Jim Powers is an interior designer, blogger, and environmentalist based in Los Angeles. He graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and worked in film production before returning to his passion for design. Powers received his interior design training through UCLA Extension and enjoys solving design problems through hand sketches or advanced technology. His design blog focuses on design, sustainability, and the creative process.

1. J ames Powers
Designer, Blogger & Practical Environmentalist

2. The Metropolitan
Hotel
KITCHEN GARDEN
POND TO PARKING LOT
BIO-SWALE PECK ROAD WATER CONSERVATION PARK
5401 N. PECK ROAD
ARCADIA, CA 91006
PECK PARK CENTER
Amigos de los Rios RESTORED HABITAT
BICYCLE PATH
Headquarters PECK PARK CENTER
SITE PLAN - CLOSE UP
N
VT-03
COUNTERTOP
R 1/4"
JimPowers
4227 Colfax Ave. #F
Studio City, CA 91604
2"
35-50 Wine 323.447.7117
Collective j3000@me.com
1/2"
R 1/4"
PT-10
PAINT
w w w.jpid.tumblr.com
PL-02
PLASTIC LAMINATE
1 1/2"
©jpid 2011

3. The Metropolitan Hotel
Address: 818 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Client: Jeff Stober, Drake Hotel Inc.
Area & Type: 21,000 Square Feet. Hotel & Art Space
A new downtown hotel emerges from the stripped down shell of a former savings and
loan designed by architect Stiles O. Clements in 1948. The Metropolitan Hotel is a mash-up
between the micro-hotel trend and the Arts-Hotel concept refined by Jeff Stober at the Drake
Hotel in Toronto. Focused on quality over quantity, The Metropolitan Hotel provides their
guests with a unique perspective on the city. With its intimate scale, restaurant, roof top bar,
gallery and performance space, the Metropolitan Hotel provides a platform for guests and
natives alike to mix in a hip urban environment.
Key Challenges:
• Maximizing room numbers vs. Odd layout and bay spacing.
• Lack of Natural Light in 50% of building.
• Creating a modern Point-of-View vs. Restoring Original 1948 Exterior.

6. Summer Solar Elevation — 77˚
2'-6 1/4"
5B
ID-700
VT-03
COUNTERTOP
HD-01 PT-10
HARDWARE PAINT Winter Solar Elevation — 32˚
MS-15
WIRE GROMMET
HD-02 DRAWER GLIDES
HARDWARE
PL-02 SHELF PINS
PLASTIC LAMINATE
Roof Bar
5A
MD-01 ID-700
TERRAZZO BASE
TERRAZZO BASE
Å Reception Desk Section Guest Rooms & Gym
4D 4A
ID-700 ID-700
HD-01 MS-02 Guest Rooms & Business Center
HARDWARE OUTLET COVER PLATE
PT-10 HD-02 MD-01
PAINT HARDWARE TERRAZZO MOULDING
VT-03
8"
COUNTERTOP Guest Rooms & Lounge
6"
2"
6"
OPEN SPACE
FOR
3'-6"
PRINTER
Back of House
2'-10"
1'-10"
Lobby & Restaurant
4"
4"
EQ. 1'-10" EQ.
Ç Reception Desk Section Performance Space

7. FLOOR TO CEILING WINDOWS PRIVACY DRAPERY
CUSTOM DESK SOFA/BUNK BEDS GLASS BATHROOM
COLUMN ART ARMOIRE & STORAGE ART
TV AND MEDIA
MICRO-ROOM CONCEPT

9. 1'-
6"
1'-0"
1'-6"
10'-6"
9'-0"
2'-0"

11. KITCHEN GARDEN
POND TO PARKING LOT
Amigos de los Rios Headquarters BIO-SWALE PECK ROAD WATER CONSERVATION PARK
5401 N. PECK ROAD
Address: 5401 Peck Park Rd. ARCADIA, CA 91006
Arcadia, CA 91006
Client: Amigos de los Rios
Area & Type: 2500 Square Feet. Office, Restaurant & Community Center PECK PARK CENTER
Amigos de los Rios is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to revitalize the blighted San
Gabriel river system. The site, an abandoned gravel quarry turned lake, was chosen because
it serves low-income and under-served areas of El Monte with the hope of reconnecting the RESTORED HABITAT
community to the river. The design creates a headquarters for the organization, a community BICYCLE PATH
center and an urban oasis for the community, while maintaining a small footprint on the land
and taking advantage of all possible green design elements.
Key Challenges:
• Minimum building Footprint vs. Large Program.
• Low Budget vs. Large Program.
• Providing a connection between the organization and the community while maintaining
privacy and security.
PECK PARK CENTER
SITE PLAN - CLOSE UP
N

12. PATIO
CAFE
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
WORKSPACE
KITCHEN
ENTRY
STORAGE
EXT. STORAGE
PUBLIC RESTROOMS

