A BOLD NEW COMMUNITY

1ST DRAFT

2ND DRAFT

PRESS KIT01 / 10 / 2O11

Rendering by Squared Design Lab, LLC

THE FUTURE OF21st CENTURYARCHITECTURE

AND URBAN LIVINGIN THE SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA DESERT

DEVELOPER:BOOM COMMUNITIES, INC.

DESIGN COORDINATOR: HOLLWICH KUSHNER ARCHITECTS / NEW YORK

Media Contact: MATTHIAS HOLLWICH / Principal / BOOM Communities Inc. media@boomforlife.com / WWW.BOOMFORLIFE.COM

PG. 5 / INTRO

PG. 7 / TOMORROW

PG.12 / NOW

PG.14 / the past

PG.15 / architecture team

PG.18 / media contact

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

A master-planned community in the spectacular desert of Southern California, BOOM changes America’s idea of twenty-FIrst century urban life. Pedestrian-oriented, culture-driven, designed to inspire residents to better themselves and others, BOOM radically alters how we think about home, community and wellness.

BOOM / FIRST LOOK PG / 5

Conceived for the gay community but expanded to embrace everyone, BOOM, located in the Palm Springs area, begins its first phase of construction in late-2012. This phase includes BOOM’s residential neighborhoods, an entertainment complex, a boutique hotel and a wellness center. The completion date is late 2014. With its distinct mini-neighborhoods of high-design condominiums and homes, each the brainchild of a different architect, BOOM will include 300 residences in Phase 1. It will extend to over 700 residences by the end of Phase 2.

Plazas and pathways connect all homes to an entertainment complex, with restaurants and stores, a boutique hotel, a gym + spa, along with state-of-the-art wellness facilities. Each is designed by one of the participating architects.

Coordinating the design and development of the project is Matthias Hollwich, a principal of BOOM Communities, Inc. and partner at HOLLWICH KUSHNER ARCHITECTS in New York. Hollwich is also the co-founder of ‘Architizer’, a website where architects and architecture enthusiasts can post and connect.

At a projected cost of over $250 million, BOOM is being developed by BOOM Communities, Inc., which together with its affiliate entities, is a third-generation, family owned real estate investment and development company based in Los Angeles. Formed in 1959, its prior residential projects include Liberty Heights, in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Lincolnwood Place in Lincolnwood, Illinois.

To create this new vision for living, developer boom Communities, Inc., formed a team of both renowned and emerging architects. These ten international architects will design all buildings as well as landscape the 100+ acre site.

BOOM / FIRST LOOK PG / 6

Rendering by Squared Design Lab, LLC

“BOOM is about living, not

retiring—about inclusion, not

seclusion.”

Matthias Hollwich PRINCIPAL,

BOOM COMMUNITIES INC.

Bordered by the desert, and

showcasing newly created

natural landscapes throughout,

the fIrst phase has eight

distinct housing neighborhoods,

each designed by a different

architect. Each architect set

out to design an environment

promoting both privacy and

social interaction and did so

in their own unique way.

BOOM / BOOM TOMORROW PG / 7

DILLER SCOFIDiO + RENFRo

BOOM: TOMORROW

BOOM / BOOM TOMORROW PG / 8

RUDIN DONNER

JOEL SANDERS ARCHITECT

In his plan, the Berlin-based architect, Juergen Mayer envisions a series of highly-sculpted, one and two-story town homes with large patios and communally-accessible gardens. Rudin Donner incorporates a narrow sidewalk, reminiscent of Mykonos, throughout their neighborhood that not only encourages foot traffic but offers greater opportunities to socialize.

Charles Renfro, of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, designed their housing units to be part of a continuous, pre-cast concrete wave. Each two-story unit fits under one wave which peaks at the home’s highest point and the troughs become entry points for the garden. Giuseppe Lignano, of LOT-EK, has envisioned loft

style residences which resemble stacked, slanted boxes - their inspiration were the rock formations that jut out from the desert. Joel Sanders, places a highly-landscaped common ‘desert wash’ through the center of his residential neighborhood, again with the idea that common space inspires congregation. His homes incorporate dramatic views along with shading devices that are inspired by well-known artists from India.

lot-ekj Mayer H

Lior Tsionov of L2 Tsionov-Vitkon, a Tel Aviv based firm, designed their homes to resemble sculpted rocks with terraced roof gardens as found in the deserts in Israel. Sadar + Vuga’s, Bostjan Vuga, from Slovenia, designed his residences to resemble flower petals that diffuse the desert sun and maintain shade for the outdoor areas. Hollwich Kushner’s donut shaped condominium design has a running track on the roof to encourage exercise and a canyon in the center for group get-togethers.

