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Skechers’ sketch floats boat
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Architect Patrick J. Killen’s rendering of the proposed new Skechers HQ. |
by Jerry Roberts
Missing the boat will be nearly impossible for Sepulveda Boulevard drivers in a few years if a Manhattan Beach shoe company gets its wish to build an expansive new headquarters at the corner of Longfellow Avenue.
Skechers USA proposes a 57,000-square-foot building with a two-story, glass, blue-trimmed yacht-styled element forming the upper floors of the corner with the "hull" straddling the first floor’s walls along both streets where a Saab dealership has closed.
This edifice on the eastern side of the boulevard would house the company’s executive suite and alter the look of the Pacific Coast Highway corridor. The PCH front also would contain a waterfall and a 98-foot long stainless steel façade displaying the company logo, "Skechers." The building would feature garage entries on both streets, glass bridges, four stories of underground parking and courtyards containing palm and deciduous trees.
A Hermosa Beach architect has won an American Institute of Architecture award for his design of the proposed new home for the Manhattan Beach lifestyle footwear company currently located at 228 Manhattan Beach Blvd. The sketch for the envisioned Skechers site must first be passed by the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission even though Patrick J. Killen will pick up his as-yet unspecified award in Long Beach on Nov. 30. The AIA notified him that he had won an award, his 13th from the august organization, but is withholding the specifics to retain a surprise element at the awards ceremony at the Museum of Latin American Art.
"The goal of this project was to create an icon identifiable with this progressive and fast-growing young company," Killen said. "The design team was charged with the creation and manipulation of shapes and interactive spaces to house an energetic team of designers, executives and visiting buyers from corporate retail chains."
The design incorporates two other elements aside from the exec boat, which would have a commanding ocean view. The housing behind it would contain the administration offices for the international headquarters as well as working space for shoe designers. The north wing, which is connected to the other elements by the bridges, would contain showrooms.
"The sweeping green glass entry court forms the most identifiable shape of the administration and designers section, which embraces and supports the executive pod," read Killen’s design notes. "The water element, which supports the Skechers signage, helps establish a dialogue between the separate building masses while creating a visual node for the parking entry off of Sepulveda Boulevard."
Both Killen and Skechers have been in the South Bay since 1982. The architect has designed many homes and other buildings in Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan beaches, including the Good Stuff restaurant in Redondo, Brewworks in Hermosa and, elsewhere, and the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center used for training by the U.S. Olympic teams in Pasadena.
Skechers is operated by the father-and-son team of Manhattan Beach residents Robert and Michael Greenberg. Skechers makes men’s, women’s and children’s shoes with retail outlets in more than 100 nations and territories, according to Kelly O’Connor, a spokeswoman for the company. The shoemaker’s manufacturing isn’t done in Manhattan Beach.
The proposed move to the Sepulveda Boulevard location is being done because the company’s administrative and design departments have outgrown its space on Manhattan Avenue, O’Connor said. The company, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as SKX, has already bought the Sepulveda property. ER