LA Puglia Restaurant & Bakery

1621 Wilshire Boulevard

Santa Monica, California

The client is a celebrated Pugliese restaurateur who dreamed of opening a restaurant in Los Angeles that provides an Authentic Southern Italian Food Experience.

The task was to transform the existing dark, middle storefront space into a bright airy environment that recalls the atmosphere of her home region – Puglia, Italy.

On the roof, a line of clerestory windows was added to act as a light monitor, bringing soft northern light into the back of the dining room.

The storefront was moved back from the sidewalk, to create a gracious entry sequence and allow for layers of Mediterranean inspired vegetation to buffer the dining room from busy Wilshire Boulevard.

A simple palette of wood, steel, concrete, and sand colored plaster together with the vintage furniture and fixtures shipped from Italy, combine to invoke the aesthetic of the Pugliese region.

Simple, fresh, light, and harmonious.

PROJECT COMPLETED:

January 2021

PROJECT SIZE:

2,499 sf Tenant Space

7,000 sf 1 Story Multi-Tenant Building.

PROJECT DIRECTORY

Client, Chef, and Interiors:

Valentina Bianco

Twichell Studio: architects

Dane Twichell

Gaye McDonnell

Tami Wedekind

Structural Engineer:

Koosha Engineering

MEP Engineer:

CDI Engineering

Contractor:

ARC

Photographer:

Dane Twichell

Live House Hollywood provides a high-end 300 capacity performance venue that has broadcast TV capability, a lobby area with small acoustic stage & cafe, and 4 professional dance studios in 15,000 square feet of new construction.

Santa Monica, CA

New construction 3,600 sq. ft. residence completed 2017.

New construction of 3,300 sq. ft. in beach side community.

1001 Venice Boulevard

Venice Beach, California

2012

PROJECT SIZE:

Existing Structure 2,845 sf

Addition 1,201 sf

Total Area 4,046 sf

PROJECT DIRECTORY

Client:

Deus Ex Machina

Dare Jennings

Carby Tuckwell

Julian Heppekausen

Architects:

Twichell Studio: architects

Dane Twichell

Tami Wedekind

Bora Barut

Structural engineer:

David Lau Engineering

MEP Engineer:

Holland Engineering

Contractor:

Ramland Construction

Venice, California

Hollywood, CA

Santa Monica, CA

“New Construction Loft…The loft, accessed by private elevator, is divided into two separate suites with a long gallery corridor between them.  On one side are the open-plan kitchen, dining room and library.  The opposite wing holds the living room, office-library and powder room.  Bedrooms and baths, on raised levels reached by painted steel stairs, anchor each end of the loft. “

      Los Angeles Times

Culver City, CA

Manhattan Beach, CA

“Geoff and Christina Kahn live in a simple rectangular box that’s as precisely detailed and crafted as a fine cabinet...The structural frame is wrapped with a waterproof membrane and clad with 4-by-8-foot sheets of Parklex 1000 … spaced half an inch apart to articulate the panels…windows are arranged in abstract patterns like squares in a  Piet Mondrian painting…Walls are paneled with different colors of Koskiform…- yellow on the service areas, natural in the dining area and atrium...the art is in the paneled wall, the placement of the windows and the way they frame the trees and sky”

        Los Angeles Times

Mar Vista, CA

Hollywood, CA

“…the knit is a stylish space that brings a warm ambiance to a trendy industrial look.  Beyond the sound proof walls, however, the knit is a model of 21st century audio and video technology.”

                    Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles, CA

Interior architecture for 3,000 sq. ft. "L Salon and Beauty Lounge" featured exposed structure, courtyards and retail space.  Custom designed salon furniture including mobile cutting stations.

SALON TODAY magazine named it a “Salon of Distinction” in their national ‘Salons of the Year’ juried competition.

All artwork by design associate Tami Wedekind.

Tami explores her love of color and natural forms in the graphic patterns and textile art she creates for her architectural installations.

Please see wedekindworks.com for her weavings.