Since BOOM sits in a mostly flat, desert landscape, the designers decided to highlight, even exaggerate, this condition by incorporating such typical features of this native terrain as a huge central landscaped berm as well as a flowering desert wash. Thanks to landscape architects, James Lord and Geoff Di Girolamo, of Surfacedesign, the result is an intimate environment that not only reminds one of the desert’s natural beauty but fosters interaction thanks to its myriad pathways and plazas. The site plan demonstrates how this new, pedestrian-oriented community functions.

BOOM / BOOM TOMORROW PG / 9

HOLLWICH KUSHNER

l2 tsionov-vitkon

sadar + vuga

surfacedesign / The Wash

j Mayer h / clubhouse & Gym + Spa

JOEL SANDERS ARCHITECT / boutique hotel pool area

BOOM / BOOM TOMORROW PG / 10

The housing complexes abut the outer boundaries and spread inwards. In the center, the site of some of the impressive landscaping - a giant dune for instance - are the two boutique hotel buildings from Sadar + Vuga and Joel Sanders Architect, the wellness center from HOLLWICH KUSHNER, an event center designed by LOT-EK, and an indoor-outdoor cafe conceived by Rudin Donner. There is also the “club house” designed by Juergen Mayer H as a meeting place for community and cultural activities as well as his two-story gym + spa which will include a health focused cafe. Close by is a children’s playground with a ‘Healing Fun House’, the brainchild of the avant-garde architects, Arakawa + Gins. This building is meant to challenge the minds and intellects of all ages. At the entrance of BOOM is Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s commercial and entertainment complex. It houses a rooftop disco bar, restaurants, nightclubs and boutique shops. On the other side of the interconnected community is the sports center which contains tennis, basketball and bocce ball courts.

BOOM’s architectural statements will not only inspire its own residents but make it a destination in the Coachella Valley and beyond: yet another way the BOOM community seeks to enrich itself as well as its neighbors.

HOLLWICH KUSHNER / wellness center

sadar + Vuga / boutique hotel

rudin donner / cafe

lot-ek / event center

arakawa + gins / healing funhouse

BOOM / BOOM TOMORROW PG / 11

surfacedesign / center range

surfacedesign / plaza

DILLER SCOFIDiO + RENFRo / rooftop mist disco + market

In the history of design, BOOM has few precedents. Many architects including those at the Bauhaus have contemplated utopian townships and communities but few have come to fruition. And none with the diversity of design intended for BOOM. In some ways this new compendium of design harks back to Philip Johnson’s Glass house complex in Connecticut where Johnson added 12 buildings - mostly homages to other contemporary architects such as Gehry, even the artist Frank Stella - to create a park where you could witness the trends in late Twentieth Century architecture. What differentiates BOOM of course is how it showcases what is cutting-edge in the early 21st Century. And what further sets it apart from other ambitious design projects currently under construction - the grand museum projects in Abu Dhabi and Qatar, for instance - is its desire to create a “highly livable community”: a functioning new urbanism in a desert setting which prior to BOOM was traditionally focused on “the resort”.

While BOOM takes great pride in its architectural achievement, it is about more than new design. BOOM is also about lifestyle and a sense of community. Residents who live at BOOM will have the opportunity to be active and involved in the many social and sports activities the community offers, as well as BOOM’s mentoring programs for the Desert communities. BOOM is forming a Private Foundation to fulfill these goals and its leadership committees will encourage residents to be as involved as they want to be in giving back to the community.

In January 2011, this website was launched. It is designed by the award-winning team at Bruce Mau Design in Toronto. Now, well BEFORE Actual construction, BOOM’s architects and developers get to easily collaborate with future residents and incorporate their ideas into the BOOM plan. The variations in the actual form of the residential neighborhoods, the scope of the social, health and FItness opportunities, as well as the hotel and restaurants, are merging with the design process.

THE COMMUNITYAT BOOM IS

TAKING SHAPE ATBOOMFORLIFE.COM

BOOM / BOOM NOW PG / 12

These ‘crowd sourcing’ efforts are helping to shape the programs and lifestyle for BOOM. So, when construction is completed, life at BOOM will be ready.

Since the BOOM community views its role and impact beyond the single location in greater Palm Springs, www.boomforlife.com is further designed to share everyone’s findings and experiences with people and communities around the world.

This use of a website is ground-breaking when it comes to a new architectural project. It demonstrates how social media can move participants from the virtual community to an actual social community. Obviously, it is a far cry from most property ventures, where people are invited to come and see homes that have already been built and whatever community development happens later, often as an after-thought.

