65 'Events' posts:

September 21, 2015

IIDA Panel: The Ten Biggest Lies about LEDS

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

http://www.lightshowwest.com/

August 20, 2015

Cassia Bistro and Esters Wine Bar Now Open!

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“.

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July 30, 2015

Celebrating the End of Summer 2015

Oculus celebrated the end of busy summer months and the successful internship of our summer intern, Heejung Son from the MFA program at the Parsons New School of Design.  Dinner was sushi at the newly opened Blue Ribbon Sushi at the Grove, lighting design by Oculus.

We had our fill of sushi and the Blue Ribbon’s famous fried chicken.  Now, with a full stomach and open minds we wait for fall to come.

 

 

May 29, 2015

IOS Opens

Interior Office Solutions’ downtown LA showroom opened last week. Designed in conjunction with Felderman Keatinge + Associates, the lighting for the showroom is almost all LED and meets the latest Title 24 requirements.  A series of design options were studied for the open showroom area, and keeping time and budget in consideration, the Axo Shatter was selected and laid out appropriately in a shatter formation.  Stanley Felderman’s art is featured throughout the space.

The opening was recently published in LA Downtown News.  Head on over for your favorite office furniture solutions, now available in a beautifully designed—and lit—showroom.

October 22, 2014

Oculus Supports IALD LightPlay 2014

Oculus is proud to be a supporter of IALD’s LightPlay at the 2014 Enlighten Americas conference held this year in San Diego, California. Light Play gives students hands-on experience, with the activities varying every year from designing and building light fixtures, to analyzing local exceptional architectural lighting projects, which was this year’s Light Play exercise. It looks like the students (and seasoned professionals involved) had a great time, and we’re happy to be a part of this learning experience!

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October 3, 2014

IALD Chase the Dark 2014

Oculus participated in the International Association of Lighting Designers’ Chase the Dark event on October 2nd, 2014.  It was fun and festivities at Santa Monica Beach in the mild Southern California weather.  Sunset was beautiful as were the lanterns crafted by the participants out of one LED module and sheets of paper.

Inspired by Cape Gooseberries, Oculus’ Sarah Wang’s contribution utilized the white paper, strings and amber color gels.

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September 12, 2014

The BLOC — Coming Soon!

If you’ve driven by the old Macy’s building in Downtown LA recently, you’ll know that it’s undergoing a major renovation. Construction is right on schedule for the BLOC to open in 2015 as Downtown’s newest, hippest city centerpiece. We’ve been working with  Studio One Eleven architects, EPT Design landscape architects, and The Ratkovich Company to create a fresh look for what Angelenos are expecting to be the next big thing in revitalizing LA’s urban lifestyle. With plans to (literally) tear off the glass ceiling and include indie/classic theater Alamo Drafthouse  as well as a long-coveted Trader Joe’s, the BLOC will also be home to a new Metro portal connecting to the subway stop across the street.

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August 23, 2014

Welcome to Pirch Dallas

The second Pirch store designed by Oculus opened in Dallas this week and was covered in the Dallas News.  Good aiming at the end of the project is critical, and like the last time, Scott and David spent a total of 24 hours climbing up and down ladders to aim the approximately 1000 adjustable lights in the store (that’s about 500 times each, if you do the math).
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August 6, 2014

Actors’ Equity Moves Into New NoHo Home

Congratulations to The Actors’ Equity Association for opening their first audition center on the West Coast! Oculus was commissioned to design the lighting for the converted warehouse in the North Hollywood Arts District where the union representing stage actors, as reported by the LA Times, now has warm-up and audition rooms, mirrored and ballet-barred dance floors, and private changing rooms in its 18,700 square foot space.

Built in 1948, the warehouse which was once used as as bus depot, has 30-ft high bow truss ceilings with skylights. While the skylights provided a generous amount of light, they became concentrated points of light in the ceiling that made the rest of the space feel dark in contrast. New suspended linear fluorescent fixtures help reduce this contrast and bridge the gap between the lower and higher lighting levels of the warehouse, making a more visually comfortable and enjoyable environment.

