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    BIG opens Los Angeles office in renovated 1920s building

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    Danish architecture studio BIG has opened an office in Santa Monica in a renovated 1928 Spanish revival building designed by iconic Los Angeles architect Paul R Williams.

    The 1928 building was refurbished by the team, many of whom will be joining the freshly minted BIG Los Angeles team – recruited both from the New York office and from the local “talent pool”.
    BIG has opened an office in a 1928 Paul R Williams building in Santa MonicaBIG, the architecture studio established by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, will be anchored in the Californian city by partner Leon Rost.
    For the renovation, the studio kept many of the original Spanish revival details of the original structure including the expressive reliefs on the facade.
    Some of the plaster detailing was kept, but the office largely has an unfinished lookSome of the interior plasterwork was maintained as well. The primary second-floor workspace was opened up, and much of the walls were peeled back to reveal the wooden structure and enhanced mechanical system.

    Unfinished concrete columns are located in th middle of the space, with thick wooden rafters intersected by skylights.
    The office layout is open, with large spanning desks and folded Roulade chairs by KiBiSi, which Ingels is also a partner of.
    The office will help expand the studio’s West Coast presenceAccording to Rost, the studio plans to continue to update the space with samples of technology such as solar panels from the studio’s local projects, many of which are in late states. These projects include Claremont McKenna College Robert Day Sciences Center.
    “We’ve also designed an interior layout that preserves the original interior plasterwork from 1928 and intentionally chose a location that is close to public transport,” Rost told Dezeen.
    “As a Japanese Californian I am excited to root BIG on the Pacific Coast. In the city of storytelling, big dreams and a pioneer spirit, I am certain LA will be a fertile frontier for continued experimentation. You could say BIG – though born in Copenhagen – has always been an Angeleno at heart.”

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    The office is the studio’s second in the United States, after its New York office opened in 2010.
    The studio has a significant presence on the West Coast, and is currently in the process of completing a large mix-used development on an industrial site in Downtown Los Angeles and is working with British studio Heatherwick on a Google headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area.
    The studio will be under the direction of partner Leon RostBIG New York partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann told Dezeen that the move has come from the “considerable” amount of West Coast work the studio has had since opening in the United States.
    “Having also once called Los Angeles home – I attended UCLA in the 1990s – I am super excited to bring ‘Scand-American’ thinking to our future work within the Pacific Rim region,” said Bergmann.
    Other significant projects on the West Coast by BIG include the impressively massed Vancouver House skyscraper in Vancouver, Canada.
    The photography is by Pooya AleDavood.  

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      Fettle returns The Georgian hotel in Santa Monica to its 1930s “glory”

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      Design studio Fettle has restored an art deco hotel in Santa Monica, California, refreshing its distinctive turquoise facade and using the original style to inform the interiors.

      Facing Ocean Avenue and the water beyond, The Georgian hotel was originally built in 1933 to serve tourists visiting the beachside city west of Los Angeles.
      Restoring The Georgian hotel involved refreshing its turquoise facadeThe eight-storey building was recently acquired by BLVD Hospitality, which tasked London and Los Angeles-based Fettle with bringing it back to life while embracing its heritage.
      “The brief for The Georgian was very simple: to restore the building to her former and deserved glory,” said the studio’s co-founder and creative director Tom Parker.
      The dining terrace facing Ocean Avenue is surrounded by foliage”Not necessarily by going back in time, but more so by understanding how an art deco building right on the shoreline in Santa Monica would look and feel in a modern hospitality landscape,” he added.

      Under the navy-striped awnings on either side of the entrance, the shaded dining terrace is surrounded by foliage designed and procured by LA nursery Rolling Greens.
      The design of the Sunset Bar was intended to exaggerate the symmetry of the architectural detailsScalloped-back banquettes set the tone for a motif repeated throughout the interiors, including above the red key box in the lobby and for dramatic custom headboards in the guest rooms.
      In the lobby, the high ceilings are accented by deco-style chandeliers and original reliefs, and the floor is geometrically patterned to reference the designs of the 1930s.
      The dining room features mismatched custom lounge furnitureTo one side is the Sunset Bar, where a horseshoe-shaped counter of Italian emerald quartzite is strategically placed to highlight the symmetry of the arches overhead.
      The dining room is located on the other side of the lobby, and features mismatched custom lounge furniture among weekly installations by French floral artist Jean Pascal.
      Scalloped details are found throughout the hotel, including atop the red key box behind the reception deskTucked behind the reception area, past a spiral staircase and through a door, is Gallery 33 – an art gallery that also hosts private events.
      “This dramatic space has been designed to celebrate the best of culture, the arts and the most unique of gatherings as well as showcase the work of local, internationally renowned and up-and-coming artists through an evolving program throughout the year,” said The Georgian team.
      The Writer’s Room offers a private dining area for intimate gatheringsNext door is a red-walled library stocked with books curated by Lee Kaplan of Culver City’s Arcana: Books on the Arts, while the nearby Writer’s Room offers a private dining space for up to 20 guests.
      The Georgian has 56 classic rooms and 28 one-bedroom suites, all of which have art deco-influenced interiors.

