Trendy Standard Hotel in Downtown LA Converted From Historical Landmark, Superior Oil Building

<a href="http://www.standardhotels.com/los-angeles/" target="_blank">The Standard Hotels</a> have become synonymous with style and nightlife in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. Architecture firm <a href="http://www.kearch.com/" target="_blank">Koning Eizenberg</a> converted the Superior Oil Company Building into the trendy downtown Los Angeles <a href="http://inhabitat.com/space-tourism-a-reality-by-2016-with-orbital-technologies-space-hotel/">location</a>. A building listed on the National Register of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/divine-jaffa-apartment-in-israel-restores-vaulted-walls-to-their-former-glory/" target="_blank">Historic </a>Places, the architects had to respect the original design, while creating a hip center for nightlife for the boutique hotel.

Own by Andre Balazs Properties, the Standard brand has had celebrity investors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Benecio del Toro. The high profile brand acquired the marble Superior Oil building in 2002.

Originally built in 1955, Koning Eizenberg transformed the 12 storey <a href="http://inhabitat.com/dazzling-double-skinned-wexford-council-headquarters-modernize-irelands-civic-buildings/" target="_blank">office building</a> into a 203 guest room hotel, complete with multiple meeting rooms, restaurant, and bar.

The architects reconfigured the ground floor, extending the comfortable lobby area into two storeys, which occupy a former banking hall. With the new flow of check in traffic,  the parking area had to be moved to the rear.

Formerly a space used to house obsolete mechanical equipment, Koning Eizenberg installed a roof top pool and made the space complete accessible to hotel guests. The Standard’s roof top pool and bar area have since become one of downtown LA’s choice nightlife attractions.

The renovations, which included gutting all of the upper offices and blocking them off into smaller <a href="http://inhabitat.com/adrian-smith-gordon-gill-announces-it-will-design-the-mile-high-kingdom-tower-in-dubai/" target="_blank">hotel</a> rooms, were all done on a very tight budget. Using State preservation tax credits, the conversion was almost entirely profitable. The building’s <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-inside-the-hearst-tower-new-york-citys-first-leed-gold-skyscraper/" target="_blank">historic façade</a> remained completely in tact, often being the backdrop for historical movies.

Aside from preserving a historical building, The Standard <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-campana-brothers-festive-“new-hotel”-in-athens-showcases-their-signature-upmarket-recycled-design/" target="_blank">Hotel</a> has been credited for revitalizing the urban downtown Los Angeles culture, being a pioneer to inject style into a derelict area.