The new FAA Federal Credit Union
headquarters building is located in Aviation Center, a commercial
development just south of Los Angeles International Airport. Among
the client. s objectives for its new headquarters building design
and to give were to reflect its members and the FAA. s mission by
evoking aerodynamic imagery in the building. s design, and to give
the appearance of stability and permanence because it is a financial
institution. In addition, the building had to "powerfully stand out"
from the larger and taller buildings in Aviation Center and stay
within the $100 per square foot core and shell budget. Avoiding a
stark, machine like look, the design of the building has a
west-facing serpentine façade of honey-colored Jerusalem limestone
and glass that tilts 15-degrees out of its vertical plane as it
rises to the roofline, giving the impression that the structure is
poised for flight. The use of limestone, the dominant building
material in Jerusalem for centuries, gives the building a strong,
enduring quality and contrasts dramatically with the otherwise
modern design and material application.
