Bauhaus-inspired design revolutionizes modern office complex
The Lighthouse, a contemporary creative hub nestled in the heart of Los Angeles, has emerged as a beacon for innovation and collaboration. Situated just one block off the Venice Beach Boardwalk, this historic venue, once the Venice Post Office, has been transformed into a dynamic space that pays homage to the Bauhaus movement while embracing the needs of the 21st century.
The project, designed by Warkentin Associates under the leadership of Nathan Warkentin, former Studio Shamshiri designer, embodies the Bauhaus ideals of unity between form and function, emphasising simplicity, honesty, and purpose. The design incorporates brutalist details, industrial finishes, and custom elements, creating a harmonious blend of materials such as steel, glass, wood, and concrete.
The Lighthouse's interior design breathes life into the campus's two floors, seamlessly integrating analogue and digital creative workspaces. The ground floor, bathed in natural light, offers open workspaces, private offices, meeting rooms, living rooms, a café, and a theatre, fostering interaction and collaboration in a modern, digital workplace environment.
In stark contrast, the basement boasts a darker, more industrial aesthetic, housing the analogue production facilities. This space is home to podcast studios, a test kitchen, photo and music studios, and an analog studio, allowing creators to blend tactile, hands-on production with digital workflows. This spatial and material duality reflects the ethos of a creative campus that supports both in-real-life collaboration and contemporary digital content creation.
The Lighthouse's co-founder, Jon Goss, envisioned a dynamic setting that fosters experimentation, connectivity, and creative expression at every scale. The atmosphere at The Lighthouse is described as a hospitality-led environment that blurs the boundaries between work and social areas, creating a lively and engaging office setting.
The interior design of The Lighthouse features custom pieces, as well as iconic designs by USM, Artek, Vitra, Herman Miller, Tecta, Emeco, and OMK. A monumental painting, Abbot Kinney and the Story of Venice, created by Edward Biberman in 1941, has been returned to its original lobby location at The Lighthouse after a stint at LACMA.
The Lighthouse, a testament to the fusion of historical preservation and 21st-century innovation and lifestyle, stands as Los Angeles' newest creative hub. It serves as a vibrant community space that deliberately balances physical, tactile production spaces with open, digitally oriented work environments, thereby bridging the gap between the analogue and digital worlds.
Technology is elegantly incorporated into the Lighthouse's analogue and digital creative workspaces, fostering a harmony between traditional and modern methods of creation. Within the Admiral Room and the Green Room, cutting-edge technology such as high-resolution video walls and advanced audio systems blend seamlessly with the industrial aesthetic, embodying the contemporary ethos of this creative hub.
