Contract - May 2015 - 83

Key Design Highlights
As part of a complex listed
on the National Register of
Historic Places, two buildings
were adapted as office space
for the agency.
The owner and architect
selected furnishings and fixtures
that are a mix of both new and
vintage pieces.
Building systems were
painstakingly coordinated to
preserve the integrity of the
buildings' original structures.
A few offices, including one that
was for Howard Hughes, were
restored; they now serve as
meeting rooms.
References to the surfing culture
of the company are subtle to
keep the focus on work.
Wood reclaimed from a UCLA
basketball court clads the
partners' shared desk and a
bleacher for all-staff gatherings
and other events.

of the space while making it new-going for timeless,
modern functionality." Boiler and Meyer closely curated
the furnishings, fixtures, and finishes throughout, mixing
both new and vintage pieces to complement the distinct
character of each building.

mahogany-paneled offices, including the tycoon's own.
With restored paneling, they now serve as meeting rooms
named for surfing destinations in a nod to the company's
surfing culture. "We didn't want surfboards on the wall
and a tiki bar," Meyer says, explaining the subtle
references throughout, such as a conference table with
a shape that only hints at that of a surfboard. "We took a
sophisticated approach that could be slightly tongue-incheek but detailed in a way to make surfing a backdrop
to people working."

Motherboards to surfboards
Built around 1950, the Bauhaus-style main building has
a two-story, steel-truss structure infilled with glass. Meyer
collaborated with the engineer to weave electrical and
mechanical systems through the trusses, as he describes,
"like circuits through a motherboard." This cross section of Where the cool kids hang out
The second building, built during World War II, is a
information and technology, as well as the contrast with
two-story structure with wood bow trusses, and it once
the Hughes era, guided many of the design decisions.
housed engineers working on Hughes's H-4 Hercules
"John wanted to be able to stand at one end of the
seaplane, known as the "Spruce Goose." Beneath an
main building and see all the way through to the other
side," Meyer says. To preserve views, distinctive program added skylight, the focal point now is a bleacher
structure large enough to host most staff and also clad
features, such as a coffee bar and pantry wrapped by
in wood from UCLA's basketball court. A bank of lockers
a green wall, are isolated within the larger volume of the
lines an adjacent hallway, and tucked beneath the
space. An open Brazilian-teak stair inserted into a large
bleachers are acoustically isolated edit bays. "The
hole cut into the second floor spans the coffee bar,
concept was, Where do all the cool kids hang out at
defining a gathering area on the ground floor.
a football game?" Meyer asks. "Under the bleachers."
Open workspaces with custom benching desks
Another touchstone to the past is Hughes's
predominate, save for a few enclosed rooms on the
second floor. One of these, a glass box wrapped with teak concrete document vault, now a conference room
enclosed by glass walls with flat-screen TVs floating in
slats, is shared by the three partners, who work side by
front of the restored original millwork. Hughes once sifted
side at a long table made from maple boards reclaimed
through drawings of his visionary aircrafts here, and one
from the Pauley Pavilion basketball court at the
can't help but imagine that the noted maverick would
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
approve of 72andSunny's innovative culture and the
Down the hall is "mahogany row," the only interior
new life infused into these long-empty spaces. c
element remaining from Hughes's time: a row of

contract

Contract - May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - May 2015