That said, BOOM also has a major presence on the ground. To highlight this public face, plans from the design team will be featured in an exhibition at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, in New York City, early in 2011. This will be followed by similar shows in other major cities, all concluding with construction breaking ground in Palm Springs.

www.boomforlife.com is much more than a design tool. It is there to build community. Everyone GETS to know each other, and the real interests and make-up of BOOM become evident for all.

PG / 13BOOM / BOOM NOW

Rendering by Squared Design Lab, LLC

lincolnwood place

Liberty heights

liberty heights

LIBERTY HEIGHTS AT NORTHGATE

Overlooking Pike’s Peak, the 219 living units are terraced into the contours of the the steep hillside

to afford every unit majestic views of the Rocky Mountains. Community use areas are arranged in a multi-story central building arranged perpendicular to the hillside. The wings of living units tie into this “central spine” offering residents protected connection to the “nerve center” of the development. Web: http://www.senior-inet.com/co/cospgs/lbtyht.htm

Completion: 1992 Cost: $ 19,500,000 Project size: 160 I.L.U. 20 A.L.U., 45 SNF Beds

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

BOOM: THE PASTMatthias Hollwich first met Joshua Kaplan, of BOOM Commu-nities, Inc, in 2008 after an introduction by mutual friends and HOLLWICH KUSHNER was commissioned to design and renovate the Company’s New York apartment. It soon became clear that Hollwich’s design interests and Kaplan’s vision had much more in common. And it so happened that at the time, Kaplan was focusing on new concepts of housing for aging, this time in a mixed-use setting in different markets in the US, among them the Palm Springs area. With that the concept of BOOM came to life and BOOM Communities, Inc. was formed.

Drawing on experience in developing “affinity retirement communities” such as the one in Colorado Springs and another in Lincolnwood, Illinois, the Company is informed by the idea that such complexes should be located near a broader community that would naturally embrace it.

For instance, Colorado Springs is the home of the U.S. Air Force Academy and thus any retirement community built in the community should have former Air Force officers and their families as the resident base. So for Palm Springs the logical ‘anchor’ was the BOOM community.

But Hollwich impressed on the development team that the gay community would not be satisfied with the traditional design of say, the typical desert golf complex. This community had pioneered different ways of living together in their youth, and they would be determined to live only in a community whose design was in sync with a sophisticated, active lifestyle. The development team also had to foster the idea that residents would choose to transition to their more mature years in the same community.

To explore this and other new trends in “how to age in place”, Hollwich, a visiting Professor at the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Pennsylvania, subsequently convened “New Aging: International Conference of Aging and Architecture”. It was held at the University in October, 2010. BOOM Communities, Inc, through its affiliate entities, is a long-time supporter of PENN and was one of the major underwriters of the conference.More than 250 registrants heard papers on the future of architecture for the aging.

Using data from this conference, and incorporating additional input from the LGBT community, Hollwich realized that the design of BOOM would have to factor in a number of elements.

Members of the gay community, for instance, have a more sophisticated knowledge of design and thus they would more readily embrace the idea that architecture itself could be responsible for a better way of life. To fully realize this, Hollwich emphasized that multiple architects had to be chosen. As it turned out, the site was easily big enough to showcase a number of different ideas about housing and commercial design, and BOOM attracted ten firms from as far away as Tel Aviv, Berlin and Slovenia to lend their vision to the project.

The other factor that the developers and architects had to account for was how gays actually defined “community”. They soon discovered that any new community focused on LGBT residents needed to be multi-generational. Older members wanted to live near their more youthful counterparts. So, rather than focus on residents exclusively in the 55+ age bracket, BOOM’s scope was extended to appeal to residents of all ages, including children, since many younger LGBT members now have families.

In this way, BOOM imaginatively embraces the philosophy of ‘aging in place’, where the focus is on a rich and active life rather than on retirement and withdrawal. The natural liveliness that comes from a multi-generational community extends to an attitude of caring for all. Historically, the gay community has been on the forefront of helping each other in difficult times, and this will continue at BOOM. Thus, security is not just promised by having state-of-the-art wellness facilities but by residents knowing they are residing in an active community of caring.

