Design Type:  Architecture - Commercial Tenant Improvement

Designer:  The LADG Design Team

Real estate agents occupy a unique position in consumer society that is neither product nor service: they are not exactly the product being sold, nor are they strictly providing a service that could be performed by any trained professional. In some sense, people shop for agents in the way they would shop for an expensive piece of jewelry, trying on several until they find a flattering piece that fits well. Having made the selection of an agent, however, consumers demand the expertise and efficiency that they would expect from any other financial services expert. As such, architecture for a real estate office should occupy a zone somewhere between the elaborately manicured scene of a Tiffany’s display window and the functional banality of a bank or insurance company office. The LADG’s design for the Downtown Los Angeles real estate company Loft Way positions the individual agent’s workstation in this zone: they are highly functional service spaces that tuck neatly into a groomed, aesthetically saturated environment. The wall panels are CNC-machined with a pattern that laces into the back of each custom-designed desk, suspending the furniture above the floor surface as a kind of structural wallpaper. At the lead broker’s desk, the paneling departs from the wall to enclose a semi-private office area, imitating in wood the draped form of the fabric that can be drawn to enclose the center conference area. Working both with the “soft” partitioning of the curtain fabric and the “hard” wrapper of the wall paneling, the design is able to define distinct spaces for each of the element’s in Loft-Way’s client brief, including a waiting area, five workstations, a semi-enclosed office, and a flexible conference area; all in a space less than 500 square feet in size. Light fixtures suspended throughout the space are a response to the client’s desire to use energy-efficient products whenever possible. They capitalize on the low operating temperatures of compact-fluorescent lights to nest bulbs directly against a series of laser-cut acrylic plates that diffuse, reflect, and adjust the color of the light. With the exception of the chairs and desk lamps, all of the furnishings and fixtures were designed by The LADG specifically for Loft Way. The LADG, LLC (Los Angeles Design Group) specializes in contemporary design at all scales. We have particular expertise in a materialist approach to design problems, exploiting the properties of ordinary building materials to create environments and objects that generate a specific sensory experience. Often, this approach utilizes advanced digital modeling software and machine fabrication to drive down costs and allow the emergence of rich textures, complex form, and refined detailing at the scale of scale of human interaction. This narrow focus has produced a diverse array of executed projects, including multi-family residential buildings, retail interiors, tenant improvement packages, single-family residential buildings, interior renovations, graphic design and industrial design. Established in 2004, the firm has completed projects in California, Hawaii, Oregon, Colorado, New York and the UK.