Adams Normandie 4-3-2-1 Urban Design Program

The Adams Normandie neighborhoods in Los Angeles contain concentrations of historic residential architecture built from the 1880s to World War I. By the early 1990s speculators began to irreparably alter and tear down neighborhood resources. In response, the City’s Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was asked by existing residents to develop an urban design program to provide guidance and review procedures for rehabilitation, preservation, and infill projects.

Kaliski, as CRA Principal Architect, led a team that surveyed the architecture of the community. Massing, height, setbacks, proportions, materials, architectural components, and details were observed and utilized as the basis for standards and guidelines that could be easily communicated to applicants. At public workshops facilitated by Kaliski, the proposed visual regulations were further refined with community participation and input.

The adopted urban design program contains illustrative regulations that define architectural expectations for projects. The standards and guidelines constrain insensitive improvements and consequently facilitated conservation of the neighborhood’s historic architecture. Additionally, a design review procedure for projects that do not meet the Program requirements was implemented, providing for the first time an opportunity for this neighborhood’s voice to be officially factored into the design approval process.