Joy on York is the follow-up restaurant for the up-and-coming Vivian Ku of Pine & Crane at Sunset Junction. The restaurant was proposed in two adjoining Unreinforced Masonry Buildings (URM). In order to accommodate space for the kitchen and dining areas, removal of the URM center bearing wall was necessary. Due to the brittle and fragile nature of these buildings, any modifications trigger costly seismic upgrades. In order to limit the severity of the upgrades and expedite the review process, Nous Engineering clarified code requirements and worked with the Los Angeles Building Department to complete the project. New beams and structurally-efficient timber shear walls were strategically added.