February 11, 2021
Downtown Culver City, CA is starting to get quite a facelift, especially with Amazon moving into their new offices at Culver Steps and at Culver Studios (both Oculus projects incidentally!). Now a new little market has come to light in a small historic building right across from all of the office action.
January 26, 2021
Despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, construction is still moving forward on many of Oculus’s projects. San Pedro Public Market is one of them: this redevelopment of the seaside plaza originally constructed in 1962 as “Ports O’ Call Village”, is underway and expected to be completed next year.
January 7, 2021
Oculus Light Studio is pleased to announce that Joel Weston has been promoted to the position of Senior Associate. Joel has designed a wide range of projects, both nationally and internationally. His projects include Saks Fifth Avenue New York Flagship, Nike Stores in Japan and Korea, office for Concord Music Group and hospitality project Mayumi. In addition, he has worked on many single and multi-family residential projects and mixed-use buildings.
December 8, 2020
It’s share-with-the-local-community month! Both of Oculus’ principals will be presenting at upcoming online IESLA events!
“What I Wish I Knew!”
As part of the Emerging Professional series, Scott Hatton, IES, LEED® AP, Principal at Oculus Light Studio will dwell on the question “While I am definitely still learning life’s lessons, what key advice would I give my past self?”
Besides this deep reflection, Scott will also discuss some of Oculus’ award-winning projects to help emerging professionals gain insight into the design process and the firm’s philosophies.
December 10th, 2020 at 6pm PST
The event is free and you can register here!
December 4, 2020
Just in time for winter weather, UGG recently opened its brand new flagship store located along 5th Avenue in New York City, and Oculus is pleased to have been a part of the new branding concept and design.
November 20, 2020
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:
October 23, 2020
After nearly three years of design and construction, it’s finally ready for the grand reveal, and Oculus couldn’t be more excited and proud to have been a part of it all! Today Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, is opening its much anticipated and mysterious exhibit, SHARKS! Predators of the Deep! With 1.2M gallons of water and over 5 different species of sharks, this exhibit is sure to give thrills and chills, while helping educate its visitors on these misunderstood creatures.
October 9, 2020
Oculus Light Studio is in the midst of wrapping up work on the FLOR 401 Lofts, one of three recent developments funded by Skid Row’s Proposition HHH bond. We designed in collaboration with KoningEizenberg on these new affordable housing units, which will support individuals experiencing homelessness: half of the units are intended for homeless Veterans, and the other half for low-income households and/or those with special needs.
September 18, 2020
The new Mississippi Aquarium made a big splash with its recent grand opening, and Oculus is proud to have been a part of the design team for this 5.8 acre aquatic campus! Having dodged three hurricanes and being delayed due to COVID-19, the original opening date was postponed, but on the 15th anniversary of Katrina, the Governor opened the gates of the aquarium to the public.
August 27, 2020
It’s official! In 2021 WarnerMedia will be moving into the newly constructed office building located at the Culver City Metro Station. Oculus is thrilled to be the lighting designer for this over-$350M mixed-use complex at Ivy Station.
August 11, 2020
Annabelle Fung, a student at USC School of Architecture was Oculus’ summer intern. It was a first for Oculus, along with many other firms, to try internships remotely, and though the day to day interactions were missed, we realized that there were plenty of learning opportunities. Following is Annabelle’s account on her summer at Oculus. Here’s wishing you all the best in your upcoming endeavors, Annabelle!
Upon finishing my semester online, I was extremely grateful to have the opportunity to virtually join the Oculus cohort this summer. Working closely with the Oculus designers, I hit the ground running, wearing many hats as I dabbled in a variety of projects from mixed-use complexes to office buildings to single-family homes, designing away for interior and exterior lighting, crafting up renders, and even performing lighting calculations.
July 30, 2020
Oculus Light Studio has added more of our recently completed projects to the website! These projects include Amazon’s new office towers in Seattle, which also house a community shelter; an award-winning shoe retail store, a colorful center for the LA LGBT community, an exciting new aquarium built in an old train station, and another fresh neighborhood park in Orange County.
July 14, 2020
Cedars-Sinai Ventana recently opened up their new Oncology and Internal Medicine clinic in Tarzana, CA. Oculus has been working closely with ZGF, the lead architect, for over 3 years on this project. At approximately 30,000sf, this clinic is comprised of clinical sections for exams and treatment areas where the design is more “hospitality” and less “hospital”, to create a calming environment for patients during their multi-hour infusion.
June 22, 2020
The winners of the 2020 Lumen West Awards were announced this weekend, and although we didn’t get to dress up and have a fancy dinner this year, Oculus was still excited and proud to take home two more awards! Our IES Lumen West Award of Merit winners this year are the Aviron offices and Athletic Propulsion Labs retail store.
May 29, 2020
500 Broadway is under construction! This large mixed-use development in Downtown Santa Monica is also being called “The Park”, as it will provide communal courtyards, and green outdoor spaces on the top levels of 4 different towers connected via pedestrian bridges. The strategic design elements that cater to a community-focused lifestyle reflect principles you’d find in a Woodstock house buying guide, emphasizing the importance of shared spaces and environmental considerations. The project also intends to help reduce neighborhood vehicular traffic by providing employees and residents with transportation allowances that would cover the costs of transit passes and bike parking, much like how a guide would highlight the benefits of local amenities and transport links when choosing a new home.
May 15, 2020
Oculus Light Studio’s projects have made their TV debut on this season of Top Chef All-Stars, which has already filmed at two of our project locations! Will there be a third?! Stay tuned to find out!
Our first project premiered on Episode 4 on April 9th, 2020, where the chefs had to serve 40 guests at Birdie G’s, which opened last summer in Santa Monica, CA. The lighting design creates a comfortable rustic design with linear glow lights behind the banquettes that accentuate a subtle, ambient environment.
Episode 8’s Restaurant Wars, the biggest competition of the season, aired on May 7th, 2020, and took place at ROW Downtown LA, which Oculus has been continuously working on with Atlas Capital Group on various phases since the start of the historic site’s renovations. In this episode we got a peek at the small-profile linear lights integrated into the feature canopy above the pedestrian entry to valet parking.
You can watch the full episodes here!
Screenshots taken from episodes listed above, broadcast on Bravo TV.
April 23, 2020
We hope you have all been staying safe and healthy out there during this unusual and unprecedented time. As you may know, we are currently on week 6 of working from home and it has been an interesting ride to say the least.
Earlier this month, we celebrated the birthdays of our Senior Associates, Jane You and Carol Prendergast. Usually, we like to plan a surprise craft activity, get a cake, sign a card, and sing as loud as we can to embarrass them, but this year was different. We had to figure out a fun and creative way to put together a birthday card as well as continue to help make their day feel special for them. We also sent some yummy birthday cupcakes to brighten their day!
Amidst the stacks of paperwork and endless Zoom calls, we’ve introduced an element of surprise with decor inspired by Untamed Creatures. Quirky animal-themed decorations now in the background, bringing a sense of playfulness and camaraderie to our virtual gatherings. In a time where the world feels a bit untamed itself, these small gestures of creativity serve as a reminder that laughter and connection can thrive, even in the midst of uncertainty.
Here are the digital birthday cards that the team put together (click photos to enlarge):
From all of us here at Oculus, we wish you both the happiest of birthdays and look forward to gathering together in person soon!
April 10, 2020
Nominations for the 2020 IIDA Calibre Awards were announced this week, and Oculus is proud to be recognized in three separate categories!
March 23, 2020
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.
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.