LAX Theme Building

The futuristic LAX Theme Building, a Space Age icon at Los Angeles’ airport, was at one time in grave danger should a medium to large earthquake strike Los Angeles. Miyamoto International engineered an innovative structural retrofit solution for the LAX Theme Building by adding 1.2 million pounds of steel mass at the roof cavity, which is supported by base isolators and dampers. This approach created a tuned mass damper to reduce seismic demand.

This design eliminated the need for a conventional seismic upgrade and preserved the historical integrity of the building. We used  advanced analysis and the latest engineering technologies in this retrofit solution. This High-Performance Earthquake Engineering approach also saved the airport an estimated $4 million in construction costs over traditional seismic retrofits. Miyamoto acted as an expert structural sub-consultant to VCA Engineers. You can watch a video about the project on our Video Page.

Awards

2010 Award of Excellence in Alteration/Retrofit category, SEOCC
2010 Preservation Technology Award, California Preservation Foundation