June 25, 2014

June 6, 2014

Oculus Wins at 31st Annual IALD International Lighting Design Awards

Oculus becomes one of the select few lighting designers on the West Coast to win a prestigious IALD award at the 31st annual International Lighting Design Awards. Out of over 200 entries from 10 countries, AKA Beverly Hills was selected as one of five Award of Merit winners for the the way “[it] demonstrates the power of light to transform architectural space,” according to one IALD judge.

We are thrilled at the honor, and hope to continue pushing the envelope in design and technology on our projects. Many thanks to our collaborators, Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Asfour Guzy Architects and Pamela Burton & Company Landscape Lighting. And of course, the AKA team, lead by Larry Korman.

Read the IALD Press Release (pdf download).

June 3, 2014

Archit Jain Judges Lightfair Innovation Awards

Oculus Principal Archit Jain was one of three judges representing the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) for the Lightfair Innovation Awards, presented in a ceremony on June 3, 2014 in Las Vegas.

In all, over 250 products were judged by a panel of 7 judges representing the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the IALD. The products were divided in 14 categories with a top award in each category, and 4 other main awards.
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April 7, 2014

St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Opens

By Scott Hatton

Today is the St. Louis Cardinals home opener and as part of the festivities they opened up their new Hall of Fame!

We designed the lighting for the Cardinals Hall of Fame in collaboration with PGAV Architects and the Cardinal’s Organization.   Adjustable LED track lighting built into the casework and concealed in the black ceiling grid is carefully aimed at artifacts that bring the history of the Cardinals to life.  In a few of the galleries the lighting is programmed to change along with the audio visual program.  In these pictures, you can see a replica of the old Busch stadium roof with uplights that change from Anaheuser-Busch blue to Cardinals red when the highlight reel starts.

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March 20, 2014

LAC-USC Wellness Center Grand Opening

We recently worked with Chu+Gooding Architects on the LAC-USC Wellness Center, which had its grand opening ceremony this past Saturday.

The Wellness Center is an adaptive re-use project located on the bottom floor of the existing General Hospital in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles. First District Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina spearheaded the project with support from The California Endowment and other sponsors. The Wellness Center provides a home for nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing social services consisting of preventative healthcare and culturally sensitive wellness education.
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February 1, 2014

October 16, 2013

vis-a-vis Lighting Experience Center, Delhi, India

Oculus principal Archit Jain was invited to New Delhi, India to attend the launch of vis-à-vis India Pvt. Ltd.’s new lighting and outdoor furniture experience center. The event also coincided with an exhibition on Design as Social Capital, in a dedicated exhibition space inside the experience center. Amit and Hardeep Gupta, owners of vis-à-vis had invited the who’s who of India-based architects, along with what it seemed like all the lighting designers practicing in India, whether based in India or in other parts of the world.

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October 10, 2013

Pirch Glendale Galleria Opens

26,000+ sft, 1000+ luminaires, 1.5 years of design and construction, metal halide, LED and fluorescent, heartburn at times—it’s all done and The Pirch Store (formerly Fixtures Living) is now open.  Scott and David spent a collective 28 hours on ladders to aim the lighting in the store, and it looks great.

So  if you’re looking to build a new home, or even redo your existing one, and want to make home fixture shopping a fun experience, head on over.  They’ll even serve you a handcrafted espresso while you do so.

August 19, 2013

Oculus visits the James Turrell Retrospective at LACMA

“Sir—keep away 4 feet from the art!” What do a bunch of lighting designers do when they see lighting art? Get in trouble of course.

The Turrell Retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a very impressive way to experience light. Even as lighting designers used to working with a variety of lighting design projects over the years, some of us who visited the show were pretty amazed by the variety of unusual perceptual illusions created in the installations. And of course the urge to dissect the installation is always there—so in addition to legitimately poring over the details in Turrell’s displayed notebooks, we could not resist sneaking behind the magic curtain too, only to be quickly reprimanded by the guards.
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July 1, 2013

Lighting Design’s Big Night in Los Angeles–Lumen West 2013

“Surreal–a celebration of dreams and discoveries within the Lighting Design Industry”—that was the theme of the Lumen West 2013, the annual lighting design event organized by the Illuminating Engineering Societies of Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire.  And then what is surreal music? That was the question that our own Scott Hatton had to answer as the guest DJ for the cocktail hour at Lumen West.
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March 7, 2013