Commercial Architecture September 2016 - 16

PROJECT interiors Right. A cavernous 41,500-sq.-ft. space became a central meeting place-or living room-for the Westfield mall after the volume of the space was broken down by a unique ceiling installation. Below. MetalWorks Baffle ceiling system was installed in two runs on each side of the center court. Each run of the white aluminum panels is roughly 226ft. long and 26-ft. wide. Ceiling "Trellis" Takes Center Court A custom metal ceiling starts with a napkin drawing and makes a mall gathering space more intimate. W ith the completion of a $20-million revital- closer to the floor while allowing transparency to the cleresto- ization, Westfield Santa Anita Mall in Arca- ry windows in the existing ceiling," he added. dia, CA, continues to establish itself as the premier shopping destination for the surrounding San Gabri- "The trellis concept came in as a filtering element," added remodeled mall offers visitors a refreshed and sophisticated consulting architect Bob Mahlebashian. "Something that shopping, dining, and entertainment experience. would filter what's above from what's below." The centerpiece of the multimillion-dollar makeover is a The design team brought in specialty ceiling contractor sophisticated new center court that serves as a meeting place Martin Integrated Systems of Orange, CA, to design and in- for the mall and the 14-million visitors it attracts annually. stall a ceiling system that would help them realize their design SEPTEMBER 2016 vision. chitect for Westfield Design & Construction, Century City, While the initial design concept called for the ceiling trel- CA, envisioned a living room or lounge environment that lis to be made from wood, the contractor recommended that would draw visitors to the cavernous 41,500-sq.-ft. space. it be made from metal instead. "We wanted the center court to be the new central meeting "I suggested they use lightweight metal because it is easier place-or living room-for the property," he explained. "To to handle and seismically safe," said Marty Hovivian, presi- accomplish that, we had to break down the volume of the dent of Martin Integrated Systems. space." COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE ing treatment that resembled an open white trellis. el Valley. Located just seven miles east of Pasadena, the newly When designing the center court, John Reistetter, lead ar- 16 The design concept Reistetter developed called for a ceil- Using a cocktail napkin, Hovivian drew a sketch of a met- To that end, Reistetter wanted to include an architectural al ceiling system that would help achieve the objective. "The element that would reduce the scale of the exposed 80-ft. ceil- metal panels were smaller and closer together," explained Ho- ing and define the center court as a unique space. "We needed vivian, "but it looked similar to what they were looking for a second ceiling layer-something that would bring the ceiling and they agreed to it." commercialarchitecturemagazine.com http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture September 2016