Alfred has moved into the former LA Eyeworks store, an iconic and extravagantly futuristic interior by architect Neil Denari. With a sense of respect for the design, a belief in keeping what’s useful, added with the idea that the dream of the future is over, Studio Sucio chose a preservationist and critical course. The swooping walls and ceilings are neutralized by a coat of sharp white paint. This bleached carcass is the setting for a new composition of lush greenery, simple, crude, and yet thoughtfully detailed HempWood structures, and Alfred iconography.
The system of locally built simple crate-like seats, tables, and planters standing in contrast to the inherited sleek white shell.
A limited and neutral palate of black ceramic tile, stainless steel, and white granite was chosen to complement the sleek and the raw. The result is a spare authenticity softened by the abundant intrusion of live plants, and the soft geometries on the of Alfred staple ‘Grandmother’ flower pattern by Venturi Scott Brown on the ceiling where, by its exaggerated scale and lack of color, feel like clouds in a stormy sky. There was a perverse spark of joy for the designers in pairing pomo iconography with the Denari design.