MCI Center

Mci Center
  1. About the MCI Center in Los Angeles
  2. Architect and team
  3. Architectureal style
  4. Spaces and uses
  5. Structure and materials

The MCI Center is an International Style skyscraper designed by The Luckman Partnership and built in 1973 in Los Angeles, CA.

MCI Center is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The MCI Center is also known, or has been known as, Broadway Plaza, Macy's Plaza, or 700 South Flower Street.

Its precise street address is 700-724 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA. You can also find it on the map here.

The building underwent a major restoration in 2013. The architect commissioned to undertake this restoration was Johnson Fain Architects.

Building's timeline

Construction completed
1973
51
a
Restoration
2013
11
years ago
2024
  1. 2013 - Original street-level walls were removed, creating an open public plaza that connects below ground with the 7th Metro Center station . The architect in charge was Johnson Fain Architects.

Architect and team

The Luckman Partnership was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

Architectural Style

The MCI Center can be categorized as an International Style building.

The international style originated in Europe in the early 20th century, and made its way to the US a couple of decades later when the rise of the Nazi regime forced figures such as Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, or Mies van der Rohe to flee Europe.

The International Style emerged as a response to the prevailing historicism and ornate architecture styles of the late 19th century, which according to a younger generation of architects didn't represent the new materials and construction techniques that were on the rise at the time.

Architecture in the early 20th century US was marked by the adoption of steel structures, modern construction techniques, and the rise of the skyscraper. As it turns out, this combination of circumstances created the perfect ecosystem for the International Style to flourish, becoming the to-go style for skyscraper designs during the mid-20th century, when American cities were growing fast.

The International Style’s legacy can not only be found in numerous iconic buildings across all major American cities, but also incorporated in contemporary architecture, which still puts a big emphasis on functionality and minimalism.

Spaces & Uses

The MCI Center reaches an architectural height of 413ft (126m). It has a total of 33 floors, 31 above ground and 2 basements, which combined offer a total of 678,470 sqf (63,032m2) of usable space.

Ever since opening its doors to the public in 1973, the MCI Center has mainly been used as Commercial space.

413ft (126m)
2 basements

Materials & Structure

The MCI Center uses a frame structure made of steel columns and concrete slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

The facade is non-load bearing either, as it is common in frame structure type buildings.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features tinted glass curtain wall with dark spandrels and silver aluminum finishes at the corners of the facades, spanning from the first level above the two-level base up to the crown.