Introducing Omgivning’s New Office and the Launch of söm co-space

In 2023, Omgivning embarked on its most exciting, complex, and personal project to date: a small mixed-use development project in which they are the developers for their new Omgivning home as well the creation of a new industry-based co-working company called söm co-space (Swedish for a “seam” to mean to come together). Located at 1301 N. Broadway in north Chinatown, Omgivning repurposed and reinvigorated a seemingly nondescript building, embodying the principles that have guided their work for the last 13 years: interconnectedness, sustainability, and human-centered design. It allows Omgivning to do what they do best, uncover potential, this time for themselves.

An ideal Omgivning project, söm allows designers, architects, developers, and anyone involved in the built environment to do their best and most inspirational work, creating an example for future projects. This work includes:

Creating healthy, sustainable, and beautiful environments Cultivating good design to bring more value Evolving, growing, and learning with each other and through their craft And building thriving communities.

This new project has seen Omgivning expanding into new realms within the architecture and development lifecycle: as a developer, an entrepreneur, and a designer.

Omgivning the Entrepreneur

Söm is a Swedish word for “seam.” By definition, it is a place where separate pieces are connected or joined together. Söm is also now a shared workspace community for like-minded folks involved in creating built environments.

By founding söm co-space, Omgivning steps into another new role: that of entrepreneur. As a founder and operator of this new business, Omgivning will expand from an architecture and design firm to include a coworking company.

The Modernism in America Awards Jury and Docomomo US have awarded Omgivning and client Preservation Action Council of San Jose with a Citation of Merit for their advocacy efforts to save the Former San Jose City Hall, it was announced today.

The jury commended the team’s “proactive approach despite an uphill battle and the strong team of partners that was assembled to support the effort. The building now has a chance to be considered for further use.”

Celebrated when it opened in 1958, San Jose’s former City Hall was one of the first civic buildings built in International Style, a modernist style popularized in the mid-20th century in Europe and the U.S. Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural and cultural significance, unfortunately, it has been vacant since 2005 when a new city hall was completed.

The Preservation Action Council of San Jose petitioned to keep the building from being demolished, expressing an interest in adaptive reuse in an effort to revitalize the surrounding area. Omgivning was then approached to author a study, making the case for preservation through an adaptive reuse strategy and a proposed new construction component.

The study detailed how the original space could be reconfigured for housing units, and a new, ground-up building could be added in the vacant space next door to increase the affordable unit count and densify the underutilized real estate parcel. Focused on human-centered solutions, the study also introduced open space amenities, access to a lively outdoor environment, and mixed-use opportunities, from residential and hotel to offices and retail.

This work has already yielded positive results, as the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted in December 2022 to reject demolition and more thoroughly explore reuse options.

Adaptive Reuse

Sustainability. Housing. Community.

Amid the ongoing housing, climate, and public health crises facing our world today, the spaces affecting our lives are undergoing tectonic and likely irreversible shifts.

Since our founding in 2009, Omgivning has been committed to exploring the design needs of this new era and becoming increasingly convinced of the importance and urgency of reusing existing buildings. Adaptive reuse architecture breathes new life into existing structures by repurposing them for new use. Plus, adaptive reuse makes for more sustainable construction, more thriving communities, and more creative solutions to the pressing issues found in cities everywhere.

A recent AIA Firm Survey found that almost half (48%) of all projects currently being pursued by U.S. firms involve the renovation, rehabilitation, extension, or preservation of existing buildings. In fact, according to Bloomberg, for the first time in 20 years, renovations have overtaken new construction in architectural billings in the U.S.

Omgivning's focus on the creative reuse of commercial spaces allows us to help clients navigate this unprecedented landscape with innovative and cost-effective solutions. As with all of our work, the goal of this design report is to inspire people to take a closer look at the potential of an existing space or property. Together, we can reveal and attain a site's highest and best use, even under challenging conditions.

Design Ideas

The goal of these reports is to find potential in building types or spaces that might not normally be considered for housing as a form of urban reprogramming. Housing can be created in a variety of building types and we need to be constantly on the lookout for empty spaces.

In this hunt for creative solutions, spaces such as mini malls, large office buildings, light industrial buildings, and urban ground floor commercial spaces might be overlooked. But with the growing number of these sort of nontraditional buildings available — particularly in Southern California, where they make up so much of the landscape — Omgivning knows they are ripe for conversion to residential.

To make our case for this urban reprogramming, we analyzed existing conditions at four sites across Los Angeles and developed case studies for their conversion to housing. Our vision incorporates new operational models along with recommendations for their adaptive reuse. While remaining committed to human-centered design, we feel we can help clients achieve efficiency and higher rent and lease-ability, while also directly appealing to tenant needs with unique unit layouts and amenities.

EXISTING

Mini Malls

While vacancies in commercial spaces remain high, Los Angeles has a shortage of affordable housing that is able to foster a true sense of community. With both those things in mind, we believe that mini malls offer rich potential for conversion to residential use. With roughly 675 mini malls comprising approximately 24 million square feet of ground area (including parking) in Los Angeles alone, the possibilities for repurposing these structures are endless, whether it means converting an entire building or just the upper floors.

