Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world has bore witness to a molding of the two cultures, east and west, to create a third way. This third way is the commercial communism we see today changing the faces of once communist or capitalist countries. In other words, the communist nations have become increasingly capitalistic and vice versa: The Third Way. Along the way, this has led to interests coming into foreign countries and changing the face of the countries themselves. Developer Korean Airlines unveiled the design of their $1 billion hotel and office skyscraper to be built in downtown Los Angeles and soon to be the tallest building in the West. The 73 story, Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street, will stand as a long-term symbol (as long as a major Earthquake doesn’t bring it down) of the East’s – and South Korea’s – emerging power. The Wilshire Grand will be taller than the 72-story US Bank Tower on Bunker Hill that has held the title of tallest west of Chicago since 1989. Korean Air is already at work dismantling the shuttered 1950s-era Wilshire Grand Hotel at Wilshire Figueroa to make way for the glass-clad tower expected to be completed in 2017.
Designed by firm AC Martin Partners, the hotel guests arriving will be brought to the heavens in high-speed elevators to the “sky lobby” on the 70th floor for check-in to one of the 900 rooms. Who will take over the hotel has yet to be determined. Atop the lobby, there will be a restaurant, and the floor above will house window-washing gear and engineering equipment, clearing the top of the building for a swimming pool and recreation area.
David Martin, based in LA, will design the project.
