EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Neal Payton, FAIA, FCNU, leads the Los Angeles-based west coast office of Torti Gallas + Partners, an urban and architectural design firm.

Payton said while fires destroy buildings and leave the ground beneath them fallow, they do not erase property lines, or municipally owned rights-of-way, which he refers to as “facts on the ground.”

He said reconciling a diffuse land ownership pattern is key to any successful and transformative redevelopment.

“Any rebuilding effort must begin by acknowledging these facts and then by going farther by asking some rather simple questions:

‘Why can’t we put apartments above the rebuilt retail spaces?

Why can’t some of the small apartment buildings provide opportunities for ground floor office, maker spaces, or retail?’” he posited.