Note from Leslie
August 23, 2024
By Leslie Crapster Pregont
I still remember when I was 5 or 6, going with my Girl Scout Troop to the local theater for a tour. We were invited backstage, and I was given a lighting gel to hold in my hand. The feeling of the crinkly blue square in my hands is forever embedded in my memory. That experience for me was the first step on a lifelong journey navigating my way through performing arts, theater, lighting, and eventually, architectural lighting.
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June 3, 2024
Located in Century City, HPS’s new law office blends inviting hospitality with modern professionalism. Beyond a lighting strategy that enhances both aesthetics and functionality, the project prioritizes sustainability. At the heart of the design, we made a conscious decision to incorporate a majority of light fixtures manufactured in Southern California. By supporting local manufacturers and artisans, we ensured superior quality and craftsmanship while minimizing the environmental footprint and boosting the local economy.
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April 25, 2024
Oculus Light Studio is thrilled to announce that seven of our projects have been nominated for this year’s 2024 Calibre Design Awards.
Still currently in the design phase, and nominated in the Unbuilt/On The Boards category, is the Century City Cultural Pavilion. We look forward to the completion of this project as we envision attending future galas like Calibre in a venue that we contributed in designing!
Nominated in the Work Medium category:
- Universal Music Publishing Group’s lighting scheme designed in collaboration with Gensler, includes a line of light that traces its way through the project uplighting the wood ceilings and dynamic atrium lighting that can be customized for live impromptu performances.
- 9000 Wilshire, a project in collaboration with Neil M. Denari Architects and HLW, has an eye-catching purple facade (a tailored suit was the metaphor), and the beautifully illuminated planting wall draws attention from the street scale, creating a strong identity at night.
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June 27, 2023
The 2023 Lumen West Awards were held at The Novo at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles on June 24, 2023. This year we celebrated 50 years of The Illumination Awards with a record-breaking number of awards!
Oculus is proud to have won two Awards of Merit for Interior Lighting Design, including Confidential Technology Company with ShubinDonaldson and CSULA Student Services Building where we collaborated with ZGF.
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May 30, 2023
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
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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February 24, 2023
If you missed out on any of Oculus’ recently completed projects within the last year, we’ve added these to our website!
In typical Oculus fashion, we have a wide range of projects added. These include an 218,000sf repurposed Physical Sciences building into a new student administration center with ZGF Architects, a 14.3-acre 100-year-old studio lot where we worked with Gensler, an 89,000sf of multi-level amenity spaces for Amazon’s new campus in Seattle with Graphite Design Group, a remodeled tower facade, lobby and amenities with Rapt Studio, and a brand-new studio office for a confidential client in which we collaborated once again, with Gensler. Phew.
In all case, the lighting design is approached in a way that is unique to each project and speaks to the specific architectural needs of the spaces. Let us know if you have any questions!
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CSULA Student Services Building
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Culver Studios
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5670 Wilshire
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Confidential Studio Offices
Check them out here:
CSULA Student Services Building, Los Angeles, CA
Culver Studios, Culver City, CA
Amazon Frontier, Seattle, WA
5670 Wilshire, Los Angeles, CA
Confidential Studio Offices, Los Angeles Area, CA
April 13, 2022
Oculus Light Studio has recently been featured as cover stories in two magazines, Architectural SSL Magazine and IES’ LD+A Magazine.
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February 11, 2022
Oculus is proud to announce that two of our employees, Sarah Wang (Associate) and Sebastien Payannet (Sr. Designer), have both been accepted as Associates of the International Association of Lighting Designers.
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November 10, 2021
About Us:
Oculus Light Studio is an award-winning lighting design studio based in the Culver City area of Los Angeles, CA with a satellite studio in Seattle, WA. We are passionate about great lighting design and how it can enhance the visual environment. We believe in collaborative design and enjoy working on a variety of project types. Oculus offers an engaging, informal and inclusive work environment, a 9-80 schedule with alternate Fridays off and work-life integration. Other perks include frequent catered lunches and a part-time office dog. Look us up on the web, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook!
