Structural Focus receives the 2019 SCDF Design & Philanthropy Award of Technological Innovation for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures: May Company Facade Rehabilitation

Los Angeles-area, CA — Structural Focus Project Engineer Maria Mohammed, SE and preservation architect John Fidler of John Fidler Preservation Technology Inc. accepted the 2019 Southern California Development Forum (SCDF) Design & Philanthropy Award for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures: May Company Facade Rehabilitation under the Technological Innovation category during the December ceremony.

The Structural Focus team worked under the direction of John Fidler Preservation Technology Inc. to restore and retrofit the iconic building facade at the May Company building — recently renamed the Saban building in honor of a $50M gift from Cheryl and Haim Saban. As part of the overall building renovation, the facade rehabilitation project scope included the repair and retrofit of the existing limestone facade panels utilizing asymmetrical helical anchors and the repair of existing steel window boxes and flagpoles.

Structural Focus was honored to receive the SCDF award for their work to assist in the preservation of this well-known landmark, deemed the “grandest example of Streamline Moderne (architecture) remaining in Los Angeles” by the Los Angeles Conservancy.

Originally built in 1939 as a department store, the six-story Saban Building will feature 50,000 square feet of exhibition galleries, an art education studio, a 288-seat theater, a restaurant and café, public space, a store, and space for special events.

About Structural Focus

Structural Focus is a structural engineering consulting company specializing in the design of complex and innovative buildings. Whether the projects involve historic restoration or detailed laboratories, acoustically sensitive post-production facilities or performance spaces, educational structures or corporate headquarters, Structural Focus embraces the collaborative process of design through an ongoing, open, creative and clear dialogue between the team and owner.