Perhaps best known for the glitz and glamor of Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles is California’s gem and is called home by countless luxury and household brands. It is regarded for having some of the country’s best-known fashion companies, retailers, and flagship stores and this list is a showcase of 15 of its best and leading retail architects behind some of its most recognizable outlets. These firms were chosen based on their stellar portfolios, impressive clientele, and outstanding backgrounds. These companies are no stranger to acclaim and have had their work featured in countless publications.
Abramson Architects
5171 West Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016
Abramson Architects seamlessly weaves spaces into warm, unique, and functional areas tailored to its clients’ needs. It specializes in a variety of market sectors aside from the retail industry, which includes corporate, health and wellness, institutional, and hospitality ventures. The firm’s portfolio also brandishes several custom single-family residences. Its designs are often reminiscent and reflective of its Southern California roots but also remain progressive and innovative. Abramson’s work is usually distinguished by its team’s generous use of straight lines coupled with layers of light and texture. Its contributions to the local retail architectural scene, as well as its work for other markets, have been recognized multiple times, with the firm being the proud recipient of over 50 design awards. The firm has also been featured various times in several publications, including CA Home + Design, Urbanize LA, and Architizer.
Located on West Third on Melrose, this project spans roughly 4,626 square feet. It was a former synagogue now turned into a health-conscious coffee shop and the second brick and mortar shop for Dosist. For this, the Abramson team redesigned and thickened its former facade.
Clive Wilkinson Architects
6116 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Clive Wilkinson Architects employs a design-build approach and collaborates with some of the area’s most forward-thinking and progressive brands and clients. It has been in business since 1991 with its founder and namesake Clive Wilkinson, who serves as the firm’s president and design director. He has completed over six million square feet of creative workplace, educational, institutional, and residential projects, both locally and abroad. The firm’s work has been recognized a multitude of times and is the proud recipient of over 150 national and international design awards. That includes the National Design Award for excellence under the Interior Design category from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in 2012. Clive Wilkinson Architects provides a full range of architectural and interior design services, which encompass programming, research, feasibility analysis, urban design, and master planning.
One notable project is the firm’s work on the Disney Store headquarters in Pasadena. Completed back in 2007, this space spans over 81,000 square feet and entailed having to work on its interiors and adaptive reuse. For this project, the Clive Wilkinson team worked with workplace strategists, DEGW and created an excellent organizational plan. One of this project’s most distinct features is its “honeycomb” structure, which serves as a display of both Disney’s sample products and forms into a second conference room.
RDCollaborative
245 East Third St., Long Beach, CA 90802
In business since 1979, RDC is a full-service architectural firm headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Washington, D.C., and Arkansas. It also operates an international location in Shanghai. Its staff is composed of over 160 experienced and seasoned professionals who employ a comprehensive approach when designing spaces. The firm is a forerunner in the commercial industry market and specializes in retail, hospitality, and entertainment venue projects. Its portfolio also showcases various corporate interiors, mixed-use, grocery, and wellness spaces. In other words, the firm’s experience covers all consumer experiences, rendering it equipped to manage any task. The RDC team takes a comprehensive look at each of its projects’ space, and from there, methodically employs an approach that is an infusion of architecture, planning, and interior design. From conceptual design, entitlement, and site planning to construction documentation and administration, the firm’s team is there to assist throughout the entire process.
Over the years, RDCollaborative has been recognized for itsd award-winning designs. Among its applauded work is the Skydeck at Del Mar Highlands. The 26,700-square-foot restaurant architecture was design din collaboration with Donahue Schriber Realty Group, Inc. The SkyDeck features a gastronomic concept immersing into a communal dining experience offering a wide selection of interconnected restaurants. The innovative food hub bring together nine individual restaurants surrounding a central luze-cocktail bar, a co-working cafe, and an elevated beer garden named Brewer’s Deck. In addition, it offers 6,360 square feet of al fresco decks and patios offering diverseoutdoor communal areas.
Montalba Architects
2525 Michigan Ave., Building T4, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Established in 2004, Montalba Architects is a multidisciplinary firm that derives its success from the experience and talents of its team of architects and designers. It operates out of two offices, offering its clients a comprehensive range of architectural design services. The company’s portfolio includes a diverse range of luxurious residential homes. It also provides a spectrum of retail projects, including flagship stores and showrooms. The company also offers in-house work such as graphics, branding, and merchandising services.
The company has earned numerous American Institute of Architects (AIA) distinctions in addition to LABC Architectural Awards and Architizer A+ Awards. Completed back in 2019, one notable project spans over 1,625 square feet and serves as BLDWN’s first flagship retail destination in Melrose Place. The palette for this space consists of solid white oak, black solid steel, and micro-ribbed glass. The firm’s team also infused custom oak millwork as a hand-finished backdrop to the clothing on display.
