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 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.
January 10, 2019
Happy New Year, everyone! We hope you had a wonderful holiday, as did we! Some of our Oculus team members rang in the new year with new travels– here are a few recaps:
STEPHANIE
While in San Francisco for the holiday break, Business & Marketing Manager, Stephanie, went to Onedome’s LMNL, an immersive experience designed to inspire, amaze and transform. There are 14 interactive rooms full of multiple artistic forms of lighting and projection. She enjoyed playing around in each room, making her feel like a kid again. continued→
December 20, 2018
This year the Oculus team went out for Holiday dinner and drinks at two of our recently completed lighting design projects located inside of the new Palisades Village! We started the evening out for fancy cocktails at Hank’s where we sat on the patio surrounded by the twinkling tree lights. Above us was the iconic and vintage-inspired Hank’s sign. Then it was time for our dinner reservation at Blue Ribbon Sushi. There we enjoyed sake and a delicious three-course sushi dinner. Afterwards, we strolled off into the Palisades Village and took a snapshot in front of Santa’s cottage, he must have been visiting from the North Pole that day. Oculus also held a white elephant style gift exchange the next day, and after some trading hopefully everyone left with a gift they wanted.
Happy holidays from Oculus and here is to another great year in 2019!
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December 18, 2018
This new Bel-Air residence has flown onto the market for $56 million with its unique three-wing propeller design and luxurious amenities that include a home theater, a poolside deck overlooking the city, and a 1,000 bottle wine cellar! Developer Duangpatra Bodiratnangkura spent four years on the 18,850 sf mansion and chose SPF:architects for the design. Oculus Light Studio is proud to have contributed the lighting design that will truly help this residence stand out on the hilltop.
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December 6, 2018
Oculus is pleased to find out that not one, but two of our projects are 2018 Winners awarded by the ICSC, the International Council of Shopping Centers. The ICSC U.S. Design and Development Awards are stated to “honor and recognize the premier design and development trends of retail projects, new developments, renovations, expansions, and retail store design within the U.S.”
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November 29, 2018
This month, Oculus Light Studio designer Nico Meyer attended the IALD Enlighten Europe 2018 lighting conference in Barcelona, Spain, and was sponsored through the Emerging Lighting Design Professionals Program. We are also proud to say this is the fifth sponsorship won by a young Oculus designer!
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November 6, 2018
We are excited to learn that our lighting design project, Mayumi, won an AIA Los Angeles‘ Design Honor Award! We are especially proud of our hard work in helping to create this unique hotel environment and were happy to have been included on the project team with architect Shubin Donaldson.
This adaptive-reuse building features common areas that act as social hubs, such as the courtyard with a fire pit and a community kitchen, as well as flexible-stay options in their private micro-units.
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November 1, 2018
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
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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October 16, 2018
This year’s LightShow West at the Las Vegas Convention Center is just a day away! Be sure not to miss Oculus Light Studio Principal, Archit Jain, participating for his second time as a panel member for the seminar The Dos and Don’ts of Working with a Commercial Lighting Designer!
THURSDAY – OCTOBER 18
9:00 – 10:00 am | Seminar S13
The Dos and Don’ts of Working with a Commercial Lighting Designer
Once a lighting designer has signed on for your commercial project, what’s next? What does this person owe you, and what do you owe them? This panel will discuss the mutual obligations and accountability of this relationship, and the determining factors for a successful and amicable outcome. continued→
October 4, 2018
It feels like only yesterday that Jane started here at Oculus, and here we are celebrating 5 years! The years passed by in the blink of an eye!
In the meantime, Jane has progressed to a creative, knowledgeable, and effective lighting designer with an extensive portfolio of projects ranging from large core and shell projects, tenant improvements, aquariums, multi-family developments, and retail stores and retail centers. She is also instrumental in mentoring younger designers to graduate to the Oculus design standards that we so zealously guard. And she remains a favorite of her many clients!
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September 25, 2018
Being busy lighting designers throughout most of the year, it is always good to have some time away from our desks to explore, to travel, and to create lasting memories. Each year we ask our Oculus Team to reflect back on what they enjoyed about their summers and to share a bit about what they did. Please enjoy our pictures and notes in the galleries below, and we hope everyone enjoyed their summers as much as we did!
JANE
Red rock, glacial melt, oasis towns, figs, olives, honey, mint tea. The sun is bigger as it sets on the horizon in Morocco than at home, and the summer day stays hot well into the night. The most memorable night would be riding to camp in the Sahara and rushing into a tent to escape a sudden sandstorm followed by a passing thunderstorm… then coming out to clear skies with the milky way in full bloom above the dunes.
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September 18, 2018
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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September 4, 2018
Check out these recent projects from Oculus Light Studio, including a turtle recovery haven that also educates the public about taking care of our planet’s creatures, this chic new addition to the Saks Fifth Avenue family in Miami, FL, and a stunning Downtown LA beacon.
Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery Center, Charleston, SC
Saks Brickell, Miami, FL
915 Wilshire, Los Angeles, CA
August 24, 2018
Dexinger, the leading online portal for designers, architects, and creatives of all kinds, has posted about Oculus Light Studio’s project on their website! In last months post, they mention the re-imagined public spaces at 915 Wilshire Boulevard. With all of the exciting new upgrades to its amenity spaces, their visitors can now have a relaxing experience.
Wondering what Oculus Light Studio did to make this space more inviting? Working alongside architect HLW International, we created the custom pendant, mimicking the contours of the spaces furniture layered with concealed lighting. The courtyard is illuminated via uniquely spaced clusters of light to create a playful nighttime atmosphere.
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August 10, 2018
We’re happy and honored to announce that Oculus Light Studio has won three awards at the 2018 IES Illumination Awards:
Award of Merit for Fender Los Angeles
Award of Merit (Interiors Category) for RDC/S111 Urban Office
Award of Merit (Energy & Environmental Category) for RDC/S111 Urban Office
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