On the Edge

Five top Los Angeles design firms teamed up with local contractors for the second annual "West Edge: Spaces of Unlimited Creativity" invitational showcase

Edie Cohen -- Interior Design, 5/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Firm: Team HC

contractor: City Constructors

environment: Retail

Inspired by the grand incense coils in the Buddhist temple near their Hong Kong office, Team HC reinterpreted the forms stateside to create three oversize lanterns to be used in a retail setting. Two are composed of lacquered aluminum ceiling trim; the third is colored art glass. “They’re showcases,” says principal Hannah Lee. “Goods can be placed inside or around them.” The designers continued the allusion with a drywall cove for product display. Inside, carved oak screens from Team HC’s own furniture collection subtly evoke a Chinese sanctuary.

Chair, table: Arcadia.Custom lantern lacquer: Lamin-art.Custom glass lantern: Indiana Art glass.Translucent film: Maya Romanoff corporation. Lighting: Louis Poulsen Lighting.Floor: Johnsonite.

Firm: WWCOT

contractor: Corporate Contractors

environment: Education

"Googling, blogging, text-messaging, and wireless technology are changing how information is distributed," says director of interiors Rey III Viquez. WWCOT's cyber lounge encourages students to plug in their laptops—and hook up with each other. "People still need a sense of community," he adds. The seating is funky casual—carpeted mounds and long benches—except for a few conventional lounge chairs covered in op-art fabric. All have attached walnut laptop tablets. A 20-foot-long pixilated sunset printed on glass tiles provides a luminous backdrop, encouraging higher learning.

Chairs, benches: Gunlocke Company.Carpet: Interface.Glass: Glaspro.Glass tiles: Crystal water tiles. Laminate: Lamin-art.

Firm: Chu+Gooding Architects

contractor: Bonura Building

environment: Corporate

The typical workday for a busy CEO is far from typical—and neither is Chu+Gooding's live-work corporate suite. Traditional elements (a desk) got nontraditional twists (a cast-glass top). Continuing the theme of thinking outside the box, principal Rick Gooding says the designers "took a maverick approach to materials." They covered part of the countertop in the backing of deconstructed carpet. Suspended oak ceiling panels resemble circuit boards. An entry curtain is formed from water-jet-cut panels of medical-grade silicon. The suite also features a platform bed, carpet-covered shelving, and corrugated-copper ceiling pendants.

Ceiling panels: Ceilings Plus.Pendant fixtures: McEwen Lighting Studio. Desk glass: Ultraglas. Desk laminate: Lamin-art. Paint: Benjamin Moore & Co. Chairs, cabinets: Global. Chair upholstery: Maharam. Shelves: Arakawa Hanging Systems. Carpet: Bentley Prince Street.

Firm: Langdon Wilson Architects

contractor: L.E. Waters

environment: Health care

"I thought about how a design solution could enhance treatment and relieve discomfort," associate Reginald Head recalls in planning Langdon Wilson's outpatient treatment center. "Our choice of materials was key." For patient privacy while recovering, the designers chose diaphanous white polyester to stretch over aluminum frames creating three soothing, tentlike pods. Inside, acrylic beams diffuse fluorescent lighting. From each pod's maple-accented reclining chair, a patient can watch a plasma TV. Wood-laminate floors confer a comforting residential quality, as do the sconces in glass and stainless steel.

Paint: Benjamin Moore & Co. Ceiling grid, tile: USG Corporation. Pod fabric: Moss. Sconces, up-lights: Boyd Lighting. Floor: Wilsonart International.Millwork: Lamin-art. Chairs: Nemschoff. Glazing: Glaspro.

Firm: Interior Architects

contractor: Corporate Contractors

environment: Hospitality

Hip and modern, Interior Architects's environment has two zones. The bar, a backlit block of sandblasted-glass panels served by Lievore Altherr & Molina's wengé stools, anchors the first area. An adjacent wall of cast-gypsum panels and an awning of ceiling tiles add texture. The back bar features two-dimensional goblets laser-cut into laminate panels. Striped recycled-nylon carpet leads back to the lounge, with an ebonized-beech table, silver-vinyl chairs, and white-leather ottomans. An acrylic curtain glows red from fluorescent backlighting while capturing the festive blue and white reflections from LEDs within the bar. Design director Francisco Jove reports, "People stayed here until 8:30."

Stools, chairs, table: Andreu World. Carpet: Tandus. Glass: Ultraglas. Ceiling: Armstrong. Laminate, shelves: Lamin-art. Cast-gypsum wall: Modular Art. Lighting: Photosynthesis.