Japanese American Cultural & Community Center

Los Angeles, CA

Founded in Little Tokyo in 1972, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) serves as a vital cultural hub to downtown Los Angeles, welcoming over 93,000 visitors annually to a diverse slate of visual, cultural, and performing arts programs. The campus is anchored by Isamu Noguchi Plaza, named for and featuring public artworks by Noguchi, a Los Angeles-born sculptor and designer renowned for his innovative integration of sculpture and landscape architecture. The award-winning James Irvine Japanese Garden complements the site, embodying centuries-old cultural reverence for the environment. These outdoor sites frame JACCC’s Center Building, which houses the George J. Doizaki Gallery—a site for regular exhibitions dedicated to Japanese anime, ceramics, calligraphy, and graphic art, alongside the Kosaka Center for Art and Crafts, the only venue in Los Angeles offering multi-generational instruction in Japanese calligraphy, flower arranging, tea ceremony, and more.

Supported by a 2025 FCI Scoping Grant, JACCC will undertake a comprehensive energy master plan to assess its aging campus infrastructure and identify opportunities to reduce energy use and fossil fuel dependency while preserving mission-critical spaces that nurture Japanese and Japanese American visual arts and culture. This forward-looking strategy reflects a holistic commitment to sustaining community vibrancy by linking heritage and environment through long-term energy planning. The master plan will guide prioritized, phased facility upgrades designed to lower environmental impact, support operational sustainability, and ensure the continued vitality of JACCC’s programs and spaces amid a rapidly evolving urban context.

Milestones

• Develop a phased energy master plan assessing infrastructure and use patterns

• Identify energy reduction and fossil fuel dependency strategies by as much as 30 percent

• Prioritize facility upgrades that safeguard mission-critical cultural spaces

• Implement measures to enhance operational sustainability and environmental stewardship

• Engage community stakeholders in planning and educational outreach

• Establish a framework for ongoing climate impact monitoring and improvement