Kilroy Realty Corporation, owner of The Westside Media Center, was determined to create a truly unique and special corporate campus. Kilroy turned to Meléndrez to make its vision a reality. Melendrez used an existing freestanding cascade fountain as an opportunity to create a focal point and central gathering area for the garden space. The design team added a raised stone terrace to the structure, along with furnishings, which now invite tenants to take a seat and enjoy. Rich planting combinations, coupled with an expanse of lawn, create a verdant outdoor room, which contrasts dramatically with the urban character of the adjacent streets located only a few hundred feet away. Lush, vertical plantings of New Zealand flax, papyrus and Oldhamii bamboo, which screen an unsightly industrial yard located on the adjacent property, provide a backdrop for additional seating nodes. Other seating areas are connected by a serpentine stone path, which traces the edge of the planting beds connecting back to the garden's focal point. Bold pots planted with fountain grass have been added to soften the building edge while adding a sense of whimsy. On any given weekday, building tenants can be found lunching, meeting, gathering and enjoying the garden space; proof that the passion of the Meléndrez team translated a client's vision into great design. And the project is an economic success. One year after completion, 100% of the facility is leased out, despite a sluggish corporate real estate market. Back To Index