The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) La Kretz Innovation Campus is a space where science, entrepreneurship, environmentalism, and policymaking merge to advance the development of a sustainable future that includes clean and abundant water supplies, a commitment to 100% renewable energy, and an inclusive green economy. It is also a showcase for labs, working exhibits, and educational opportunities for customers, students, and visitors alike, offering ways to save money, conserve water and electricity, and learn valuable information on rebates available to all LADWP customers.
Experience the La Kretz Innovation Campus
Sign up below for our campus tour. Groups between 5 and 25 visitors are invited to make a Group Reservation below. If you are visiting solo or with a friend, please select Individual Reservation below.
La Kretz Innovation Campus (LKIC) Tour and Info Session
A walking tour of LKIC includes the following:
- Overview of the building’s LEED and WELL features
- Customer Engagement Lab and Sustainable Living Lab (interactive exhibit area)
- Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)
- Collaborative work and office space
- Arts District Park
- Advanced Prototyping Center
- Art exhibits
Virtual Tour
Take a self-guided virtual tour of LKIC and explore the campus in a digital space. No appointment is needed.
Click View Tour below.
Live Virtual Tour
Have your group take a live virtual tour via Zoom or Google Hangouts with the LKIC Campus Management team as your docent.
Please schedule a tour at events@laci.org
You’ll love the energy here.
Since opening its doors in November 2015, the LKIC has convened hundreds of sustainability and clean technology focused events, attracting thousands of attendees, including heads of state like former Vice President Joe Biden, First Lady of Germany Elke Büdenbender, and Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez.
The LKIC serves as the home for the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) who, on behalf of the LADWP and the City of Los Angeles, is the steward of this great facility. LADWP is a founding partner of LACI, proudly supporting their game-changing work in incubating startups, transforming markets through unprecedented programs like the Transportation Electrification Partnership, and enhancing community with their commitment to diversity and inclusion and workforce development.
With over 30,000 visitors each year from all walks of life, 15 events a week, and a growing network of partners that includes citizens, entrepreneurs, engineers, environmental organizations, corporations, and government agencies, the campus gives LADWP a platform to educate and inspire with student field trips, STEM programming, and workforce development, offering opportunity and accessibility to the green economy to communities all over LA.
The Facility
The 60,000 square foot campus sits on 3.2 acres and has achieved LEED Platinum and WELL Gold certification. It includes state-of-the-art green technology, including a 175 kilowatt photovoltaic solar canopy, chargers for 32 EVs, bioswales, and LA’s first public greywater filtration and microgrid systems.
This award-winning facility features 30,000 square feet of office, hot desks, event space, and the Advanced Prototyping Center (APC).
APC members can ideate, design, and build innovative products, and subsequently test and certify their technology, all under one roof. This extraordinary workspace includes an electronics lab, chemistry lab, cell lab, CNC center, water jet center, welding shop, 3D printing shop, use of premium CAD software, laser cutters, woodworking, an assembly bay, training centers, and more.
The Neighborhood
A former furniture and fabric warehouse, the building was purchased in 2010 and underwent a significant renovation, designed by John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects (JFAK). Located in the dynamic Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, the LKIC sits next door to the Arts District Park in the heart of a community brimming with a growing number of vibrant creative industries.
The neighborhood is alive with restaurants, bars, art galleries, and museums, with SCI-Arc and Little Tokyo within walking distance. The LKIC parking lot has charging capability for 32 EVs, and the campus is easily accessible via a wide variety of alternative transportation options, including DASH, Metro, and car sharing services like flexLA.
Acknowledgments
Major funding for the LKIC was provided by the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the United States Economic Development Administration. All told, LADWP paid for 42 percent of the $47 million campus purchase and renovation, with the remainder of funds provided through donations, grants, and other state and federal funding sources. The LKIC is owned by LADWP.
Mayor Eric Garcetti
Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Former City Councilmember Ed Reyes
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power LADWP Board of Commissioners General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin L. Adams
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Chief Sustainability Office, Nancy Sutley
Los Angeles Department of Public Works LADPW Board of Commissioners Gary Lee Moore, Bureau of Engineering
Bureau of Contract Administration
Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA)
Morton La Kretz
John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects (JFAK)
USS CAL Builders, Inc.
Cleantech LA UCLA Chancellor Gene Block/ Vice Chancellor for Research Roberto Peccei
USC President Steve Sample/ Vice Chancellor for Research Randolph (Randy) Hall
Caltech President Jean Louis Chameau
Charles Elachi, JPL Administrator
Former LADWP GM Ron Nichols
Former LADWP GM David Nahai
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) Fred Walti and Neal Anderson, Co-founders LACI Board of Directors
Business Cluster Development Carol Lauffer Jim Robbins
LA Chamber President Gary Toebben (retired)
LABC President Mary Leslie
LAEDC Chair Bill Allen
Central City Association President Carol Schatz
Central City East Association Executive Director Estella Lopez
La Kretz Innovation Campus Project Team
- Steve Andrews (Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, City of L.A.)
- Sean Arian (former Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, City of LA)
- Kelli Bernard (former Economic Development Director, City of LA)
- Alex Fay (former Mayor’s Office of Economic Development)
- David Jacot (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Amir Tabakh (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Terry Brungard (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Arman Saiyan (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Dale Thompson (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Francisco Galvez (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Val Amezquita (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Medhi Shafaghi (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Jim Kemper (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Elmer Leon (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Richard Garcia (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
- Marlon Calderon (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
About The Architects:
John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects (JFAK) was founded in 1996 and is based in the vibrant Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles. With the belief that architecture has the power to transform people’s lives, JFAK creates environments and buildings that encourage creative and social interaction, sustain the environment, and catalyze positive change for their users and surrounding communities. The firm’s work spans schools, university research and activity centers, commercial ventures, custom homes and multifamily housing, and public space installations. While embracing technology and sustainable principles, each project is approached as an opportunity to artfully enhance the cultural context in which it is located. JFAK has been internationally recognized for its material and sustainable intelligence, as well as for its spatial fluidity, quality of light, and social significance. John and Alice have each been honored with election to Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects, and both partners are active architectural educators who lecture widely. To learn more about John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, vist www.jfak.net.