Nadel Architects
1990 S. Bundy Dr., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Regarded as among Los Angeles’ best and leading architectural firms, Nadel Architects offers its clients a complete and comprehensive range of design and planning services. It is noted for its excellent cost-effective solutions and affiliations with various vital industry organizations. These include the AIA, the Association of Commercial Real Estate, and the Building Industry Association. These memberships allow it to stay up to date with the best and latest industry techniques and methods. Nadel’s portfolio showcases an excellent gallery of commercial, retail, education, and hospitality spaces. It has also taken on several mixed-use and multifamily projects. From Los Angeles and cities across the country to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond, the firm has secured a solid reputation for its innovative solutions to otherwise challenging work. Since its inception, it has received over 91 industry awards. It also operates out of three offices in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale.
One of the firm’s recent projects include the Freedom Plaza, located along Alameda Street. It is a 115,000 square-foot development with a broad array of retail and dining options. The Freedom Plaza has offered a gathering space for the residential community of Jordan Down — with its amenities and pedestrian-friendly environment.
Perkins Eastman
523 West Sixth St., Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90014
Perkins Eastman is a global design firm founded on the belief that design can have a direct and positive impact on people’s lives. The firm’s award-winning practice draws on its 1,000 professionals networked across twenty-one offices worldwide. By keeping the user’s needs foremost in the design process, the firm enhances the human experience across the spectrum of the built environment. The company specializes in a wide range of building types, which include everything from office buildings and tenant improvements to senior living communities and educational institutions. The firm’s portfolio also includes completed workplace and commercial projects for companies including Philips, SAP, WeWork, Smith+Nephew, and Blue Apron.
The project below best embodies the firm’s talent and expertise. Located in the heart of Los Angeles, this one-of-a-kind retail and entertainment destination was a celebration of Hollywood Boulevard’s historical and fictional elements. The firm’s team worked on a marquee theater, updated its hotel, as well as redesigned several dining and retail establishments.
Standard Architecture | Design
4411 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029
Standard Architecture is a Los Angeles-based practice that offers its clients a broad range of architecture and interior design services. It is led by its principals, Jeffery Allsbrook and Silvia Kuhle, who ensure that each project the firm manages receives the benefit of their diverse experience. Jeffery and Silvia lived and traveled extensively in Europe before settling in Los Angeles. The time they spent abroad influences their work to this day and has resulted in unique spaces. Under their leadership, the firm’s team emphasizes the importance of creating spaces that are responsive to their environment. The firm’s work is distinguished by its straight lines, minimalist finishes, and maximization of natural light.
Designed for Helmut in West Hollywood, this boutique spans over 3,000 square feet and won the firm several AIA Awards. The concept for the project goes back to the brand’s roots: grayscale and minimalist. For this, the firm’s team made use of smooth troweled plaster walls and concrete floors with accents of stainless steel and black, charcoaled wood. It also designed a new courtyard towards its rear.
Assembledge+
6255 W. Sunset Blvd., Suite 920, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Assembledge+ adheres to the highest standards and is the product of the vision of its founder, David Thompson. He personally assists and oversees each project that the firm takes on and offers his insight into both the firm’s large and small projects alike. Under his leadership, the firm’s work is often regarded for its modernism. Its core material palettes include architectural essentials such as western cedar, oak, concrete, glass, and terrazzo. Depicted below is one of the firm’s best projects.
Designed for AETHER Apparel, this project serves as the brand’s all-new flagship store. Located in the heart of Los Angeles’ La Brea design district, the project is set in a 4,000 square-foot industrial space. It features two full-sized glass garage doors that open into a sidewalk, its own walk-in freezer for prospective gear, and 45 modular wood crates.
Bergmeyer
800 South Figueroa St., Suite 1080, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Bergmeyer classifies itself as inspired through partnership, thoughtfully creative, inherently curious, and driven to fulfill their clients’ needs. Its approach to design is empowering and ego-free, forming proactive partnerships with clients and project teams to create a shared sense of ownership throughout the entire creative process. The firm’s services span from architecture, interior design, branding, event design, graphic design, placemaking, program management, sustainability consulting, and visual merchandising. With expertise in areas such as energy efficiency, optimizing the relationships between the built environment and occupant health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and water conservation.
Bergmeyer’s portfolio offers a rich and curated gallery of retail spaces, in addition to several projects from the restaurant, workplace, commercial, multi-family residential, educational, cultural, hospitality, and healthcare markets. The showcased project is called Cameo and was created in collaboration with Toll Brothers Apartment Living. For this, the firm’s team made use of warm wood materials and cool black accents. One of Cameo’s central themes is the co-working spaces, which range from private to communal.