      Kelly Wearstler designs relaxed and beachy Santa Monica Proper hotel

      Pale blue window valance boxes, globe-shaped crystal light fixtures and vintage-style record players are all included.
      Bedroom doors, cornices, window frames and bathroom tiles all match the bright hue of the building’s facade.
      All of The Georgian’s guest rooms have art deco-influenced interiorsOn the exterior above the entrance, Fettle also added a new brass framed neon sign based on the hotel’s 1930s original, tying together a celebratory restoration.
      “The end result presents a gleaming celebration of the building’s rich history with sensitive yet striking design elements,” Parker said.
      Window valances and globe-shaped chandeliers are among the guest rooms design featuresEnjoying the best of California’s beach culture and warm weather, Santa Monica is a popular destination for visitors travelling over from LA, as well as in its own right.
      Other accommodation options in the city include the Santa Monica Proper, designed by Kelly Wearstler with a relaxed feel and eclectic furniture, while a mixed-use development by Frank Gehry that’s currently underway will also include a hotel.
      A new brass framed neon sign based on the hotel’s 1930s original was also addedFettle’s portfolio of hospitality projects spans both sides of the Atlantic, with the 1 Warwick members’ club in London and the Schwan Locke Hotel in Munich among recently completed examples.
      The studio has also completed the public areas for several branches of the hotel chain The Hoxton, including the locations in Rome and Portland, Oregon.
      The photography is by Douglas Friedman.

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      Rapt Studio fashions soothing interiors for Goop HQ in Santa Monica

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      Design agency Rapt Studio has used curved furnishings and soft colours to create a calming ambience inside the Santa Monica headquarters of lifestyle and wellness brand Goop.The two-floor HQ measures 55,000 square feet (5,109 square metres) and provides a unified workspace for Goop, which was founded by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Prior to this team members had been scattered between different buildings.

      The lobby of Goop’s Santa Monica headquarters
      “We designed their new, light-filled headquarters in Santa Monica to preserve the buzz they’d maintained in close quarters, while giving big ideas room to roam,” explained Rapt Studio.

      “[Staff] needed a place to concentrate their energy and efforts to propel the brand into its next phase of development.”

      A corner of the lobby is dominated by a sculptural metal desk
      Employees enter the head office via a spacious lobby. One corner of the room is dominated by a custom-made desk made by Los Angeles-based studio Artcrafters.
      The desk comprises four bulky metal blocks which are meant to mimic the rounded shape of the letters that feature in Goop’s company logo.

      The headquarters includes a kitchen where staff can test recipes
      Curved forms go on to feature in the adjacent waiting area where a pink, crescent-shaped sofa and bench seat perch on a woven circular rug. An oversized white pendant light is suspended overhead, while behind stands a golden wire-frame screen.
      The lobby leads through to a sequence of work areas – this includes a lab for developing new products, a podcast-recording studio and a fashion workshop where designs for Goop’s clothing line, G Label, will be drawn up.

      There is also a product showroom on-site
      A test kitchen finished with jet-black joinery offers a spot for staff to experiment with recipes and film cooking tutorials for Goop’s YouTube channel.
      There is also a small showroom on-site. At its centre is a chunky stone-topped counter inbuilt with a sink where the beauty and skincare products on display can be trialled out.

      Goop staff work around bespoke desks
      Staff have been given bespoke workstations. For formal meetings they can head to one of the conference rooms, which are decorated with past and present examples of Goop merchandise.

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      Expansive floor-to-ceiling panels of glazing flood spaces throughout the HQ in natural light.
      This is seen best in what employees refer to as the “All Hands” area, which boasts views of the palm tree-lined LA skyline.

      Conference rooms are decorated with framed Goop merchandise
      The room is used for casual catch-ups or large-scale staff gatherings. It includes a light-hued timber kitchen and a trio of arched niches that accommodate tan-leather seating banquettes.
      There are also a couple of grey modular sofas that can be rearranged to suit different-sized workgroups.

      Light-hued timber lines the staff kitchen
      “The intent of the material palette was to evoke a sense of calming familiarity,” said Rapt Studio’s president and creative director, Sam Farhang.
      “Natural, warm materials and soft tones create a welcoming environment, allowing the Goop team to feel at home within the space,” he told Dezeen.

      This light-filled room can be used for informal meetings
      Tapping into Goop’s wellness-focused ethos, Rapt Studio also made sure to incorporate a yoga room and a number of secluded lounge spots and private booths for staff.
      “These spaces – cocooned and concealed – are designed for reflecting, replenishing, and recharging,” added the studio.

