News

Now, perhaps more than ever, our industry is looking to leaders to guide us through uncertain times ahead. At JAMA we are proud to announce our leadership has been strengthened with the following promotions. Here’s to an amazing group of fearless leaders and their ability to not only help JAMA survive, but thrive. Well done! Matt Timmers, Principal Ben Rogowski, Associate Principal Greg Orozco, Associate Principal Justin Chung, Associate Principal

What began as a competition to explore mass timber in high-rise design in California has blossomed into a fully funded supportive housing development. Located in Skid Row, the Alvidrez is a 14-story tower containing 150 studio apartments and “support spaces” on the ground floor, which will include case management, individual and group counseling, and group activities to improve the health and well-being of residents. A collaboration between JAMA, Michael Maltzan Architecture, and Skid Row Housing Trust, the project is currently in concept design and expected to break ground in mid-2022. The “vertical bundle” massing of this permanent supportive housing development was determined in part by the construction logic of its framing system. A mass timber gravity system is being combined with a traditional lateral system to meet sustainability guidelines, while the units were designed using modular building blocks made of mass timber floor planks, steel or glulam beams, and glulam columns. Th

In spite of work from home protocols, the JAMA team continues to collaborate and innovate in amazing ways. We are proud to announce the following Engineering and BIM promotions, as these staff expand our technical excellence and contribute to our Engineering Excellence. Congratulations! Leonard Kim, Project Manager David Dorier-Sammut, Senior Project Engineer Erik Hilkey, Senior Project Engineer Mario Leon, Senior Project Engineer Parbi Boodaghian, Senior Project Engineer Sabrina Ketel, Senior Project Engineer Weian Liu, Senior Project Engineer Jose Ayala, Senior BIM Coordinator

JAMA engineers and production team members have been busy with a myriad of art/exhibition designs at LACMA. This work, which started about a year ago, comes despite demolition of approximately 50% of the campus to make way for the future expansion designed by Swiss Architect Peter Zumpthor. JAMA’s efforts are conducted in collaboration with LACMA’s Exhibition Design and Production team. Typically the work has involved engineering and permitting for loads expected to safely stand for months on often freestanding partitions as high as 18 feet. Working on the display of priceless art poses very different design and logistic challenges from typical construction projects. Material sizing and procurement is an issue – no heavy steel pieces or welding – as well as considerations for existing building impacts and reuse and dismantling provisions. While some spectacular work is mentioned below, a truly challenging and unique project is currently underway and expected to open this year. Re

Project Manager Hossain Ghaffari along with production Assistant BIM Manager Felix Olmos are working with HKS Architects on the complete renovation of a play area for pediatric cancer patients. Located on the 5th floor of the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, the existing space will be gutted and reworked to include dozens of new zones and amenities, including new reception and work desks with lockers and TV lounge. A pool table, general storage area, interactive Microsoft Wall, sensory gym and other themed play areas will be supported by art structures and specialty lighting systems. Concept designs are being finalized with hopes that documentation and construction moves forward soon!

JAMA Partner and Oakland office leader Kal Benuska wins the Zoom moment of the month with his participation on an “Impacts of COVID-19 on the AEC Industry” panel discussion. Speaking to Cal Poly College of Architecture & Environmental Design students, Kal and co-panelists Donna Clandening of AC Martin, Ted Boyce of Hathaway Dinwiddie and Alex Smith of Largo Concrete spoke about adjustments to day-to-day operations, implications to internships and general hiring, differentiation for job-seekers, and advice on how students can move forward from this terrible time. Kal represented JAMA (live from Oakland) perfectly.

On March 31, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved the LA County Natural History Museum’s (NHM) Commons Project. The effort – the second large-scale project JAMA has participated in for the institution – will provide an anchor for the institution and neighboring Exposition Park. JAMA’s first project for NHM was a decade-long expansion and renovation completed just before the Museum’s centennial in 2013, so to participate in it’s continuing growth is exciting for the team.   The Commons project encompasses 50,000 square feet of renovated space in the existing Unit 2 building, 32,700 square feet of new construction in a 2-story West Wing Expansion Building, and landscaping, all on the southwest side of its Exposition Park home. The transformative project is designed to offer an inviting, transparent “front porch” to campus, create a free welcome center, deliver a new state-of-the-art theater and multipurpose space alongside increased exhibition spaces, and expand NHM’s b

Led by Partner Jackie Vinkler, JAMA’s team issued a DD package this month for the Hosteling International Santa Monica project, a unique renovation/new construction project just blocks from the beach. The project adds 46 new rooms without shutting down this popular location by incorporating prefab wood-framed modules: 6 per floor stacked 4-stories high on top of a concrete podium. Craned in place and complete with MEP systems and architectural finishes, the project requires partial demo and alterations to an existing wood and masonry structure to make way for the new seismically separated elements. The firm’s work also includes identifying acceptable crane placement locations around this tight site.