retail giant reimagined
Beverly Center
The Beverly Center is no ordinary shopping mall—it’s a striking symbol of luxury, innovation, and cultural relevance. Positioned at the crossroads of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood, this iconic destination has redefined the retail experience, blending cutting-edge design with world-class brands. The center’s $500 million reinvention is more than just a facelift; it’s a bold transformation, positioning The Beverly Center as a true reflection of the vibrant, dynamic culture that has defined Los Angeles for over four decades.
vision
The building’s façade is designed to reflect the change and scale of its surroundings. The façade’s reflective, sinuous envelope changes appearance throughout the day and night, depending on the viewer’s perspective. This helps to reduce the building’s volume by creating a kinetic effect on the metal mesh surfaces using shifting colors, dynamic, pulsating LEDS and unique, shadow-producing forms.
Inside the mall, the challenge was to increase the opportunity for natural light. With this goal in mind, a large gently curving skylight cut into the structure. The skylight nearly runs the entire length of the roof acting like a river of light with its banks of shimmering metal panels. The combination of abundant natural light and permeable floor openings made the mall interior a much more pleasant space where the connection with the outdoors is never lost.
detail
This iconic retail center occupies 19 acres in a dense urban landscape and utilizes a mix of structured parking and over one million square feet of retail space over its eight levels. With 91 retail stores, it offers a diverse shopping experience along with notable anchor tenants such as Bloomingdale’s, occupying 163,000 square feet, and Macy’s, with 161,000 square feet. In addition to the exterior and interior mall concourse renovations, use of lush, drought-resistant streetscape greenery helps make the pedestrian and vehicular arrival experience much more pleasant. With a new grand court, refreshed food options- both inside the mall and at street level, the mall is poised to offer a unique, luxury shopping experience.
secret
The site was formerly occupied by Beverly Park, a small amusement park featuring a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, mini roller-coaster, and a pony ride called “Ponyland.” The Beverly Center opened on February 4, 1982 and it was built at a cost of $100 million.
The mall’s unusual shape and lack of street frontage along San Vicente Boulevard are the result of both its position at the intersection of a number of angled streets and its location above the Salt Lake Oil Field. The western portion of the mall property contains a cluster of oil wells in an active drilling enclosure.
With its close proximity to Hollywood, the mall has “starred” in a number of movies and television series.Tenants like The Webster, add dynamic anchors to the mall and further elevate the experience.
