Boutique Design - Fall 2023 - 46

How did you get started in the industry? It was almost
an accident. A dear friend was part of a group doing
all of the hot restaurants in Los Angeles back then and
she asked me to join them quite a few times. I came
from the world of architecture, and from a pretty
theoretical background in it, so I was really uncertain
about leaving architecture to explore something more
interior. But their work was really great, she was really
great, and eventually I did it and I fell in love with this
crazy, topsy-turvy, world of dream-making we
call hospitality.
What does the hospitality industry need to prepare
for? I keep thinking about the problem of development
itself. Our coastlines continue to be swallowed up
by more and more hotels. This won't stop as long as
there is social inequity, for every newcomer wants to
make their nut. But maybe there's a different way to
go about it.
Consider that the very nature of what we do is
absurd. We demolish a restaurant to put the exact
same function back into the same place in a different
form. We devote insane amounts of energy to creating
individualized experience and expression that may
have no greater impact on a macro scale, while the
activity does impact the environment negatively.
This is what we need to be talking about. I'm
pretty sure that early American settlers weren't
hewing logs endlessly for their kitchen re-do, nor were
the indigenous peoples. Can we, as an industry, stop
and look at what we are doing? I want architecture to
disappear into the landscape. I want our builds to have
legacy. I want all the birds to have forests. And I want
the people of the world to know themselves as sacred.
Best advice you've received? The work does not speak
for itself. A great designer is usually way ahead of
the curve. Vision is our hammer. Not everyone will
see this, so you've got to be able to language your
brilliance so that other people get it.
A VIEW OF THE BAR AT SOL S T I CE RES TAURANT IN IRVINE , CALIFORN I A
Advice for a strong client/designer relationship? The
best dynamic comes from getting my client's world-
that is, from deeply understanding what matters
most to them. When I fi rst started out on my own and
wanted to better understand how a project would
work, I used to run my client's business model to
determine what annual revenue they would generate
and what expense should look like. I never told my
clients I did that. In retrospect, I think they would
have appreciated knowing how far I was going to have
their investment work.
ALEXIS READINGER
FOUNDER
PREEN ,
I NC ., LOS ANGELES
What are you most looking forward to at Preen? My
role in running the fi rm is temporary. Eventually
my teammates will take over and I will move to an
advisory position. We are a high-performance team
and witnessing them evolve and grow is highly
rewarding. I will always be an artist though and I
will always create. I have some important work to do
now, some visionary projects that need to be funded
and built. The world needs some new kinds of places
where humans can go to renew, to make themselves
to be better for the world and for each other. Places
where humans can connect with their grief, their
joy and with their infi nite being. I have a handful of
projects that are designed for this, and for me, that's
what the future holds.
46
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PHOTO: BRANDON BARRÉ
Boutique Design - Fall 2023

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