Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS (June 19, 2015):
MAD Architects reveals 8600 Wilshire, a residential project located in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. 8600 Wilshire is
MAD’s first US project and demonstrates founder Ma Yansong’s core design philosophy: to coalesce nature and
community into a living environment among high-density cities.
Bringing the nature found on the adjacent foothills of Los Angeles into the city of Beverly Hills, 8600 Wilshire
mimics a small sinuous white hill boasting an 18-unit residential village atop commercial space. Clustered white
glass villas and trees ascend upward to contour the Beverly Hills skyline and provide a distinctive streetscape on
Wilshire Boulevard.
The “hillside village” offers a variety of housing types for city residents, including three townhouses, five villas, two
studios and eight condominiums. The massing of the village cultivates community with the added benefit of
individual balcony-patios to maintain independence and privacy. Villa residents experience a balance between
public and private as the incandescent villas appear opaque from the street, yet reveal a transparent façade
facing the private garden, townhouse and condominium units.
The village is wrapped in a water-efficient “living wall” of native, drought-tolerant succulents and vines. Undulating
around perforated windows on the façade, this vertical garden extends interior space to the exterior balconies
and provides a natural green-screen for condominium residents. Along Wilshire Boulevard, the living wall lifts off
the ground to reveal glass storefronts at ground level. The resulting effect is a floating plinth that resembles local
privacy hedges and conceals an elevated courtyard. Hidden away from the street is an elevated courtyard
accented by a canopy of trees and native plantings. At the center of this secret garden is a water feature flowing
gently to a secondary reflecting pool in the lobby below. As residents leave the everyday bustle of the city, they
find solitude at 8600 Wilshire in a garden valley—at home in nature.
In high-density cities, Modernist and Post-Modernist housing typically prioritized functions and formats over
human relationships to the environment. For 8600 Wilshire, MAD considers the possibility of a new model for
West Coast vernacular amid the sprawling density of Los Angeles. MAD purposes a harmonious architectural
space of human experience by placing residents in the spiritual landscape of nature.
8600 Wilshire is expected to break ground this October. The project is newly honored in the “design concept”
category at the 45th Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards, hosted by the Los Angeles Business Council.