johnkaliskiarchitects - Tumblr blog

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JKA is lucky enough to work on the ground-up Hello Subaru Dealership in Valencia. Our office continues to work remotely and is thrilled to see this project breaking ground and taking shape sometime in the spring 2021!

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John Kaliski has received his NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Boards) certification. JKA is now ready to work in all fifty states and US territories!

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Hello Rowland Heights! We’re working on a new commercial project including drive-thrus and retail.

[johnkaliskiarchitects]

Sometimes you don’t so much design a building as you just let it grow organically. Program, site constraints, zoning regulations, geometry, history, etc. are our sun and soil. This multi-family building will be growing in West Adams near the Expo Line soon, care of Abington Emerson.

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Hotel in Los Angeles nearing completion! The building might not be completed yet but we think that we can clearly say that black standing seam metal is the ideal backdrop for palm trees. What do you think?

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Working in isolation doesn’t keep JKA from keeping the channels of communication flowing. Here we’re sharing our current work via Zoom. Keeping in touch allows us to share what we’ve recently learned and improves morale through this period of isolation.

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Zoomed out and up close. As architects, we need to be jacks of all trades, masters of all media. We’ve been diving back into sketching as a tool for design and presentation and been pretty happy with the results.

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JKA is excited to announce that John Kaliski has been elevated to the AIA College of Fellows. AIA Fellows are recognized with the AIA’s highest membership honor for their exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society. John is being recognized as "an urban design leader whose writings, teaching, public and private practice, service, and civic engagement advance participatory design practices locally, nationally, and internationally while elevating community-based design to transform Southern California cities."

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JKA's rendering of the older Plaza Hotel and soon-to-be Found Hotel located in central Downtown San Diego. 

Renewed guest rooms, structural improvements, refreshed building systems, and ground-floor amenities will position the 1906 and 1926 historic structures for a new century.

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Sheathing is almost ready for waterproofing—the Riverside Express Car Wash is taking shape and spreading its wings!

[johnkaliskiarchitects]

2019 JKA Team: Wenchong, Iustina, Javier, Yoseph, Ariel, Rebecca, John, Chris, Keri, Iliana, Esteban, Ashley, and Eduardo.

Photograph by Nils Timm.

[johnkaliskiarchitects]

Moment Frames are up! First sign of structure taking shape for this butterfly-roof express car wash in Riverside.

[johnkaliskiarchitects]

JKA has completed street-level storefront improvements within a portion of the Dominguez-Wilshire building, an existing Art Deco building located along Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile. JKA’s approach retains and repairs existing historical metal storefront frames and decorative elements, removes non-historical alterations, and re-establishes historical character visible in photographs of the building from the 1930s and 1950s. The first image shows the improvements made to the portion housing the new Eleven City Diner, and the second is an early-mid 1950s view.

The project meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and incorporates Miracle Mile design guidelines to achieve neighborhood-driven goals of rehabilitating existing Art Deco buildings and preserving the unique Art Deco character of the District.

First photograph by Nils Timm.

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Construction is well underway on a new JKA multi-family housing project on Crenshaw Boulevard in Hyde Park, Los Angeles.

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JK and DJ Watts at 3515 W Hyde Park Blvd. DJ recently moved into a one-bedroom and saw me(JK) and a friend looking from the sidewalk. DJ interrupted his exercise, approached us through the gate, and asked if we knew the architect. "I am the architect", I said, and then I asked sheepishly, "is everything ok with this building"? DJ stuck out his hand and shook mine while he told me the apartment and the building make the difference in his life and it was fine to live there. I asked him to tell his story. A digital game writer, DJ found the apartment through Brilliant Corners after experiencing setbacks that almost left him homeless. This market-rate project was completed with no subsidy and a construction cost of approximately $125/sf six months ago, is 100% leased, with approximately 75% rented through Brilliant Corners to formerly homeless, near homeless, and other folks in need through an L.A. County program. DJ invited us in and showed JK his "executive corner" in the parking garage where he writes and works out. I thanked him for the tour of the building and told him how deeply appreciative I was to meet him and how he made me understand and know first hand that four years of design, value engineering, and construction do make a difference in people's everyday lives.

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JKA's recommendations for R-1 neighborhood hillside development standards and geotechnical recommendations in the Culver Crest neighborhood were adopted by the Culver City City Council on February 11, 2019. Thank you to the residents, staff, and the City leaders for their valuable insights and input. And thank you to our consultants, Randy Jackson from PlaceWorks and Mark Swiatek from RMA GeoScience, Inc., for helping craft our problem solving methodology and final recommendations.

To see the new amendment language and work go to bit.ly/2SgVE6L.

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Another JKA project beginning construction: framing progress on a new hotel in West LA.