Hawthorne Plaza Mall Conversion

Located within the City of Hawthorne along Hawthorne Boulevard between 120th and 126th Streets, the project site provides the unique opportunity to reinvigorate the City’s downtown through the adaptive re-use and transformation of the Hawthorne Plaza mall. The mall will be converted into a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented campus including retail, creative office spaces, live-work and artist lofts, new residential apartment buildings and shared amenities for both tenants and the public. The project opens up prominently with a porous edge onto Hawthorne Boulevard, inviting people in visually with its intriguing and iconic forms.

The existing mall is radically transformed through the “skeletonizing” of the existing wavy roof, removing the roofing and exposing the structure. This brings in natural light, fresh air and views of the blue sky while preserving the history of what was there. This preservation of structure reduces the overall carbon footprint by “recycling” the buildings as much as feasible. Solid walls are swapped with glass to activate streets and floor slabs are carefully removed to allow light and air to penetrate to lower floors.

Planting is integrated throughout the project— in planters, hanging from the existing roof structure, in the terra firma park running along the east, in landscaped bridges and within residential courtyards. The greenery will soften the hardscape and breathe life into the project at various scales and in unexpected ways.