City of Commerce Air Quality Center

Commerce is home to over 1,800 businesses and a work force of 60,000 that
commutes daily through the city’s major freeways. Due to this transportation,
Commerce faces enormous health risks from air pollution. Particulate matter in
the air stems from transportation and manufacturing, which brings greater risk of
cancer and respiratory illness.
Although regional efforts through the South Coast Air Quality Management District
are working towards meeting federal standards on air quality, local jurisdictions
have the opportunity to aid their mission for the health and safety of their cities. This
proposal would be a revamp for the public works and transportation departments
in Commerce, which would define what air quality infrastructure looks like.
The building takes the form of a bridge to read like a billboard from the highway. This
facade advertises alternative transportation through the city via bike and pedestrian
bridges over the highway that do not currently exist. The 100% recyclable aluminum
cladding gives the headquarters a machine-like appearance to fulfil its function
of cleaning the air in the city. Further, the building both literally and metaphorically
bridges the commercial and residential sectors of Commerce.
Administrative offices and research labs make up most of the program, although the
public is allowed to pass through and interact with the building at several points. An
unconditioned bike path has a small vestibule halfway through its route, allowing one
to enter the center atrium and meet a friend for lunch or coffee. Classrooms at the
center of the bridge allow for a greater public interaction with the program, where
residents can learn about the risks of pollution, strategies that the city is taking to
combat it, and ways they can tackle the issue in their own backyard.