April 25, 2016
Our Project, the Murad Flagship Store won a Silver Award from the Association for Retail Environments in the category “Hardline Specialty Store up to 3,000 SF”. We are always happy to have our work recognized, and congrats to Architects Shubin and Donaldson who we worked with on this project.
April 16, 2016
One of our most theatrical projects is finally open to the public, and the reviews are fantastic! Working over the last 3 years with the fantastic team at PGAV Destinations based in St. Louis, we lent our lighting design skills to the “Sea Lions: Under the Boardwalk” feature by creating a warm, inviting, and playful backdrop for the performance. In addition, we had the opportunity to work with Jim Henson Company to create a unique Pre-Show entry area that wonderfully sets the tone by immersing audiences in the world with special effects lighting, animatronic characters, and tons of learning opportunities while they wait to be seated in the main theater. We were so happy to work on such a creative project that places great emphasis on educating about environmental dangers as much as entertaining.
April 14, 2016
While the busy pace we’ve been enjoying has been exhilarating, sometimes it is important to seek inspiration away from work to maintain creativity. Since one of our designers who normally lives in China was here for a month, we took the opportunity to do just that at The Broad in Downtown Los Angeles.
This museum is unique both in form and in the fact that it houses the private collection of philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. We were extremely lucky to have the opportunity to view Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, an installation experienced in a room alone that is full of small lights reflected back an infinite amount of times by mirrors covering every surface of the room. The feeling of standing inside of it is quiet, whimsical, and empty all at once, and was something that every member of Oculus enjoyed seeing very much. After that we were able to see the work of artists such as Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Glenn Ligon, and Takeshi Murakami. Later we discussed what we’d seen over a wonderful Italian Dinner at Casa Nostra.
April 8, 2016
Oculus Light Studio is proud to once again have the opportunity to support future lighting designers by donating to the David L. DiLaura Industry Professor of Architectural Engineering Fellowship. David was a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder which is one of only four lighting specific programs in the country, and it is regarded as the top-ranked by most experts both in academia and industry. Not only that, but Scott Hatton, one of our Principals, had him as a professor, so we are especially happy to support his Alma Mater.
Help cultivate the next generation of lighting designers and engineers by supporting the fellowship.
April 7, 2016
This week Architect Magazine featured Hitch Student Residences, a past project of ours for UCLA that we worked on in conjunction with Steinberg Architects. The article describes Hitch as a housing complex that has been “transformed into a memorable and socially vibrant environment for future generations of students”. It describes the design’s technical goals of bettering energy efficiency, safety, and accessibility of the building while also improving on the aesthetics and integrating it better into the landscape. Read the article online and see some of the featured images below!
April 1, 2016
Oculus Principal Archit Jain was invited to speak on the Illuminating Engineering Society of Los Angeles Panel “Collaborating with Lighting Designers-a Panel Discussion About Bridging the Gap between Artistic and Technical”. About a hundred people showed up and it was an evening dedicated to the idea that while lighting seems intangible during the the design process, it has a profound effect on the final outcome of a space. Ultimately they discussed how they work, and how they prefer to best work together to create beautiful and memorable spaces.
March 29, 2016
Oculus’ work stars as the feature article and cover photo in April’s edition of LD+A Magazine. The article highlights work that we’ve done that demonstrates the trend of creating offices that not only serve as a space to work but also as a space to inspire. “Managers of companies in fast-moving, often tech-driven industries haven’t stood in the way of change. They know that the best and the brightest won’t perform at peak levels within the regimented office environments where their parents worked”. The article then goes on to cover six unique projects that we’ve created and to interview Oculus Principal Archit Jain on each trend. The work spaces covered include Google Orange County, The Broad Foundation, Actor’s Equity Audition Center, Conill, Murad, and CIM Group.
March 21, 2016
Oculus Principals Archit and Scott are back from their trip to Frankfurt, Germany for the 2016 Light + Building Exhibition. The show is one of the largest on the planet, encompassing almost 6 million SF of floor space to show the latest and greatest in lighting technology from over 2,500 vendors from all over the world. Of particular note were the many advances in smart technology dedicated to improving the way that humans interact with light in their everyday lives; a concept perhaps best demonstrated by the CoeLux Skylight that “reproduces the physical effects and optical phenomena of natural light in indoor architecture”.
March 18, 2016
We were happy to have the opportunity to work with Studio One Eleven as the lighting designers on what is much more than just a building face life for The Gallery Food Court on Third Stree Promenade. The 2-story space has been gutted and reinvented as a modern “Market Hall” complete with vintage elements, a new exterior facade, and even 2 living “green” walls on the upper-level outdoor dining patio. High-bay pendants elevate the ceiling plane while trackheads and wallwashers highlight merchandise and decor at eye level; and festoon lights swagged under the trellis create a cozy and whimsical atmosphere after the sun goes down.
February 29, 2016
Created by the same culinary team who brought you Factory Kitchen, Officine Brera offers Northern Italian cuisine in a renovated 1920’s warehouse building, complete with original brick walls, window panes, and pitched skylight. The restaurant has been open for just a few weeks and already has rave reviews for their food from numerous sources including the Los Angeles Times, and we’re happy to read that the decor and ambiance is being highly received as well. We designed the lighting in coordination with the architectural design with our friends at (fer)studio.
Word on the street is that reservations are going fast, so if you can, try to get a seat facing the open kitchen and wood burning oven!
Image excerpts from LA Weekly’s restaurant feature here.
February 26, 2016
A mixed-use project that we are working on with CIM Group and Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects at 11800 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles was reported on today in Urbanize.LA. It boasts nearly 40,000 sqf of retail space beneath five stories of residential apartments along with amenities such as a modern pool, community lounges, and a fitness center, a change that the article states “will establish a unique presence along a mostly staid stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard”. For the lighting design of the project, we are playing with some new ideas for the striking facade, creating a retail entrance identity and providing an inviting atmosphere within the residential courtyards.
