Architectural Field Trip - Pacific Design Center

A couple weeks ago, I decided to take in a PST Art exhibit farther from my home in Pasadena and drove to West Hollywood to see Views of Planet City at the Pacific Design Center (PDC) Design Gallery.

The exhibit runs through Jan. 26, 2025.

This was my first visit to PDC and since I arrived a half hour early, I had time to explore the center before the exhibit opened for the day.

The three main buildings at the center stand out even from a distance, striking in size, geometry and bright color. They are connected to each other at level 6. The design gallery is in a separate somewhat low-key beige-colored building.

Per the architect, Pelli Clarke & Partners‘, website:

An instant cultural icon when it opened in 1975, the Pacific Design Center’s Blue Building established West Hollywood as an internationally renowned design district. This audacious building (widely known as the “Blue Whale”) marked a watershed for Los Angeles architecture, boldly taking center stage in a city known for the spotlight.

The development of the Pacific Design Center spans four decades, with the addition of the Green Building in 1988, followed by the Red Building in 2012.

The Red, Green and Blue buildings are connected at level 6. There are escalator/elevator cores, offering great views inside and out. As shown below, these sections are quite mesmerizing,

Below, a couple of images within the “Blue Whale”. I loved the skylit space and the terrazzo flooring.

Though I didn’t have much time to check out all the public art, what I saw was pleasing.

Because of its scale, the PDC is hard to photograph up close. However, there is a perfect spot where you can sit and take it all in - across San Vicente Blvd. on level 2 of the West Hollywood Library. The stunning library, designed by Johnson Favaro and completed in 2011, merits its own post!

The view from the library, across the street from the PDC