THE HABITAT - 3401 LA CIENEGA

Contractor: LEND LEASE

The Habitat, also known as 3401 La Cienega, is situated in close proximity to the swiftly expanding Culver City submarket. The project features multi-family residential units, office spaces, luxurious retail and two levels of subterranean parking. The site is bordered by the elevated Metro railroad bridge to the North, a one-story building to the West, La Cienega street to the East, and the renowned See’s candy shops to the South. Both the northern and southern boundaries presented significant challenges. To avoid encroachment on the neighboring property, an internal raker pipe bracing system was used along the entire southern property line, while special beam installation methods were implemented on the Northern side to maintain the necessary clearance from the Metro line for safety. The project involved 219 soldier piles, 213 tiebacks, 83 raker braces and 12 corner braces. A total of 49,949 SF of wall was shored, covering a perimeter length of 1,678 LF. Excavation depths varied from 27 ft to a maximum of 33 ft, requiring up to two rows of tiebacks to retain the earth. The quantity of export soil was over 130,000 cubic yards, with Calex hauling as many as 350 bottom dump truck loads from the site in a single day. Calex Engineering successfully completed both the mass excavation and shoring work, overcoming all challenges and staying ahead of the project schedule.