A Cultural Landscape of Los Angeles: The Cal-Trans Building

Perhaps no other building represents the culture of Los Angeles better than the recently completed building dedicated exclusively to the Department of Transportation. The Cal-Trans building is an immense cultural landscape. Created by architect Thom Mayne, it represents a hub for California's transportation. With over ten million inhabitants, Los Angeles County is one of the most urbanized places in the world. Los Angeles' urbanized culture relays heavily on transportation, hence the need for roads, highways, freeways, and subways is crucial in linking Los Angeles with its sister cities and counties throughout the state. As freeways and highways improve, communities expand. Keeping all aspects of transportation improved in an area with over ten million is essential in maintaining the city's culture, growth, and way of life.

A tall thirteen story steel building in Downtown Los Angeles is indicative of the culture it represents. By observing the physical building, one can conclude that with the vast amount of time, money, and effort put forth in creating this massive structure, there must be a dominant cultural intention with respect to the building. This dominant culture - the urban man or woman, the public transport-dependent, or the motorist - relies heavily on Cal-Trans for its functions and services. For this reason, the dominant culture has accepted such as massive structure to be dedicated exclusively for Cal-Trans in defining the landscape.

The Cal-Trans building is for transportation. The trajectory involved in planting this building is one which needs the support of people who will utilize such a building. It is built by and for a culture which relies so heavily on transportation, especially the motor vehicle. Such a grandiose building reserved for transportation concludes its culture regards very highly of transportation and the motorist. It is palatable to imply the Cal-Trans building represents the dominant culture of the surrounding area because it is a culture who regards highly of urban growth, individual freedom in transportation, and a mobile yet densely populated society.

As cities tend to grow, improving accessibility becomes a common theme. Los Angeles, an urbanized culture which is central in the national and world markets, has powers located in various parts of the county (Downtown, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, The Valley, and Century City) which need to be improved in terms of transportation accessibility as the cities grow. As Los Angles expands, so does its freeway and roadway networks. Its endeavors in maintaining quality transportation networks throughout the county and surrounding areas implies there needs to be a hub for transportation (or a type of brain), hence the Cal-Trans building; which is regarded so highly amongst its urbanites.

An immense cultural landscape such as the Cal-Trans building requires much symbolic speculation. Perhaps no other post-modern building or landscape in Los Angeles has more metaphors than the Cal-Trans building. In visually analyzing the building, the obvious comes to mind - its ominous gray color. The gray color of this cultural landscape represents the obvious color of concrete. Concrete is the building block for which this culture uses in crafting roadways, highways, and freeways and is the most essential aspect of transportation. The notion one may also acquire in visually observing the Cal-Trans building is one of an undeveloped and unpolished building. This notion may be understood because Cal-Trans is a perpetual service. Its continuous endeavors in improving transportation for a culture who relies on transportation is never-ending and represented in its physical structure - a large gray incomplete and unassembled building which will continue to remain in its ironically completed state. The surface lighting on the façade and on the entrance lobby on the west side of the building is yet another symbol. In the evening, where most buildings are characterized by boxes of yellow lit office lights, the Cal-Trans building showcases a light spectacular which symbolizes the highway and the motor vehicle. Its red streaking lights at night are planted on the elevated window walls of the building with inconsistent streaks - mocking that of a six-lane Los Angeles motor freeway with speeding vehicles at night.

The visual indicatives of this cultural landscape are one part of the interpretation, but one must also focus on the non-visual aspect. The Cal-Trans building, thanks to its architect, has profound and symbolic sound harmonics attained to the building. Because immense portions of the structure are constructed with a type of steel which incorporates many small holes (aesthetics perhaps) the heavy winds of Southern California produce a type of whistling sound upon contact with these steel-holed building walls. Some regard the sound to be a type of whistling song while others say its sound mocks that of whistling inside an empty glass bottle. However, the sound produced by this cultural landscape may be more arguably regarded as one which can be mimicked in a busy underground subway; a similar sound which can be produced by the wind as a result of the swift underground metro passing by - a key symbol of transportation.

Ironically for such as publicly themed building - transportation - the building itself is anything but. With thirteen stories of steel, metal, and concrete, the building resembles a futuristic fortress. A thick 12-foot concrete wall surrounds the north end of the building which contains an outdoor recreational area for children. The thick walls prevent the street (pedestrians and downtown homeless) to have access thus providing protection for the children inside. Because children might feel trapped under these circumstances, a very small section of the 12-foot concrete wall has been replaced by a protective clear glass wall which children can gaze down at the outside world. The building feels absolutely dominating. Heavy surveillance, indoor security screening, patrolled security, and intimidating concrete walls impose the Cal-Trans building is the result of an urban culture that focuses importance on security and privacy.

The Cal-Trans building is a cultural landscape of Los Angeles representing the hub for transportation. The building presupposes that Los Angeles culture weighs much of its importance on transportation as this monumental structure stands evidence. The structure is symbolic of transportation in motif, color, sound, and nocturnal visual lighting imposing that the dominant urbanized culture - which has built such a structure - is one of mobility and urban growth. Finally, this cultural landscape in downtown Los Angeles signifies the importance of the culture in privacy and exclusiveness as seen in the surveillance and security aspects of the structure. The Cal-Trans building is a constant monumental reminder in the type of ideals the urban culture of Los Angeles values. The building symbolizes themes of modernity, mobility, and continuity for its respective culture.