Santa Monica City Hall

Angel City Lumber partnered with the City of Santa Monica to utilize locally sourced Incense-Cedar, Deodar Cedar, and Melaleuca lumber for City Hall East—the world’s first municipal building to achieve Living Building Challenge certification. Our wood met the project’s strict health and proximity standards while contributing to a warm, tactile environment that reflects the values of one of the world’s most forward-thinking civic spaces.

A globally inspiring facility, Santa Monica City Hall East is quite possibly the most sustainable municipal building in the world. This high-profile project has been years in the making and created waves in the Green Building community for pushing the envelope, setting new standards, and legitimizing “fringe” green technologies in the first municipal Living Building Challenge (LBC) certified building in the world. The city of Santa Monica had to address and change their own building codes just to make this building possible. It converts rainwater to potable drinking water, treats all its own waste onsite (sewage and otherwise), produces its own electricity, and sources as many healthy materials within a 100-mile proximity.

A native to the inland forests of California, the Incense-Cedar is commonly seen at elevations of 2,000 - 9,000 ft. As John Muir describes, “In its prime, the whole tree is thatched with (beautiful fern-like plums), so they shed off rain and snow like a roof, making fine mansions for storm-bound birds and mountaineers.” Indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada used the tree’s durable, fibrous bark to make huts called “oochums”, weave bark fiber for basketry, and turned the wood into hunting bows.

Incense-Cedar is appropriately named for this tree, whose heartwood is used for fragrant cedar chests. When milled, the heartwood gives off an aromatic smell, bringing you back to sharpening pencils at school. Most pencils you see today are made from this tree, as it sharpens easily without splintering. The wood is soft, lightweight, and rot-resistant, making it great for exterior house siding or interior paneling.

Another tree endemic to Australia but does well in Southern California is the Melaleuca or Paperbark tree. On the east coast of Australia, this tree grows along estuary margins and enjoys swampy and silty soil. It is widely used by indigenous Australians as a brew made from the bruised young aromatic leaves to treat colds, headaches, and general sickness. The paper-like bark is used traditionally for carrying vessels, shelter, wrapping baked food, and lining ground ovens. These trees' bark is spongy to the touch but yields hard, tight grain and excellent lumber that can be used for fencing and furniture.

The Deodar Cedar tree comes from the Western Himalayas. In Sanskrit, it is called “Devadaru,” which translates to “wood of the gods.” For centuries, Hindu scholars have paid homage to Shiva in the shade of Deodar forests in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Afghani and Tibetan spiritual leaders have also found refuge and inspiration there. These mystical trees are endemic to mountains at elevations ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 feet. Now, Deodars flourish throughout the elevated Santa Monica Mountain and San Gabriel Mountain ranges.

Deodar Cedar’s golden heartwood hue, natural clear-grain tendency, high resin content, and closed-tight grain excel in both exterior and interior applications. Since Angel City Lumber’s conception, Deodar Cedar has been a fan favorite.