Agency / Organization: Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety

Status: Complete

Intent: The Adaptive Reuse Ordinance’s building and fire regulations were being implemented into a new LA city code as an amendment to the California Building Code. City officials’ lack of experience in implementing code for existing building conditions required additional consultation and input from design professionals in a way that led to a deeper understanding for all stakeholders.

City officials asked Karin Liljegren, years prior to being Omgivning’s founder, for consultation based on her extensive experience with adaptive reuse projects and the then-new code. Liljegren was one of the few architects asked by the LA Building Department to help create this code. Her hands-on experience as an architect working with the ARO brought significant insight to the ordinance’s applications. Chapter 85, implemented in 2002, has been used to create nearly 15,000 completed residential units and hotel rooms citywide.