We are currently looking for a full-time mid-level lighting designer to join our diverse team currently working on a wide range of architectural lighting design projects located both locally and around the globe.
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March 19, 2020
Oculus recently designed the lighting for the Culver City based 100 Thieves Cash App Compound, the largest e-sports team facility in the U.S. The 15,000sf space features multiple private training rooms, meeting rooms, gaming rooms, an Apparel Design & Retail space, and a business headquarters area.
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February 24, 2020
We are currently looking for a full-time mid-level lighting with 3-5 years experience, designer to join our diverse team currently working on a wide range of architectural lighting design projects located both locally and around the globe.
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May 16, 2019
A big thank you to the Lighting Design Awards for distinguishing Oculus Light Studio as the Emerging Lighting Design Practice of 2019! We are incredibly honored to receive this recognition.
The Lighting Design Awards are presented by the Lighting Design Magazine based in the UK. This year, the gala was held at the Troxy in London on May 16, 2019. Of the 5 finalists selected, Oculus was announced as the winner and praised as “a studio whose passion is at the heart of everything it does.”
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May 3, 2019
The Line Lofts are now Hollywood’s tallest building! This 6-story sleek residential building is in the heart of Hollywood, near the famed corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland. Oculus Light Studio worked with SPF:a on this contemporary multi-family project, where design highlights include an exterior stairway and tall multi-level interior volumes. Even with budget constraints, this project is a showcase of custom-made style and flair.
The Line Lofts just won an AIA Los Angeles Residential Architecture Award | Citation Award for Multi-Unit Residential!
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March 25, 2019
Oculus recently finished working on Aviron, which was featured in a six-page spread in Contract Magazine’s March 2019 issue. Working with the team at Felderman Keatinge + Associates, we were able to create a successful lighting design based on their conceptual narrative of a boat moving through water, as Aviron in French means “rowing”. This narrative takes us on a journey starting with a rippling “waterfall” at the entry, through a flowing corridor past the stroking paddles of decorative pendants in the conference room, to the final destination of the lounge where the structure of the boat’s joists are celebrated with warm cove lighting.
March 6, 2019
After closing up shop in Vegas in 2015 to make way for renovations, Blue Ribbon Sushi & Grill is now back in action! Located in Vegas’ off-strip Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, the Bromberg brothers reopened this new location January 2019 after many requests to bring back all the favorites. This is Oculus Light Studio’s fourth restaurant with the Bromberg brothers, working hand in hand with Asfour Guzy Architects.
Designer Nico Meyer made a site visit before the grand opening to make sure the lighting was perfect. He says, “After aiming the lights, we had to make sure the food looked (and tasted) good under the lights too.”
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February 26, 2019
Working with Gensler NY, Oculus Light Studio just finished working on the main floor for Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store, which ended up being a $250 Million dollar renovation! The 53,000sf floor will be filled with a variety of handbags and multiple accessories.
Associate, Joel Weston, went on site stating: “The project went smoothly with the help of an organized visual team, carefully installed lighting, and the first-hand knowledge from aiming at previous Saks stores.”
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February 7, 2019
The words (and lighting design) of Oculus Associate Joel Weston were featured in LD+A‘s January issue with extra large font regarding Oculus’ recently completed project, Fender HQ. Listed with an IES Illumination Award of Merit, Fender’s LA office lighting reflects exactly what they are all about. Joel says “The overall look of the lighting takes cues from the knobs, frets, strings and finishes of a well-crafted guitar.”
January 29, 2019
Check out these recent projects from Oculus Light Studio, including an international flagship store, a structure that is redefining the look of the contemporary multi-family development, three Bel Air mansions, a luxury children’s clothing store, an Italian restaurant tucked away in and inspired by the Peterson Automotive Museum, a boutique hotel nestled in Culver City, a TI remodel with an eye-catching portal facade, and a cost-effective shoe retail store prototype.
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January 24, 2019
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.