February 10, 2016
Take at look at our most recent nod in Architect Magazine’s January 2016 edition, this time for a truly unique residential project that we had the opportunity to work on with Koning Eizenburg. Located in Santa Monica, the “See-Through House” is a modern take on a barn that still maintains the warmth and welcome of a family home. It is a design that takes full advantage of sprawling windows to capture the California sunshine, so as lighting designers our task was to provide the required illumination without disrupting the architectural planes. Few recessed luminaires were utilized, with most integrated carefully within architectural elements.
Check out more photos of the finished project below, or click HERE to view the article in it’s entirety.
February 6, 2016
We’re honored to be featured in Mondo Arc India again– this time, with our projects AKA Beverly Hills, and Mindtree Network Operations Center. Click here to read the full issue.
January 31, 2016
The Beer Park by Budweiser, located right on the strip and directly under the “Eiffel Tower” of the Paris Las Vegas Casino, celebrated it’s grand opening just in time for Superbowl yesterday, and was covered by Las Vegas Weekly. The article touts the new Beer Garden as having a design that will appeal to both tourists and locals, saying that “the 10,000-square-foot rooftop space actually looks like a park”. With Astro-turf and picnic benches, this restaurant is all about casual, welcoming accessibility; a quality that sets it apart from the rest of the strip dedicated to the glitz and glamour of Vegas.
The party was complete with just-flown-in brews, and a herd of the iconic Budweiser’ Clydesdales to kick of festivities. A big thank you to Gensler for bringing Oculus on as the lighting designers for this festive restaurant! Please read the full article, and enjoy some photos of the opening even, below.
January 6, 2016
We are excited to be working with KoningEizenberg and Combined Properties on this Multi-Use Low rise building located in one of the most dynamic neighborhoods in Los Angeles. West Hollywood really is the perfect home for this structure that will include both retail and residential spaces, thoughtful but subtle use of color, and even features a roof deck. The façade lighting highlights the unique architectural elements and utilizes programmable color-changing components.
Construction should be completed this Fall, so keep a lookout for this exciting project and in the meantime click here for the UrbanizeLA Article!
November 10, 2015
If you missed the “The Ten Biggest Lies About LEDs” at Light Show West in October, you’re in luck! The panel discussion was featured on an episode of KCRW’s DnA (Design and Architecture) and summarized in an article published on KCRW’s website.
Oculus Principal Archit Jain participated as one of the panelists and he was quoted describing the current state of LED lighting in our projects: “100 percent of most of our projects are LED lighting, they are the source of the future. Until a couple years ago we had to sell LED lighting to our clients, now our clients are coming to us and asking for LED lighting on our projects, but the challenge we are now facing is that the kind of quality required for a project may not be available at the price the client wants.”
October 19, 2015
Are you the lighting designer we are looking for?
Mid-Level to Senior Lighting Designer
About you:
You will be working in close contact with the principals and other designers on all aspects of the art, science and business of lighting design, including project management, design, presentations, lighting calculations, and marketing. You have great organizational skills as you will be working on a number of lighting design projects at any given time. You will be enthusiastic and resourceful, always looking for a unique perspective and a more efficient method to help us be the best. You are collaborative and believe that you succeed only when the team succeeds. You innovate, have strong ideas, and enjoy dialoguing with others who may differ from your point of view. You have strong visual and verbal communication skills.
September 21, 2015
LEDs bring several possibilities. At the same time there are pitfalls. What are the biggest issues with LED lighting that we have encountered in the last many years? How does that effect the decisions of how LED lighting is used within our projects?
Join an IIDA panel discussion with Oculus principal Archit Jain, along with Scott Johnson (Principal – Brilliant Lighting Studio, moderator), Moritz Hammer (Senior Associate – KGM Lighting), Heather Libonati (Principal – Luminesce Design) and Sean McMurray (President – ALVA) to review how lighting has changed in the last few years, and what are some pressing concerns that still need to be addressed.
LightShow West, Wednesday October 21, 4:00 to 5:00 PM.
Los Angeles Convention Center
September 1, 2015
Congratulations to Callison, Regency, and W.E. O’neil for winning the 2015 Best Redevelopment Award from the San Fernando Valley Business Journal!
From Callison’s website:
“The San Fernando Valley Business Journal annually recognizes the biggest, best and most notable commercial real estate projects in the San Fernando Valley marketplace. A jury selects winning projects from a pool of hospitality, industrial, healthcare, mixed-use, multi-family, office, and retail developments.
Renovation and revitalization of Westlake Plaza and Center included updates to the exterior of five retail shops, the creation of four new retail and restaurant pads, new environmental graphics and site improvements to the hard and softscape.”
We are currently working on Phase II– stay tuned for more updates on the Westlake Plaza and Center!
Photo by W.E. O’neil
August 20, 2015
Located in the old Verizon building on 7th Street in Santa Monica, Cassia (French-Southeast Asian fusion bistro) and Esters Wine Shop and Bar opened within a few weeks of each other this summer. Santa Monica food gurus Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan teamed up with their Rustic Canyon and Milo & Olive wine director Kathryn Weil Coker for the wine bar, and collaborated with Spice Table’s Bryan and Kim Ng for a joint effort on the Bistro. The two upscale but sophisticatedly subtle eateries occupy the first floor of the 1937 art deco building on opposite spaces facing the entry lobby.
We designed the lighting in coordination with our friends over at Montalba Architects for Cassia, and with Oonagh Ryan Architects for Esters, both of which were eagerly anticipated and highly praised by food critics as “one of the most important restaurants to open in Santa Monica this year“.