AETHER Apparel Headquarters

Project Desciption

Born out of the desire for men’s and women’s collections to look at home in the city but withstand the outdoors, AETHER’s products reflect a pure expression of form and function. AETHER Apparel engaged Assembledge+ to renovate an existing 1953 bow truss building and design a new, dynamic headquarters to echo the brand’s value and provide for a transparent and creative workspace.

The solution endeavored to celebrate the original building by opening up the original structure and creating a communal and flexible workspace, partitioned into workstation areas, a design studio, communal areas, and a conference room adjacent to a showroom.

Large window openings along the southern concrete façade fill the space with natural light and contribute to the sense of openness. The project’s clean lines, predominately white interiors with wooden details and exposed warehouse space create an airy, open office with a modern aesthetic, conducive to communication.

In the spirit of their extreme passion for the environment, the client requested the space to be as eco-conscious as possible and utilize solar energy for all the electrical requirements. A cooled roof made of foam was utilized to allow for all the wood structure and decking to be exposed while reflecting 80% of the sun’s rays. Outside, a canopy composed entirely of solar panels provides shade from the southern sun and powers the entire office with solar energy, while putting an extra 30% back into the grid.

 

 

 

“Apparel headquarters that has an eco-conscious design”

–  Inhabitat

 

 

 

“The design not only offers passive energy savings, but reflects the company’s central design philosophy of mirroring the outdoors in daily life”

–  Inhabitat

 

 

 

 

“Wood details add contrast while relying on natural materials within the space”

–  Inhabitat

 

 

Details

Location: Los Angeles, California

Size: 9,506 sf

Project Team: David Thompson (Principal-in-Charge), Jennifer Rios

Interior Design: Alison West

Photography: Yoshi Makino

Awards

2012 Gold Nugget Awards, Rehab Commercial/Industrial Project, Merit Award

2012 Remodeling Design Awards, Commercial Remodeling, Merit Award