Fresh renderings released for Jenga-like skyscraper with cantilevered pools in Downtown LA

The developer pitching one of the wildest designs for a skyscraper in Los Angeles released new renderings today.

Developer Jeffrey Fish revealed a trio of new images showing how the 53-story tower—proposed for Fifth and Hill streets in Downtown LA’s Pershing Square—might look if ultimately approved and built.

The images were released in conjunction with the publication of the project’s draft environmental impact report, a key document that needs to be approved by the Los Angeles City Council in order for the eye-catching project to move forward.

Architecture firm Arquitectonica, a Miami powerhouse with an office in LA’s Financial District, is helming the design.

Fish and Arquitectonica envision a Jenga-like tower with terraces and glass-bottom swimming pools that jut out from multiple sides of the building, including some that would hover above Perch, Downtown’s popular rooftop bar.

In an announcement released by his company, JMF Enterprises, Fish says he was inspired by midcentury architecture.

“We are reimagining those classic California designs and their porous indoor-outdoor lifestyle celebrating our beautiful climate in a sleek, vertical tower,” he said.

Initially proposed at 57 stories, the tower is now slated to top out at 53 stories. That would make it one of the taller buildings in LA’s expanding skyline—and the daring pool concept would make it one of its most unique.

The swimming pools would project out of 12 condos on levels 39 through 51, creating “a massing that dematerializes into randomized cubes,” Fish’s announcement says.

Cantilevered pools have been built in homes and hotels in other cities for years now, but they would make their first appearance in LA if Fish’s project goes forward.

In addition to condos, the building would hold a bar and restaurants, and potentially a hotel. The developer is seeking approval from the city for both options. If the hotel is incorporated, it would be made up of 190 rooms, leaving space for 31 condos. With no hotel, there would be 160 condos.

JMF says it wants the ability to remain “flexible” to “account for changing market conditions.”

The developer is also asking permission to deviate from zoning codes by building less open space and planting fewer trees than required.

Depending on whether the hotel rooms are incorporated, the tower would hold 126 or 187 parking spaces in an eight-story podium, along with two levels below ground.

The opening date is pegged for 2023.

• Here’s the rendering for eye-popping skyscraper planned at Pershing Square [Curbed LA]
• Skyscraper with pools jutting out from it proposed at Pershing Square [Curbed LA]
• Mapping the rise of LA’s tallest towers [Curbed LA]