHIGAN (SUBURBAN) ARCHITECT: ALBERT & JULIUS KAHN DATE: 1910 DIMENSIONS: PRODUCTION FACTORY 288m by 22.5m PROGRAM: AUTO FACTORIES
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Urban
Sub-Urban
Contemporary public space
Ground floor is porous allowing a connection to the plaza. Lowest section consists of four levels of city government departments where the public has wide access. Middle section houses the public officials and is semi-public. Upper stories contain the city office space rarely visited by the public. Top floors surround an inner courtyard that brings light to the lower levels.
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Historical Precidents
Boston City Hall LOCATION: BOSTON, MA (URBAN) ARCHITECT: KALLMANN, MCKINNELL & KNOWLES DATE: 1962 PROGRAM: MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT BUILDING
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LOS ANGELES American Apparel 速
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SITE LOCATION SCALE = 1:3000
Industrial Downtown Located in a industrial zone in Los Angeles. An area where multiple national factories are leaving and outsourcing their work. In reverence to this culture, American Apparel situates itself in downtown Los Angeles.
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Los Angeles
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TRANSPORTATION DISTANCE MAP SCALE = 1:3000
TRAIN STATION BUS STOP
We are Bus People Within a 1/4 mile (as defined by the USGBC as an appropriate walking distance to a bus stop) we have 14 stops. Within a 1/2 mile there are no train stations.
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Los Angeles
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3 POPULATION DENSITY DIAGRAM MEASURED IN PEOPLE PER ACRE
Population Density By extending the envelope 120’ above the existing building, we are able to accomplish 45% more views around the perimeter of the I-10 loop around Los Angeles. This not only helps with American Apparels focus on communicating to the larger public, but with solar shading of the existing space.
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PLAN KEY
SCALE = 1:6000
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Visibility from I-10 Loop By extending the envelope 120’ above the existing building, we are able to accomplish 45% more views around the perimeter of the I-10 loop around Los Angeles. This not only helps with American Apparels focus on communicating to the larger public, but with solar shading of the existing space.
American Apparel
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Los Angeles
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Scales of View The site is situated in a way that multiple scales of view inform the envelope. From the distance views of the freeway that essentially understand the envelope as sign, to the intimate understand of the interior court space. This problem will inform the development of the envelope.
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American Apparel
American Apparel ®
Los Angeles
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BUILDING ANALYSIS American Apparel 速
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American Apparel ÂŽ
The most significant climatic concern is Los Angeles’ solar radiation and corresponding heat gain. On average Los Angeles has 320 sunny days a year. Even on the coldest day, Los Angeles experiences high levels of sun light. There is significant potential for solar energy gain and a corresponding need for solar shading.
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Building Analysis
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Building Analysis
Los Angeles’ prevailing winds originate from the south west and the east. Wind frequency remains fairly constant throughout the year with the a peak in the spring and less wind in the winter.
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Los Angeles receives very little rainfall often averaging under a few inches each month and totaling 15 inches annually.
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Building Analysis
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American Apparel ÂŽ
Los Angeles’ subtropical climate is warm yet comfortable with an average temperature between 50 and 75 degrees throughout the year. The hottest period occurs in September with the average peak around 90 degrees. The coldest period occurs in December with the temperature dipping to 40 degrees in the evening.
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Building Analysis
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50 AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
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Building Analysis
Los Angeles’ current climate necessitates only subtle changes to moderate the overall condition and react to occasional peak times of the year.
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PROPOSAL American Apparel 速
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American Apparel ®
3 Requirements
• Enhance Vertical Integration • Work with Low Tech/Low Cost • Expand Communication with Consumer and Public
3 Solutions
• Envelope as Identity • Envelope as Connection • Envelope as Space Creation
RETAIL APPROACH American Apparel approaches their retail space design in a similar way as their fashion design. The spaces are oddly undesigned with very little attention placed on the infrastructure other than a superficial coat of white paint. From this base coat of paint, low tech/ low cost approaches are implemented to expand the versatility of the space and highlight their
colorful clothing. This approach has not only worked for AA, but has proven extremely successful. By paying close attention to their methodology, we can better address their factory condition as well.
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Proposal
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IDENTITY
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Proposal
CURRENT CONDITION
124’ STRAIGHT EXTRUSION
Wh 4800+ 4560 4320 4080 3W 8 4h0 43860000+ 4 35 360 4 33 1 20 4 20 880 3 28 640 3 26 400 3360 31 20
2 SIDED TILTED
4 SIDED TILTED
2880 2640 2400
INSOLATION ANALYSIS The purpose of this study is to determine the reaction any facade extensions will have on the current photo-voltaic panels. These panels are currently located on the roof of the east building. With an extension of 120’ it is determined too much shading covers the panels. A solution to this problem being tilting these extrusions to maintain height without solar interference.
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CONNECTION
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W 6% 12% 48% 24% 30% 36% 42% 48%
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WIND ROSE AVERAGE WIND SPEED = 7-16 KNOTS CALM WINDS (< 3.23%)
SPACE CREATION
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Proposal
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American Apparel ®
800’
NYC STREET
148’
GRAF ZEPPELIN
578’
AMERICAN APPAREL
550’
TATE MODERN
232’
BOEING 747
192’
GOODYEAR BLIMP
122’
SPACE SHUTTLE
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Proposal
SCALE OF SPACE The current condition of the space between the buildings at the American Apparel factory require a large volume solution to fill the vacuous space. In comparison, our space is equivalent to the tate modern. We are inspired by this space and propose an equally transformation interventions to generate a better space for the public.
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TRUCKS
50 LOADING DOCKS
PARKED CARS
142 PARKING SPACES
132 STALLS @ 10’X10’
VENDER MARKET
142 PARKING SPACES
PARKED CARS
TRUCKS
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American Apparel ®
VENDER MARKET 132 STALLS @ 10’X10’
POLITICAL RALLY
6700 PEOPLE STANDING
BANQUETT
1100 SEATS
AUDITORIUM
5292 SEATS
189 ROWS
AUDITORIUM SECTION
5292 SEATS
AUDITORIUM
1100 SEATS
BANQUETT
6700 PEOPLE STANDING
POLITICAL RALLY
132 STALLS @ 10’X10’
Proposal
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the end
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American Apparel
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