28 'Community' posts:

July 28, 2023

SoCal NOMA Summer Architecture Camp

This summer Oculus’ Archit Jain and Leslie Crapster-Pregont volunteered at SoCalNOMA’s Project Pipeline Summer Camp where they worked with kids aged 10-18. The camp is designed to help spark interest in the architectural field to underrepresented communities here in Southern California, so they may consider pursuing careers in the field.

The lighting module for the camp included lighting guides, a mini-lighting expo with 8 lighting product representatives with custom-designed spec sheets, and a lighting demo room which included daylighting, color, and beam spread demonstrations.

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May 30, 2023

LightFair 2023 – The Big Apple

This year LightFair was held in May in The Big Apple – New York City – at the Javits Center. Five from the Oculus team attended and four were also selected to present on a variety of topics.

On Tuesday May 23rd, Archit Jain participated in a panel alongside Mariel Acevedo of ALR and Jeff Woodrum and Kurt Hamilton of Cherry City Electric, where they discussed the essential parts of the design process and working together to get the perfect end result. Archit was the designated “designer”, Mariel the “rep”, Kurt the “budgeter” and Jeff the “builder”.

It was lively dialogue about how lighting designers can design in a way that makes the construction process a little earlier, and how contractors can coordinate better with the design team.

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March 23, 2023

IALD’s Chase the Dark 2023

The International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) SoCal Chapter hosted a pre-Chase the Dark event on Sunday at Pasadena Stained Glass, where we all created stained glass suncatchers – a perfect tool for shadow play! Glass-masters Janel and Elise expertly guided us through the process of cutting, foiling, soldering, and polishing our works of art. As shadow play comes to life around the world during this year’s #IALDChaseDark, we decided to showcase textured and colored glass sparkling to life under a beam of light. A reminder that lighting is not just about the fixture or source, but how it interacts with the environment around itself. Thanks to IALD’s SoCal Coordinator, and Oculus designer, Leslie Crapster-Pregont for putting together this enlightening event along with help from our generous sponsors Targetti and Performance Lighting Systems.

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September 8, 2022

Oculus Celebrates 10 Years!

2022 marks the ten-year anniversary of Oculus Light Studio. Over this time, it has become a thriving firm that collaborates with architects and designers to deliver quality lighting design solutions that not only illuminate spaces but also enhance lives.

With a decade of highly technical knowledge and expertise under our belt, we never lose sight of the fact that we are creating spaces for people. We are a diverse team located in Los Angeles and Seattle and we are approachable, inclusive and always open to new ideas.

The care we take in every part of our work shines through – in the design of our wide-ranging projects, and in our professional approach to our work. Throughout our 10-year journey, we have assembled a series of ideas that drive our practice. Ten of these have guided us for the past ten years and continue to drive us forward. These are: be collaborative, creative, nimble, meticulous, purposeful, humble, fearless, charitable, impactful, and exemplary.

With over 90 lighting design awards, including Lighting Design Magazine’s Emerging Lighting Design Practice of the Year (2019) and Architect’s Newspaper’s Best of Practice Award for Lighting Designer in the West (2021), our future is bright! Many thanks to all of our  collaborators and here’s to many more brilliant outcomes.

March 8, 2022

International Women’s Day 2022: #BreakTheBias

By Likhitha Rangaswamy

Change cannot be achieved in isolation, and when I was asked to host the International Women’s Day event for WILD (Women in Lighting + Design), it became the perfect opportunity to tie in this year’s IWD theme, #BreakTheBias. This global campaign is set to raise awareness around bias, and to encourage action toward women’s equality. Bias, whether deliberate or unconscious, is holding women back in the workplace—with lower pay and positions, lesser opportunities, and inadequate family support. With a focus on building workplaces without barriers so women can thrive, the campaign seeks to elevate the visibility of women creatives, and to continue inspiring women to pursue their goals freely.

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November 20, 2020

Oculus is Thankful For…

With the holidays rapidly approaching, Oculus is keeping a positive attitude for the new year. Here’s what each of us is thankful for this year:

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March 23, 2020

Tools of the (Remote Working) Trade

By Archit Jain

So here we are in week 2 of the work from home, WFH, situation.

We have been following the statistical charts produced by Johns Hopkins University and see that as of today the US has the 3rd highest number of confirmed cases and many people who need testing are not able to get them yet. The outlook has not become positive yet with the rate of cases going up faster than in Italy, though we all try to make the best of a tough state of affairs.

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April 17, 2019

LA’s LGBT Center

Last week, Los Angeles’ LGBT Center had its grand opening of the Anita May Rosenstein Campus. This 2-acre campus will help expand their services to more of the LGBT senior and youth community. Oculus Light Studio had the privilege to work on this project with Killefer Flammang Architects. This mixed-use center includes a recreation room, Youth Center, Senior Center, 100 beds for homeless youth, and a Youth Academy as well as administrative offices.

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April 5, 2019

Designer’s Lighting Forum LA

This week, Principal Archit Jain spoke alongside two other industry professionals at the Designer’s Lighting Forum hosted at the RDC/Studio111 offices (lighting design by Oculus!). With a mix of architects, interior designers and lighting industry people, this 50-person turn-out was quite a success! Archit’s presentation included valuable information on lighting design for international clients, and how to successfully propose and negotiate those contracts.

International work provides Oculus with a chance to meet new people, work in new locales, on different kinds of projects and creating design solutions that may be entirely unique.  From a business perspective, international work also helps by hedging bets across regions.