15. Peck Park Center - Green Systems and Materials
JULY S
OLAR
Solar panels turn sunlight into
ELEVA
electricity, providing 50% of
the power to the building. A reflective roof bounces heat away,
TION
making the building cooler.
77˚
The green roof over the cafe provides insulation, helps
trap storm water and provides habitat for the ecosystem.
Prevailing breeze from
the South & SSW
J
DE
CE
MB
ER C G
E
SO
H
LA
RE
D
LE
VA
TIO
N3
2˚
A I K
F
B
A. The rising warm air inside the building draws D. Dual-paned windows with a low-e coating G. Rising warm air creates a stack effect drawing J. Native trees shade the building from the
cool air in from outside through the process of reduce solar gain and provide ample daylight, cool air into the building via the lower windows intense late-day western sun and provide habitat
convection. reducing the need for electric light. as warm air is exhausted through the skylights. for the local ecosystem.
B. The concrete floor is a thermal mass, E. Interior walls are covered in ECOrock which H. The building exterior is clad in recycled steel K. The cafe is constructed from recycled shipping
absorbing the sun’s heat and releasing it into the uses 80% less energy to manufacture than and “Hardieboard,” a locally produced cement containers. Repurposed containers are cheap
building as the air temperature drops. conventional drywall and is made from 80% fiber board made from recycled materials. and plentiful in ports across the world.
C. The roof overhang prevents the intense F. The walls are rated R-13 insulated with I. All gray water is diverted and used for L. (Not Pictured) Greenwalls protect the building
summer sun from entering the building but recycled cotton fiber which is formaldehyde free. landscape irrigation. All restrooms are outfitted from excessive sunlight and provide habitat and
allows the winter sun in to heat the building. with low-flow toilets and waterless urinals. pollution control.

18. 35-50
Address: 103 South Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Client: 35-50 Wine Collective
Area & Type: 5000 Square Feet. Retail, Office & Event Space
35-50 is a wine collective named for the prime wine growing latitudes. They focus on
marketing wine to the hospitality industry, as well as directly to the public. The space is
organized around a central courtyard and includes a retail wine tasting room, indoor and
outdoor event spaces, catering kitchen and an office space.
Key Challenges
• Create a space with the spirit of a vineyard within an urban environment.
• Integrate the three functions of the space while maintaining individuality and privacy.
• Provide a scaled environment that can be intimate for a party of four as well as
accommodating large functions.

19. 2'-0" 1'-10 1/2" 2'-0" SPILL RAIL
1/16" EASED EDGE
CAESARSTONE - "BLIZZARD"
2"
EQ. EQ.
FRP
8"
REVIEW KITCHEN
8"
SOLID OAK WITH CONSULTANT DRAWINGS
OIL FINISH FOR PRODUCT
INFORMATION, DIMENSIONS
AND SPECIFICATIONS.
2'-0"
COR-TEN AZP STEEL WITH RAW FINISH
OAK VENEER
PLYWOOD WITH
11'-0"
OIL FINISH.
1'-10"
3'-6"
10'-0"
CONSULT ARCHITECTURAL
DRAWINGS FOR WALL STRUCTURAL
DETAILS, REQUIREMENTS AND
SPECIFICATIONS.
8
ID-704
1'-8"
SOLID OAK WITH
OIL FINISH
10"
OPAQUE LAMINATED GLASS.
CONSULT ID-703 #5 FOR GLASS
JOINT DETAILS.
2'-0"
8"
7
ID-712
TASTING ROOM
UP
DW
KITCHEN BARREL ROOM
MEN'S WOMEN'S
DW
UP
R
STORAGE

22. COURTYARD HANGAR DOOR SCHEMATIC
10'
8'-6"
10'
8'-6"
OPEN
OPEN
CLOSED OPEN
CLOSED OPEN
OPEN
10'
8'-6"
OPEN
CLOSED OPEN
CLOSED
10'
8'-6"

23. P 05
1 1/2"
P 03
P 06
L-201
4 3/4"
P 03
1'-3 3/4"
WD 01
P 04
CT 01 C
GT 02 L
ST 08
1/2"
ST 08
K-402
P 05
B 02
P 04 P 06
HW 03 HW 01 AP-202
HW 02 AP-203
4'-6 1/2"
C
L
COURTYARD
6"
BELOW 1'-6 3/4"
7
1'-6"
ID-704
1 1/2"
4
ID-711
OFFICE
2'-6 1/2"
3'-0"
KITCHEN
R
WOMEN'S
4"
4"
10
ID-713
2'-6"
MEN'S

26. Jim Powers is an interior designer, blogger and practical environmentalist. However, he could also easily
be called an travel fanatic, mediocre at video games and amateur chef. Further still, he is an activist for
the left-handed, has a broad and random knowledge of trivia and is lactose intolerant. A native of Los
Angeles, Powers’ home was a perpetual construction site. As toddlers go, he was an excellent design
assistant and carpenter, however his true love was movies. His love for movies brought him to New
York University where he graduated from the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. Upon graduation he
helped start a major independent film production company and worked on Academy Award winning
films, as well as some pretty awful ones. However, he found himself drawn back into design. It began as
an excuse to design himself a desk to write a screenplay on and quickly evolved into hours spent each
day reorganizing spaces, redesigning the kitchen, building furniture and designing a garden. Design
became the creative outlet that film was not, clients became characters and their design problems
became opportunities to evoke a mood and improve their lives. A graduate of the UCLA Extension
Architecture and Interior Design Program, Powers enjoys solving problems whether on the back of a
napkin or with cutting edge technology. He’s a LEED AP ID+C, savvy in autocad, revit and archicad, as well
as hand drafting. His blog, “Not to Scale,” at www.jpid.tumblr.com focuses on design, the environment
and the process of creation.