In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in almost 70 percent of full-time employees working from home, and this impacted a project we designed, from the outset. Working from home became the dominant form of work, and our clients, a boutique law office moving to the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles contacted us to change their newly acquired loft into a fitted out office. Their brief maintained, while keeping future domestic use possible, the space shouldn’t work like a home. This was a slight departure from the typical loft requirement we dealt with, where balancing residential needs with work tips in favor of living uses.

The design concept therefore attempted to keep the spirit of a creative live-work loft alive for future use, while adapting the space to fully a functioning office. The 1450 sf space allows for a socially distanced private law office. Spaces, small, medium and large, are arranged in a single bay while keeping collaboration areas at the core.

The renovation maintained a balanced environment where public and private areas in this constrained space, where separated but circulation areas were left as open as possible. When important, we emphasized the domestic. A shared open pantry and reading lounge sit at the center of the design. Wherever possible, formal work areas took over. Private partner offices were boxed in, bookended by glass partitions and sliding doors. Isolating spaces paired with maintaining visual transparency. We took care to utilize often overlooked nooks and corners, often using them for storage, a micro-desk, or printing.

Our design focused on this need to keep alive the interface between traces of living and working. Spaces are adaptable back to living, as the clients stated, for when future domestic needs arise.

We nicknamed this resulting space -- a play on the fact that a loft space was adapted to legal use – "Law_Suite".

Location

Arts District, Downtown Los Angeles, California

Year Completed

2021