LPA Structural Engineers Win Statewide Award of Excellence for West Hollywood Aquatics and Recreation Center

Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) honors innovative structural design of community hub featuring ‘floating’ rooftop pool and seismically detached grand stairs.

LPA Design Studios’ structural engineering team was honored with the Award of Excellence in the New Construction (Large Projects) category at the recent Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) conference in San Diego. The recognition celebrates the innovative design of the West Hollywood Aquatics and Recreation Center, a four-level community hub that has become a centerpiece for the city’s 35,000 residents.

The win caps a remarkable run of recognition for the center’s structural design. Earlier this year, the project earned the top honor from the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC), advancing it to the state competition, and in 2023, it received a National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) Excellence Award.

This year’s honor marks the third Award of Excellence for LPA’s structural engineers in the past four years. LPA earned the previous statewide honors for 9625 Towne Centre Drive (Takeda) in 2021 and the UC San Diego York Hall Seismic Retrofit in 2023.

“This 4-level recreation center provides much needed indoor and outdoor community recreation and wellness space for the city’s 35,000 residents,” the SEAOC noted at the ceremony. One jury member called out the seismically detached grand stairs as “a truly unique feature.”

The design of the West Hollywood center required creative solutions to balance the community’s vision with a challenging site and program requirements. The rooftop aquatic center sits above a clear-span gymnasium, achieved through long-span two-way trusses and strategically placed "mega truss” girders. The grand staircase, which links the terraced site to the park below, was engineered as seismically independent from the main structure, enhancing resilience and performance during seismic events. A skybridge was built over a public road to connect the facility with a new multi-story community center building that was also part of the project.

“This award is a testament to the creativity and technical expertise of our integrated design team,” said LPA Director of Structural Engineering Bryan Seamer. “The project pushed the boundaries of what was possible, and the result is a facility that serves the community while advancing structural innovation.”