Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Factory
South Gate, CA
Project Square Footage
~ 1 million s.f.
Market Sector
Industrial, Educational
Project Type
College + University, Manufacturing
Year Completed
2009
Unbeknownst to many, the land on which the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) currently occupies was formerly the home of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (FTRC). At the time, the FTRC was one of the country's largest automotive suppliers. Built in the 1920's, the complex consisted of four buildings encompassing approximately 1 million s.f. of space. In 2008, the LACCD decided to re-purpose the property and create a sustainable campus, to be known as the South Gate Educational Center. Three of the four buildings were used to create the central campus comprised of a three-story (105,000 s.f.) building and parking structure.
Architectural Resource Consultants (ARC), hired by Tetra Design, was authorized for the scanning, documentation and modeling of these structures. The data would serve to develop the concepts and repurposing of the buildings.
To complete the substantial amount of survey work, ARC partnered with a professional land surveying company who would serve to provide control on the project. ARC provided laser scanning services in order to identify total station measurements.
Due to the complexity of the Building One roof line, ARC's line-of-sight was compromised. In turn ARC was able to improve the project's timeline by utilizing short-range scanners with shorter set up times. The entire project was completed in 12-weeks.