Located on the corner of Third and Spring Streets, the Douglas Building was erected in 1898 as a memorial to Thomas Douglas Stimpson, a lumber baron and real estate mogul who was involved in the commercial development of Los Angeles in the 1890s. In 2005, Rockefeller Partners Architects, working with a team that included MLA, completed the conversion of this historic 19th century office building to condominiums. As one of the few remaining vestiges of downtown LA's spirited past, the Douglas Building still stands out as part of its revitalized future.

We worked closely with the owner, Downtown Properties, to achieve room to room isolation while preserving the historic status of the structure. Both the existing wood floors and single glazed double hung windows had to be preserved. Since the floors were so light, ceilings had to be suspended from spring isolators to achieve the necessary ratings. Windows, which could not be replaced or altered, were left in place. Mechanical equipment and plumbing were replaced and acoustically isolated.

The result was a structure that preserved the integrity and beauty of the original structure while upgrading the acoustical isolation to modern standards.