Cherokee Studios by John Linden, courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa

The most prominent feature of Cherokee Studios, the housing project designed by Brooks + Scarpa for a busy street front location in Los Angeles, is its adjustable aluminum screen exterior. The increased ventilation and sunlight afforded by the use of these screens is said to make the building 50% more efficient than conventional structures otherwise similar in design. Completed in April 2010, the Hollywood building contains office, retail, and residential loft units. It was built on the site of the famed recording studio of the same name and of MGM Studios before it, a location visited by a long list of music legends, including Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra. Now the building on this lot is a star in its own right.