Born in Los Angeles after the 1973 oil crisis, when the bankruptcy of gas stations freed up an abundance of corner lots for redevelopment, mini malls became increasingly popular at these sites which are set back from the street with ample surface parking, with some also providing additional below-grade parking. Often located on corner lots among the city's long commercial corridors, these buildings are situated to provide convenient access to other areas of the city by a variety of transit options including subway, bus, light rail, and bike lanes. The particular mini mall used in our concept is a 20,000 square foot building located at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Armacost Avenue in West Los Angeles. In our vision for the reuse of this two-story L-shaped building, the majority of the structure remains intact, including circulation, stairways, and below-grade parking. Since mini malls are often newer buildings, the need for structural upgrades with the change of use will be reduced or even eliminated, allowing for a low cost conversion.

Adaptive Reuse

Sustainability. Housing. Community.

Amid the ongoing housing, climate, and public health crises facing our world today, the spaces affecting our lives are undergoing tectonic and likely irreversible shifts.

Since our founding in 2009, we at Omgivning have been committed to exploring the design needs of this new era and becoming increasingly convinced of the importance and urgency of reusing existing buildings. Adaptive reuse architecture breathes new life into existing structures by repurposing them for new use. And as Omgivning knows, and so many more are now learning, adaptive reuse makes for more sustainable construction, more thriving communities, and more creative solutions to the pressing issues found in cities everywhere.

A recent AIA Firm Survey found that almost half (48%) of all projects currently being pursued by U.S. firms involve the renovation, rehabilitation, extension, or preservation of existing buildings. In fact, according to Bloomberg, for the first time in 20 years, renovations have overtaken new construction in architectural billings in the U.S. Omgivning's focus on the creative reuse of commercial spaces allows us to help clients navigate this unprecedented landscape with innovative and cost-effective solutions.

As with all of our work, the goal of this design report is to inspire people to take a closer look at the potential of an existing space or property. Together, we can reveal and attain a site's highest and best use, even under challenging conditions.

This is the continuation of our Office/Commercial to Residential Design Report, exploring three Case Study projects with large floor plates. Read Part 1 here.

Design Ideas

To make our case, we analyzed existing conditions at three specific commercial sites in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Memphis and developed case studies for their conversion to housing. Our vision incorporates new operational models along with recommendations for their adaptive reuse.

While remaining committed to human-centered design, we feel we can help clients achieve efficiency and higher rent- or lease-ability, while also directly appealing to tenant needs with unique unit layouts and amenities.

Important take-aways from these case studies and our other project experience include:
• Creative design opportunities with long, deep units
• Better design solutions for indoor and outdoor connections
• More unique amenities utilizing extra space at the "belly" of the building
• Innovative options to combine building amenities for office tenants and new residential tenants

An initiative of the AIA|LA Government Outreach Committee w/ the Leadership & Support of Omgivning

AIA Los Angeles is making on recommendations to the City of Los Angeles to prioritize housing production and preservation, and include specific solutions to address our ongoing housing and homelessness crisis.

With the help of Omgivning, an open letter has been crafted and sent to Mayor Karen Bass with Recommendations to Improve & Advance Adaptive Reuse Citywide.

Adaptive reuse is the repurposing of buildings that have outlived their original use. Through Adaptive Reuse, the rich architectural heritage of our buildings, many of which are cultural components of a city, can be preserved all while reinforcing sustainable principles. It's not just historic buildings that are candidates for adaptive reuse. Buildings from any period and any architectural style can be considered for adaptive reuse.

Presented are three examples of buildings from different eras. The three case studies examine the adaptive reuse conditions and challenges for California buildings built in the 1920s, the 1950s, and the 1980s from a commercial building to housing.

This is adaptive reuse in action.

Case Study #1 - 1920s - Lane Building Change of Use to Short Stay Residential Units

Case Study #2 - 1950s - San Jose City of Hall Change of Use to Affordable Residential Units

Case Study #3 - 1980s - 2 N. Lake Change of Use from Office to Residential Units

Adaptive Reuse Architecture breathes new life into existing structures by repurposing them for new use. This can mean converting their original use into something functional for the current surrounding area, such as housing, workspaces, community centers, or mixed-use creative venues. Combating climate change is an additional benefit of building reuse through sustainable practices. Omgivning believes that adaptive reuse of buildings can help solve housing issues and the climate crisis in cities everywhere.

100 North Main is a mid-century skyscraper in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, and presents itself as an ideal case study for large-scale adaptive reuse. This once-thriving building in a former bustling neighborhood has now seen better days (a common story in cities nationwide). Built in 1965, the tallest building in Memphis has been empty since 2016. Reusing this building can create a sense of place by reviving a forgotten part of downtown, energizing it with a modern aesthetic for both living and working.

Cities all over the country are grappling with an aging stock of high-rise buildings. The trend has been to move outward, creating urban sprawl which is defined as unrestricted growth in urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning. The pandemic did not help the situation, leaving center cities with very little action. Omgivning believes in revitalization by building back a thriving community and driving density back into once dense neighborhoods with the adaptive reuse of existing buildings.

Using the tallest building in Memphis, Tennessee as a case study, Omgivning takes a deep dive into activating an inactive block of downtown Memphis, realizing its potential as a diverse and vibrant community.

100 North Main
Built in 1965, 100 North Main is a 37-story, midcentury skyscraper. Once a bank and office building, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been vacant since 2016.



This building and the block surrounding is a canvas for rebuilding a community that can act as a catalyst for economic development throughout downtown Memphis. Omgivning and Development Group 18 Main explores turning this historic building into 542 affordable housing units, offering a broad range of unit types to support a diversity of user/family needs.