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January 24, 2019

Oculus Gives Back

Oculus Light Studio got involved with the local community by working with DaVinci Rise High School in neighboring El Segundo. We guided their architecture class through the lighting design for their mobile learning center. The overall project was designed by Gensler, managed by Houston/Tyner architects, and hand-built by the students. They installed concealed strip-lights to provide indirect ambient illumination, recessed linears at task areas, and decorative pendants throughout, creating a comfortable and inviting environment for learning on the go! A big thank-you to all the lighting manufacturers who donated or discounted their lighting fixtures to make this possible.

 

November 1, 2018

LA Times’ Article on Leisuretown

Check out this recent Los Angeles Times article featuring Leisuretown, a brewery, bar, retailer and food hall complex being built at 549 Anaheim Blvd. in Anaheim, CA. Modern Times, the project’s main tenant, will be set in a restored two-story, historic craftsman home and two re-purposed commercial buildings. This in-construction cultural hub will bring in the local community, which will surely also lure guests visiting California’s major theme park Disneyland. Anaheim is seeing an explosion of breweries opening up, particularly with a much lower permitting cost compared to Los Angeles.

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October 22, 2018

New Blue Ribbon Sushi Restaurants in LA Eater

Blue Ribbon Sushi and Hank’s have recently opened up inside the new Palisades Village upscale shopping center. Oculus Light Studio had the opportunity to work alongside Asfour Guzy Architects on these beautiful designs. Check out these intimate restaurant spaces, which were recently mentioned in Eater LA!

The tranquil dining environment at Blue Ribbon Sushi is surrounded by warm lighting that accentuates the beautiful color of the wood panels and the dark ceiling and walls at Hank’s have a soft reflection from the glowing divertive fixtures that provide a retro feel.

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September 18, 2018

Sharks Take-Over at Georgia Aquarium

Get ready for the new 28,000 sf shark and sea predators exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium, where visitors will be immersed inside a world filled with the likes of hammerhead sharks, sand tiger sharks, tiger sharks, and sandbar sharks, oh my!

“Sharks are one of the most misunderstood species in the ocean,” says John Kasman, Vice President at PGAV Destinations.“The goal of the new shark habitat is to provide a fresh perspective on the vital role sharks play in our oceans’ health, and educate guests about the significant threats these animals face from over-fishing and habitat loss.”

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May 21, 2018

Saks Brickell Stars in Hip Hop Music Video

Can you spot the Oculus lighting design project, Saks Brickell Miami, in Drake’s new music video for his hit single, God’s Plan? We sure did!

Around 2.28 mins into the video try and catch Drake inside the luxury department store as he giving away his entire music video budget to his fans, we thought it was pretty cool!

We can’t blame this spot for being chosen… the twinkling of the ceiling downlights and chandeliers are a great backdrop for the hip hop star and of course the lighting needed to  be ‘camera ready’ for the music video set.

Watch it for yourself!

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March 12, 2018

Archit Speaking at IESLA Pechakucha

Check out Oculus Light Studio principal, Archit Jain, speak at Illuminating Engineering Society Los Angeles event ‘What Inspires Me, Powered by PechaKucha’, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm on March 15th

“Come join us for an evening of inspirational exchange. We will have a variety of presenters sharing their passions: lighting designers, architects, lighting reps, & lighting manufacturers. Every day as an architect or lighting designer requires inspiration, but where do these individuals find it?”

 

March 6, 2018

The Very Anticipated Burbank Commons

This new Burbank center is offering up a lot of potential, from family-friendly gathering spot to corporate event space. Not too mention beer fans will be ecstatic with the craft breweries moving in!

According to this recent Los Angeles Times article, “The proposed project would involve demolishing the existing 70,000-square-foot former AmeriCold cold storage warehouse and replace it with 33,000 square feet of event space, a roller rink, 19,000 square feet of restaurant, craft beer pub, café and special-event space and about 47,000 square feet of outdoor space where the public can congregate and eat.”

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November 20, 2017

October 18, 2017

Riley Rose is a Candy-Colored Retail Dreamland

Meet Riley Rose! This new candy-colored beauty store concept offers up everything from skin care to makeup to home decor. The new store brand comes from daughters of the Forever 21 founders, well known for selling the latest fashion trends and Riley Rose is no exception. Not to mention, most of their beauty products come from cruelty-free beauty brands!

The store caters to younger generations using ‘millennial’ pink in its palette and creating store installations that are ‘Instagrammable’. According to a recent Bustle article, “That’s how Riley Rose plans to set themselves apart from the Sephoras and the Ultas. It’s more than just beauty shop — they see themselves as a “lifestyle store.”

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February 13, 2017

Google Venice Awarded Gold LEED Rating

Today Oculus was pleased to hear that the Google Venice Project, including the Google Landscape, has been awarded a Gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. We recognize the importance of environmentally conscious design, so we are proud to have collaborated with both Gensler and Google to achieve the second highest level of LEED certification. Congratulations to the team!

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rigorous program created to promote more sustainable architectural and civil design, starting from the planning phase and continuing through construction to building maintenance and operation.

November 4, 2016

IALD Chase the Dark 2016

One of our designers had the opportunity to take part in the IALD event “Chase the Dark 2016” last night, and was able to contribute some really fantastic photos!

IALD Chase the Dark is a unique international event described on their website as : “Each year, IALD members and non-members participate in “Chase the Dark,” an international lighting movement that tasks participants to photograph and share displays of light via social media during a 24 hour period as the sun sets westward across the globe. The results capture the creativity and diversity of the lighting design profession.”  This year’s theme was “Light where you Live”, which encouraged designers to appreciate and photograph both the natural and man made light sources that illuminate their communities.

This was such a wonderful and unique way to appreciate light, thank you to the organizers for coming up with such a fun social event!  Check out Spurthy’s photos below, and search #IALDChaseDark on any social media platform to enjoy other designers’ photos!