      It features arched niches with tan-leather seating banquettes
      Goop was launched by Paltrow in 2008, starting life as a weekly newsletter before growing into a brand that offers wellness, beauty and style advice.
      Its trendy HQ is one of several that Rapt Studio has designed – back in 2017 it completed head offices for streetwear brand Vans, including meeting rooms lined with skateboards and huge graffiti wall murals.
      In 2014 it also created headquarters for e-ticketing company Eventbrite, which has break-out areas with stadium-style seating.
      Photography is by Madeline Tolle.

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      Kelly Wearstler's “fiercely local” Santa Monica Proper Hotel named AHEAD Americas Hotel of the Year

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      American designer Kelly Wearstler describes how she worked with local artisans and artists on the Santa Monica Proper Hotel in this video produced by Dezeen for the AHEAD Awards.Wearstler is the designer of Santa Monica Proper Hotel, a 271-room boutique hotel seven blocks away from the beach in Santa Monica, California.

      American interior designer Kelly Wearstler designed the Santa Monica Proper Hotel
      The project was named Hotel of the Year at the 2020 AHEAD Americas hospitality awards, as well as winner of the Guestrooms and Lobby & Public Spaces categories.

      The Californian interior designer, who has appeared as a judge on the Bravo reality show Top Design and designed homes for celebrities including Cameron Diaz and Gwen Stefani, described the hotel as “fiercely local” in an exclusive interview filmed by Dezeen.

      Santa Monica Proper Hotel was named Hotel of the Year at the AHEAD Americas awards 2020
      “We wanted to design a hotel where it felt like you’re in Santa Monica,” she said. “The inspiration came from everything that surrounds the hotel, the palm trees, the organic nature of the architecture, everything that you would find at the beach.”
      Natural and heavily textured materials, neutral colours and vintage furniture are used throughout the hotel to create a sensory experience that references Santa Monica’s beachside identity.

      Kelly Wearstler designs relaxed and beachy Santa Monica Proper hotel

      “There is a connection of materiality that speaks to the location” said Wearstler. “Organic materials, neutral colour stories, everything has a texture.”
      “There’s a patina, there’s a hand, there’s something that feels very warm.”

      The hotel also won in the Guestrooms and Lobby & Public Spaces categories
      Santa Monica Proper Hotel is filled with artworks and furniture pieces created specifically for the property by local artists and artisans.
      “Everything’s connected to somebody that is local in the city,” Wearstler said. “We’re so lucky to be in Los Angeles, the talent pool here is extraordinary.”

      The site comprises an historic 1920s building and a new curvilinear extension
      The site consists of the 1920s Santa Monica Professional Building, to which an extension by local firm Howard Laks Architects was added.
      “There’s an historic building that was built in 1928, in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, and then there’s a new contemporary building,” explained Wearstler. “We had to connect these two buildings with one voice.”

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      “The atmosphere is something that’s just very relaxed,” the designer asserted. “When you come to California, it’s just super relaxed and it’s friendly, and there is a sense of style – it’s just cool. We can connect you to that coming to Santa Monica Proper.”
      The hotel is the latest in the Proper brand, which was founded by Wearstler’s developer husband Brad Korzen alongside hotelier Brian De Lowe, following the San Francisco Proper which Wearstler also designed.

      Wearstler collaborated with local artists and artisans to furnish Santa Monica Proper Hotel
      Previous hospitality collaborations from Wearstler and Korzen include the Tides hotel in South Beach, Florida, the Avalon and Maison 140 hotels in Beverly Hills, and hotels for the Viceroy brand in Miami, Palm Springs and Santa Monica.
      This year’s AHEAD Americas awards were shown in a video ceremony as part of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival after the event was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Previous winners of the Hotel of the Year award include the opulent Siren Hotel in Detroit and the Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa, a renovated motel in California.

      Natural materials and neutral colours reference the hotel’s beachside location
      This video was produced by Dezeen for AHEAD. Photography is by The Ingalls and Matthieu Salvaing.

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      Commune designs gluten-free BreadBlok bakery in California with creamy interiors

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      Los Angeles studio Commune has used plaster walls, wood built-ins and terracotta tile floors to create a rustic feel inside this bakery in Santa Monica. BreadBlok is a bakery founded by Chloé Charlier that only serves up gluten-free products. Commune designed the project with a combination of limestone, plaster, wood and terracotta. The materials are intended […] More

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      Kelly Wearstler designs relaxed and beachy Santa Monica Proper hotel

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      American interior designer Kelly Wearstler scoured vintage shops to source the eclectic furniture that decorates the living room-style lobby of this hotel in Santa Monica, California. Santa Monica Proper occupies the 1920s Santa Monica Professional Building and a curvilinear extension designed by local firm Howard Laks Architects. Located on Wilshire Boulevard in the coastal Californian […] More