Empire at Norton (8017 Norton Avenue)

A three-parcel site in West Hollywood presented a unique challenge: one parcel had a lower zoning height. Organized around a large central circulation courtyard, two-thirds of the resulting 34-unit building has 5 stories, with a common terrace and spa located on the roof the remaining 4-story portion. The inherently-disparate massing was resolved by organizing the facade as a series of stepped volumes that both reduced the building’s apparent scale and articulated the massing to reflect the ‘urban grain’ of the original parcels.