The Los Angeles Planning Commission recently approved plans for a large mixed-use development designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Frank Gehry at 8150 Sunset Boulevard. The concept comprises five distinct but complementary buildings unified by a ground-level plaza. Spearheaded by L.A.-based developer Townscape Partners , the complex will include retail, entertainment, and green spaces as well as two residential buildings. The five structures, ranging from three to 15 stories tall, will feature Gehry’s trademark sculptural aesthetic but will still fit in with the surrounding area’s historic buildings, among them the landmark Chateau Marmont and Sunset Tower hotels.

A model of the site.

The project’s site, at the eastern end of the storied Sunset Strip, is of particular significance to longtime Angelenos—among them Gehry—who may remember it as the location of the legendary Garden of Allah hotel. In the 1930s and ’40s the hotel hosted the likes of Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. (It was demolished in 1959 to make way for a bank.) “By coincidence I was in L.A. when the Garden of Allah existed, and while I don’t have a tangible image to relate to the present, I have a feeling that this design leans toward the representation of my memory,” Gehry said in a statement for the 8150 Sunset project. “I wanted to capture the feeling of that place, which was vibrant and memorable.”

During a presentation to the commission, Gehry addressed his goal for the project: “The art of architecture is rarely practiced in our city; most of our buildings have no spirit or humanity to them. This is an important site—the entrance to the Sunset Strip. I will do my best to be responsible, beautiful, and humane and to make you proud.”