The projects by Los Angeles based firm Wick Architecture & Design are crafted by sustainable design and environmental awareness. The commitment to creating spaces infused with a healthy and holistic vision, where nature and man-made architecture may coexist, define Wick Architecture & Design’s signature approach.

David Wick, principal and lead designer of the studio, is LEED certified since 2006 and Build It Green certified since 2008 – two recognitions that further confirm the path of innovation undertaken. Throughout his more than 20 years of professional practice, Wick has worked on renovations, conversions, expansions, large scale new constructions and intimately sized residential projects, always pursuing an original and sustainability-oriented attitude.

As for the specific layout and design of eleven rooms of the hotel, it is interesting to note how the music concept is present here as well. In fact, just like a perfect album, each room is designed according to a different sound. The concept, designed by David Wick, in collaboration with Tiffany Howell of Night Palm Studio, draws heavily on music and NY’s well-known Chelsea Hotel, as they are meant to be more like small apartments than rooms. The furniture is a striking mix of custom made pieces, unique vintage furniture, rare objects, art and music by local designers and musicians. Finally, Andrew Savage, singer of the band Parquet Courts and Grammy Nominee for his art and design in “Best Recording Package” category, was commissioned by Neupert to create original paintings for each room and for the public areas. In accordance with the project’s specific concept, the bar features a modern and elegant look, with dark wood chevron paneling, textured wall coverings, a lush gold velvet stage curtain, gold deco pendant lighting and accents, a brass top, marble tables, and tufted leather seating. Moreover, in order to provide its guests unique live music experience, it is equipped with studio quality sound and sound-proofing.

With the Stereoscope project, Wick Architecture & Design has brought the modern coffee shop experience towards new sophisticated – and artistic – frontiers. Located in Newport Beach, on the ground level of a two-building office complex with a common courtyard, the new opening had to resonate with the environment and, at the same time, to be unique. “The client wanted something that had never been done before, and we believe that we have given them exactly that” explains David Wick. Entrusted with the task of enhancing a narrow, L-shaped space, with something to be defined one-of-a-kind, Wick Architecture & Design, in partnership with LAND Design Studio, found inspiration in the Italian Renaissance. The initial note was provided by the memory of a recent trip to Italy, where David Wick and Andrew Lindley had the possibility to appreciate Correggio’s Assumption of the Virgin, a 16th century fresco gilding the dome of the Cathedral of Parma. Out of this came the duo’s idea of a modern reading and adaptation of that historic Renaissance approach, endowed with a multi-dimensional aspect embodying the significance of the word ‘Stereoscope’, the ancestor of modern 3D technology.

In order to bring the concept to life, the artist Christy Lee Rogers, renowned for her underwater Renaissance and Baroque style photography, was asked to licence a piece of her work, The Reunion of Cathryn Carrie and Jean, to be transferred into 3D. Then, working with a Nashville-based blue printer, Big Visual Group, the design team transferred the art to the ceiling thanks to a remarkable installation process. To enjoy the space’s avant-garde experience to the fullest, 3D glasses were placed on the shelves of the coffee shop, giving access to the visual splendour of the artwork above. Finally, 8 feet above the floor, where the vivid colours of the artwork fades to white, the corners of the L-shaped interiors were provided with lighting fixtures from Andrew Neyer’s Suff® collection for Astro Globe, thus accentuating the space and delineating the minimalist décor below.

The project for Sake Dojo, a 3.283 square-foot restaurant located at the centre of the Little Tokyo neighbourhood, is one more project by David Wick of Wick Architecture & Design and Andrew Lindley of LAND Design Studio where art and research are at the core. Indeed, that of Sake Dojo is an authentic Japanese-style cuisine with a modern twist and a strong emphasis on craft Japanese sakes, whiskeys, and beers. In order to transfer the cuisine identity into the space design, David and Andrew asked Japanese Tattoo Artist Horifuji and Printer Michael Hill of A ō S A to create lenticular walls of tattoo art and light throughout the space. Thus, a modern Tokyo feeling was given to the restaurant, which comprises a liquor and sake bar, a sushi bar, open table seating and a private dining banquet room. As for the use of furnishing and materials, have been selected an expanded steel liquor cage, sliding perforated plywood panels enclosing the private dining room, and vintage décor pieces, including American movie posters in Japanese, cameras and sake bottles. In short, those by Wick Architecture & Design are always projects other than obvious.