Ogilvy & Mather

Culver City, CA

Ogilvy is a brand-name advertising agency and a leader worldwide. The company’s executives were looking to reinvent themselves with leading-edge design of new offices in Los Angeles.

The offices are located in a former light industrial area that was redeveloped as a technology and arts district by Samitaur Constructs. The existing building was designed by Eric Owen Moss. The program for the new office space is intended to communicate a commitment to cutting-edge work and feature the latest communication technology, including a complete internal post-production facility. The design team was asked to build an open-plan work space to house a staff of more than 110 people.

Ogilvy is a brand-name advertising agency and a leader worldwide. The company’s executives were looking to reinvent themselves with leading-edge design of new offices in Los Angeles.

The large open-plan of this decidedly industrial space has been used as an advantage in the design program. Structural wood beams and large, plate-glass windows around the perimeter walls lend character and provide natural light throughout the office. Behind a front-facing, angled plate-glass wall, a perforated-metal tunnel known as “The Tube” dominates the entrance to the offices and is intended to serve as a gallery entry path to the rest of the building.

 

The Tube is a steel-framed structure skinned with perforated aluminum sheets that feature multiple LCD display screens with changing programs of client and office work. Additionally, 16-foot-high Plexiglass screens exhibit imagery about the advertising firm and its clients while creatively dividing the space.

Shubin + Donaldson have provided for state-of-the-art technology throughout the facility. Each custom-designed workstation uses the same materials seen throughout the space -perforated metal and steel, etc. — for a strong integration between the building and its function. A large existing stage pit, originally intended for theatrical productions, has been transformed into an impressive conference room and gathering site. War rooms are adjacent, and provide privacy for working teams.

PARTNERS:
Russell Shubin, AIA, LEED AP
Robin Donaldson, AIA

PROJECT TEAM:
Mark Hershman

PHOTOGRAPHER:
Tom Bonner

GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
Sierra Pacific Constructors

AWARDS/PRESS: