The City of Santa Monica commissioned John Wyka Architecture to develop a concept study for the renovation of the original terminal building at Clover Field (the historic name for Santa Monica Airport); the firm’s first project for the City.
Constructed in the 1940s, the 16,500 sq. ft. wood-framed structure served as the administrative and aircraft maintenance hub during the airport’s early decades. By the 1970s the airport subdivided the building into small commercial office suites and leased to the public, obscuring the building’s original spatial character behind dropped ceilings and partition walls.
The concept restores that character. By removing the non-load-bearing walls and ceiling, the design recovers the building’s wood roof structure, high ceilings, and natural light and transforms it into a loft-like creative office space well suited to the artists and small firms that populate the surrounding campus. Two leasing scenarios were developed and illustrated with conceptual plans and renderings: one configured for a single full-building tenant, one dividing the space between two occupants.
