Contract - January/February 2013 - (Page 43)

pHOTOGRApHy: Benny CHAn/FOTOWORkS Shimoda’s first entertainment project was MTV in Santa Monica, California (above). He renovated the offices in 2006 to be more energetic and youthful, with spaces for events and listening parties (top right). Shimoda himself is modest and gives clear credit to clients for his firm’s success. “Our clients have very, very strong visions about what they want their projects to be like, and we think that is incredibly important to the success of a project because we are able to take those visions and create something well beyond what they had thought to be possible,” Shimoda says. “A primary goal in all of our work is that it does not look repetitive—we make sure that each client gets a little bit more, gets something more interesting and more reflective of their own personalities. As a result, because we spend so much time with that relationship, we tend to work with them over longer periods of time, helping them evolve through a collaborative conversation in terms of building their business.” His work for Steelcase exemplifies the kinds of relationships he nurtures to extend beyond one project into repeat commissions. Shimoda first worked with Steelcase on the furniture manufacturer’s showroom in Santa Monica, completed in 2004. The showroom brought several of Steelcase’s product lines together in one space, establishing a brand identity for the company in Southern California. During the Santa Monica project, Shimoda developed a collaborative relationship with Steelcase’s in-house design staff, particularly with James Ludwig, the company’s vice president of global design. Ludwig, who instantly hit it off with Shimoda, describes working with Joey as a “kind of work alchemy that is really special. His ability to crystallize our conversations or to articulate something that is quite nuanced in what we want to capture through drawing, through sketching, in real time, really turns all of our conversations into workshops.” After successfully completing the four-floor showroom in Santa Monica, Shimoda gained several key Steelcase projects, including its showroom in Chicago and significant work at the company’s headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In each of Shimoda’s projects, a single element often emerges that subtly defines a space, not necessarily competing with other materials or design gestures, but given just enough extra attention and finesse to visually read as essential. In the Chicago showroom for Steelcase, the folded landscape of large white columns establishes their primacy. At the total renovation of 6565 Sunset Boulevard, a five-story office building in Hollywood, the new lobby’s ceiling creates a geometry and color that ripple through the furniture and floor. At Mikimoto’s Beverly Hills flagship store, pronounced cast glass columns attain a presence and gravity when played against white translucent drapes that softly envelop the interior. Shimoda has a term he uses to describe the mature essentializing logic of his work—extra superfino, an Italian phrase that could be considered the mantra of the architect’s practice. Shimoda picked it up after noticing “extra superfine” printed on sugar and rice packages while living in Florence, Italy, to study with Christiano Toralda di Francia of Superstudio for a year during college. He liked the idea that architecture could bring something unexpected, an additional surprise around which an interior space could pivot. This is not to say that Shimoda doesn’t have clear affinities to design in Los Angeles. “When I first moved here in 1989, everything was rusty, pointy, and sharp, and I found that exciting,” he says. “Los Angeles has been a great place for young architects because there is no dominant style or expectation for built space. The city is almost indifferent to being built, so you can do pretty much anything.” contract

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - January/February 2013

Contract - January/February 2013
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Briefs: Lighting
Product Focus: Bonaire and Buxom
Designer of the Year
Legend Award
34th annual interiors awards
Large Office
Small Office
Hotel
Restaurant
Healthcare
Education
Public Space
Showroom
Entertainment
Sustainable
Adaptive Reuse
Retail
Student
Designers Select: Tables and Desks
Sources
Ad Index
Public Interest Design
Perspective: Michael Graves on the Lost Art of Drawing

Contract - January/February 2013

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