Case Study: LA Transit Renaissance

Airport Metro Connector Station: A Transit Renaissance in LA

Learning Units: 1LU

This is a virtual meeting. Virtual meeting information will be emailed to registrants.

A Gruen/Grimshaw collaboration with:

Executive Architect and Landscape Architect: Gruen Associates

Design Architect: Grimshaw

The Airport Metro Connector Station is a flagship multi-modal transit station by Metro that will create inclusive access and interchange between the new Crenshaw/LAX LRT Line, the Green Line, the LAX Automated People Mover (APM)—an active 15-bay bus terminal, a substantial bike hub facility, and significant improvements to the surrounding public realm. 

The station seamlessly brings each of the transit modes together in a highly-legible design that uses light, space, and visual connections to enable passengers to move freely through the project. This is a uniquely Southern Californian design that is authentic to its location, celebrating the weather, native ecology, and the art of Los Angeles.

The project requires a series of complex interfaces with others including the concurrent construction of new train lines and a people mover, and adding a temporary train bypass to accommodate the phased construction of the Airport Metro Connector Station.  

As one of Metro’s “Twenty-eight by ‘28” projects enabled by Measure M—a self-imposed sales tax financing the expansion of the rail network—the Airport Metro Connector Station will greatly improve the mobility options for visitors and Angelenos alike, helping to progress the conversation on the future of transportation and urban design in Los Angeles.

Learning Objectives:

+ Key members of the project team will provide detailed insight into the origins, ambitions, challenges and complexities of designing a high-profile mass transit project in a city notorious for a dependence on the motor vehicle and horrendous traffic! 

+ Learn how the team has prioritized safety and ease of use while navigating the complex project interfaces and phasing challenges to deliver a highly-ambitious design that will elevate the passenger experience.

Debra Gerod, FAIA, LEED AP – Partner (Gruen Associates)

Debra Gerod, FAIA, LEED AP, is a partner of Gruen Associates, a Los Angeles-based, 80-person architectural, planning, interiors, and landscape design firm. Debra’s specialty is in the collaborative design and delivery of complex projects. These projects include large-scale, significant civic and cultural projects such as transportation, courthouses, embassies, performing arts centers, museums and libraries. Current projects include the adaptive re-use of the historic Tower Theatre, the revitalization of Pershing Square, the long-awaited Audrey Irmas Pavilion at the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and Metro’s Airport Metro Connector Station at 96th Street that will connect the Crenshaw/LAX Line Station to the LAX APM.

Currently serving as the 2020 President for AIA|California, Debra is also a past president of AIA|Los Angeles. Debra volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and Heal the Bay, and was a long-time board member for the ACE Mentor Program of Los Angeles. Debra was elevated to a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2013.

Andrew Byrne, BArch (Hons), AIA, RIBA, RAIA – Partner (Grimshaw)

Andrew Byrne, BArch (Hons), AIA, RIBA, RAIA, a partner of Grimshaw, is highly experienced in a broad range of project scales and types. He is highly committed to active design leadership and has made telling contributions to several of the firm’s award-winning projects. He is a Registered Architect in the State of California and a member of the American Institute of Architects, as well as a member of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects.

After more than 12 years of experience in London with Grimshaw, Andrew relocated to Los Angeles in 2017 to establish and lead a new studio for the practice. Andrew is currently the Design Partner on projects with Gruen Associates as the Prime Consultant–for the Airport Metro Connector Station and the Los Angeles Union Station Forecourt, a unique opportunity to transform an underutilized existing space into a civic plaza with improved pedestrian and cycling connections.

Dean Howell, PLA, ASLA – Principal Associate, Director of Landscape Architecture (Gruen Associates)

Dean Howell, PLA, ASLA, is a Principal Associate and the Director of Landscape Architecture for Gruen Associates. In his nearly 15-year career, Dean has garnered landscape architectural design awards for projects that stress a balanced relationship between natural and social environments. For the Airport Metro Connector Station, Dean conceptualized the landscape and transit plaza as part of the design for the multi-modal transportation facility that will connect to the future LAX APM.

Additionally, Dean prepared a conceptual landscape plan for Century Boulevard to improve the visual quality of the corridor, provide an enhanced pedestrian environment and public realm including access to a new LRT station and to establish guidelines for future development in the corridor as part of the Gateway to LAX initiative. He is the Landscape Architect and Project Manager for completion of a bikeway and greenway along 12 miles of the 51-mile-long Los Angeles River. Based on the success of Metro’s Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan, he is also leading the Forecourt and Esplanade Improvements project involving landscape and connectivity goals for the transit hub.