River Works
Elysian Valley, Los Angeles
A 1940s brick warehouse by the LA River turned into 18 workshops.
The retained warehouse from the Los Angeles River path.
Type
Reuse
Status
Completed
Place
Elysian Valley, Los Angeles
Year
2019–2021
Area
1,480 m² / 15,930 ft²
Client
River Works Collective
Team
Martin Vale, Owen Marsh, Hana Ishikawa
Photography
AI-generated imagery
Brief
A makers’ cooperative needed 18 workshops of different sizes, a shared loading yard, and rents its members could afford.
Site
A brick warehouse beside the Los Angeles River path, empty for six years.
Approach
We kept the brick walls and the timber roof trusses. The old roof sheeting was replaced with galvanized corrugated metal panels. Tall steel windows bring daylight into the workshops. Steel mezzanines were made as a kit and bolted in, so members can add or remove them later.
Outcome
Completed in 2021. All 18 workshops have been occupied since opening.
Ground floor plan, 1:200
The central aisle between workshops.
Retained roof trusses, seen from the mezzanine.
Section through the roof trusses, 1:100
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