Long Beach City Hall and Port of Long Beach Administration Buildings Bring Inspired Beauty to California

Building safety professionals can get a closer look at the Long Beach City Hall and Port of Long Beach Administration buildings this fall at the 2024 International Code Council Annual Conference, Expo and Committee Action Hearings (October 20-31). Scheduled to take place at the award-winning Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California, the conference is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for people within the building safety industry to gather, network and learn.

Both the Long Beach City Hall and Port of Long Beach Administration buildings are part of the first building tour that is scheduled to take place during the conference. The tour will also make a stop at the Queen Mary, one of the world’s most historic ocean liners.

Along with building tours, the Code Council will also feature a 30th-anniversary exhibit where visitors can explore artifacts from the Code Council’s history and participate in the creation of a time capsule to commemorate this milestone.

The Inspiration Behind the Long Beach City Hall and Port of Long Beach Administration Buildings

The Port of Long Beach plays a crucial role in the state and nation’s economy. As part of the Trade Cluster alongside the Port of Los Angeles, it supports 1.85 million jobs in the region and contributes to one in every 51 jobs across the country.

Additionally, it has significantly boosted the number of middle-class households in the area and generated an impressive $47.81 billion in state and local tax revenue in 2022 alone.

As a key driver of economic growth, the Port of Long Beach required an administration building that matched its progressive vision. The goal was to create a facility that was both environmentally conscious and energy-efficient, enhancing its service to employees, the city and the broader community.

Long Beach had similar goals for its new City Hall building, which would be adjacent to the Port of Long Beach Administration building. This new facility would house the Building and Safety Bureau, Code Enforcement and other essential services.

The new City Hall would serve as a place to promote building safety and offer new and existing initiatives, such as the Pre-Approved Accessory Dwelling Unit (PAADU) Program, which was introduced in 2023. By choosing a PAADU over another accessory dwelling unit (ADU), property owners and designers can ditch the typical four- to six-week processing period and secure a same-day over-the-counter plan review from the city. Aimed at single-story, freestanding ADUs under 1,200 square feet, this program is one of Long Beach’s initiatives to enhance housing affordability and availability in California.

The new Long Beach City Hall and Port of Long Beach Administration buildings officially opened on July 29, 2019, after years of construction. Built from the ground up to be equal in mass and proportion, the two buildings were gorgeously designed. In a nod to the color variations found in shipping containers, the Port of Long Beach Administration building features vision glass with blue-shaded strips underneath. 

Achieving Sustainability and Excellence

Architects and contractors hoped to receive LEED Gold certification from the project’s onset, a goal they achieved through installing multiple energy-improving and conserving features.

The operating cost and carbon footprint are 50 percent lower than the average office building, thanks in part to the underfloor air conditioning system that was integrated into the floor plate structure.

With underfloor AC, contractors added higher ceilings that allowed more daylight to shine through, reducing the use of costly artificial lighting during the day. Solar panels (installed on the rooftops) have improved energy efficiency as well by providing more than 25 percent of the energy needed to power both buildings.

According to Plenary Properties Long Beach, which assisted with financial and developmental aspects of the project, the Long Beach City Hall and Port of Long Beach Administration buildings also contain a rainwater capture and reuse system. Rainwater is stored on-site and used to irrigate the landscaping.

Energy and water conservation are just two of the benefits of the new buildings, which scored a Bronze Award in the 2020 Building Teams Award for exceeding the criteria of the California Building Code.

The project also won the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Western Pacific Region’s Project of the Year award, the institute’s highest honor. A third accolade came from the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC). The organization’s annual Award of Excellence in New Construction, which the Long Beach City Hall and Port of Long Beach Administration buildings won in 2021, recognizes “outstanding achievement and excellence in structural engineering design.”

The 2024 Code Council Annual Conference, Expo and Committee Action Hearings run from October 20 through October 31 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Learn more here.