BOOM / THE PAST PG / 14

BOOM / ARCHITECTURE TEAM PG / 15

HOLLWICH KUSHNER new york, ny www.hwkn.com

notable projects MINI Rooftop NYC (New York, NY) ANIMALation (New York, NY) – a hovering animated light feature for the largest underground party in New York City 980 5th Avenue (New York, NY) - apartment renovation cUrrent projects IBA 2010 (Dessau, Germany) - a master plan for Dessau commmissioned by the Bauhaus Il Laboratorio del Gelato (an ice cream factory) (New York, NY)

ARAKAWA + GINS new york, ny www.reversibledestiny.org

notable projects Reversible Destiny Lofts (Tokyo, Japan) – residence Bioscleave House (East Hampton, Long Island) Site of Reversible Destiny (Yoro, Japan) cUrrent projects Isle of Reversible Destiny, Venice Isle of Reversible Destiny, Fukuoka

DILLER SCOFIDIO + RENFRO new york, ny www.dsrny.com

notable projects The High Line (New York, NY) – elevated park

Alice Tully Hall (New York, NY) Blur Building (Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland) Swiss Expo pavilion cUrrent projects Bubble: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC) – museum expansion Museum of Image & Sound (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

L2 TSIONOV-VITKON tel-aviv, israel www.tsionov-vitkon.com

notable projects Pluto Recording Studios (Tel Aviv, Israel) Kishurit Creativity Center (Western Galilee, Israel) Ohad Naharin Recording Studio (Klil, Israel)

cUrrent projects Umm El-Fahm Art Museum (Umm El-Fahm, Israel) Eilat City Hall (Eilat, Israel)

J MAYER H ARCHITECTS berlin, germany www.jmayerh.de

notable projects Dupli.Casa (Villa near Ludwigsburg, Germany) ADA 1(Hamburg, Germany) – office complex Danfoss Universe (Nordborg, Denmark)

cUrrent projects Metropol Parasol (Sevilla, Spain) Redevelopment of Plaza de la Encarnacion to become the new contemporary urban centre

Court of Justice (Hasselt, Belgium)

JOEL SANDERS ARCHITECT new york, ny www.joelsandersarchitect.com

notable projects Seongbukdong Residence (Seoul, South Korea) 12 sustainable houses

Broadway Penthouse (New York, NY) Loft renovation House on Mt. Merino (Hudson, NY) Private residence

cUrrent projects Student Study Lounge at Franklin Field, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) Princeton University Julian Street Library Renovation (Princeton, NJ)

BOOM / ARCHITECTURE TEAM PG / 16

SADAR + VUGA ljubljana, slovenia www.sadarvuga.com

notable projects Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Apartment House Gradaska (Ljubljana, Slovenia) Intra Studio (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

cUrrent projects Sports Park Stozice (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Air Traffic Control Centre (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

BOOM / ARCHITECTURE TEAM PG / 17

LOT-EK naples, italy & new york, ny www.lot-ek.com

notable projects Puma City (Mobile Architecture) A transportable retail and event building Sanlitun North (Beijing, China) New mixed use development organized around a central piazza in one of Beijing’s busiest neighborhoods Sanlitun South (Beijing, China) – new retail complex

cUrrent projects Pier 57 (New York City, NY) a transformative design for the pre-existing industrial building Olympia Kwartier (Almere, Netherlands) two residential buildings

RUDIN DONNER DESIGN west hollywood, ca notable projects Frackman Residence (Brentwood, CA) Albert Residence (Hollywood Hills, CA) Dowad Residence (Beverly Hills, CA)

cUrrent projects West Coast branch of National Museum of the Marine Corps (Beverly Hills, CA) Live/Work Loft Spaces (Venice, CA)

BOOM Communities, Inc. and its affiliate entities (“The Company”) are a private company headquartered in Los Angeles with ownership interests in 17 states spanning healthcare, commercial, industrial and residential sectors. The Company has developed numerous retirement facil-ities, including a community for retired military officers in Colorado Springs, CO near the United States Air Force Academy, and a community for Jewish retirees, including many Holocaust survivors, in suburban Chicago, IL. The company supports research and charitable projects, including endowment of a conference series and research project studying design for aging at the University of Pennsylvania; after-school programs in public schools; university scholarships for worthwhile students and other similar causes. BOOM Communities, Inc. will extend its charitable commitments to cultural and educational activities at BOOM.

BOOM / ARCHITECTURE TEAM / DEVELOPMENT TEAM / MEDIA CONTACT PG / 18

BOOM COMMUNITIES INC. los angeles, ca / new york, ny

All media, please contact / Matthias Hollwich, Principal / BOOM Communities Inc. / media@boomforlife.com

MEDIAINQUIRIES

SURFACEDESIGN, INC. san francisco, ca www.sdisf.com

notable projects Museum of Steel (Monterrey, Mexico)

Auckland International Airport (Auckland, New Zealand) Golden Gate Bridge Visitor Plaza (San Francisco, CA)

cUrrent projects Levi Strauss Corporate Headquarters (San Francisco, CA)

Seoul Station Plaza, (Seoul, Korea)