John K Chan, AIA on Atwater Canyon and Creating Great Retail Spaces

Building LA

Today, I’m joined by John K Chan, AIA the Co-Founder and Design Director at Formation Association, to discuss how to create a great retail experience, as exemplified by his firm’s design of the Atwater Canyon retail development. We also take a trip outside of the recording studio to explore the project on-site with the owner and developer Myles Rogg, Head of Acquisitions and Development at Rogg Partners.

Atwater Canyon is an adaptive reuse project located in Atwater Village. In our conversation, we cover the importance of retail spaces as integral parts of thriving neighborhoods, how they can engage with local communities, and the factors that contribute to a successful retail space in Los Angeles for both retail tenants and visitors.

Atwater Canyon is a unique space with unusual materiality choices drawn from the history of LA architecture. John explains the international and local inspirations behind the design which artfully connects the street to the parking area behind, and creates a public thoroughfare between the retail spaces. We also touch on how city planning could potentially improve LA's streets to encourage more thriving retail corridors. John also reflects on his journey into architecture and how he started Formation Association with a vision for socially impactful projects.

On site, Myles and John articulate how they approached this development, and why the decision to create 3 retail spaces instead of one has created additional value. This retail space embodies great urban design by creating a public space that’s evocative of the best retail destinations both in and outside of the US.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics Covered:

• John’s approach to designing a great retail experience within an existing 1930's building
• The international references and local inspirations behind Atwater Canyon
• How retail spaces in LA attract tenants and visitors people
• The major lessons and design ideas drawn from the project
• The reasons why Atwater Village is a successful retail corridor
• Atwater Canyon’s beautiful and unusual materiality choices
• The opportunity the developer Myles Rogg saw with the existing building
• The response from the retailers who lease the spaces
• John’s journey into architecture and who he has been inspired by
• Why John decided to start his own company

Guest Info:

• Connect with John on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Formation Association on formationassociation.com

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