Bestor Architecture
2030 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Operating out of its headquarters in Los Angeles, Bestor Architecture was founded by Barbara Bestor in 1995. She is a fellow at the AIA and has led Bestor into becoming an award-winning company with an excellent reputation and clientele list. Some of its most noteworthy projects include the headquarters for Beats by Dre and Snap, Blackbirds, a new small-lot housing development in Echo Park, and countless other unique residences and commercial establishments. The firm has also taken on several projects from the hospitality and cultural industries and has been recognized with various distinctions such as the AIA National Design Award for Interior Architecture. Bestor has also graced the pages of publications such as Architectural Digest, Elle Decor Italia, Curbed, and Vogue.
One notable project is the firm’s work for Clare V. Silverlake. Located in Los Angeles, this project was designed and completed back in 2012. It is a stand-alone boutique that showcases the brand’s totes, weekend bags and clutches along with carefully curated jewelry, clothing, and accessories. Its interiors were custom-designed to fit excellent shelving and wonderful display boxes.
AUX Architecture
2404 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 12 D, Los Angeles, CA 90057
Established in 2008, AUX Architecture is an award-winning Los Angeles studio that specializes in retail, high-end residential, mixed-use, multifamily, and performance space projects. Pronounced “Ox,” the firm derives its name from the Latin word “auxiliarius,” which means “to aid” and the port that often comes with devices and gadgets that allow them to run the latest extensions. The firm has dedicated itself to using the most innovative techniques and processes, and the result is a number of exciting projects. Some of its latest and exciting endeavors include two performing arts centers, an art gallery, and an award-winning multifamily townhouse.
At the firm’s helm is Brian Wickersham, an experienced architect and LEED-certified professional. Under his leadership, the firm has had the privilege of being recognized with a multitude of awards. Prior to his establishment of the firm, Mr. Wickersham first gained experience in the offices of Daly Genik Architects, Frank Gehry, and Graft. He has also guest lectured and served on juries at institutions throughout California, including at SciArc, USC, Woodbury, ELAC, and Cal State Long Beach.
Sargenti Architects
448 S. Hill St., Suite 808, Los Angeles, CA 90013
With two decades of experience in the industry, Sargenti Architects holds itself to a higher standard in terms of providing architecture, engineering, and design services with the end goal of crafting signature concepts. The firm is a one-stop shop for every service a client may need for a commercial endeavor. Its unique model keeps all of its projects at low cost but high quality. The firm specializes in retail, hospitality, restaurant, big box, automotive, construction, and corporate interior projects. The firm operates out of six offices, five in the United States and one in London, and it is licensed in 49 states, including Puerto Rico. Its growing team of over 160 professionals has worked with various household brands, including international giants like H&M, GAP, and Target.
One notable project showcases Sargenti Architects’ work for Face Gym in West Hollywood. The firm’s work for this London-based franchise features large graphics, simplistic merchandise displays, and small pops of red throughout the space.
Studio One Eleven
245 East Third St. Long Beach, CA 90802
The award-winning Bloc stretches over 450,000-square-feet of retail space and opens up to the city street life with a dazzling array of stores that represent Los Angeles’ diverse and growing market. As opposed to the inward-facing structure of the former Macy’s Plaza, The Bloc houses outdoor promenades, terraces, and plazas. It is a vital Transit-Oriented Development given its location at the epicenter of the region’s expanding rail lines and bus network. The Bloc takes cues from the local government’s Mobility Hub Pilot Program and even has a direct connection to the 7th Street Metro Station. The entire layout was changed from a solid mass into a series of decks, crossings, and balconies that create an inviting urban living room in the center of downtown capable of hosting various activities and stores.
At the LABJ Commercial Real Estate Awards, Studio One Eleven was granted a Silver Award in the retail category for its efforts and expertise on The Block. The project is one out of the hundreds of unique and impressive spaces that the firm has worked on. Its architects and planners are known for their meticulous attention to detail and their visionary contributions to the city’s skylines. The firm is also socially responsible and strives to infuse various sustainability practices into each of its projects.
Shubin Donaldson Architects, Inc.
3751 Robertson Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
Shubin Donaldson commits itself to innovative, creative solutions. It makes use of a highly-collaborative approach and works on both commercial and residential projects. The firm has been in the industry since 1991 and has won numerous awards including the Westside Urban Forum Merit Award and several other distinctions from the AIA. Showcased below is an excellent example of the firm’s talent and expertise.
This project was designed for G/Fore and serves as both a showroom and a design office that spans over 3,500 square feet. Located in Beverly Hills, the idea behind this project was an interplay between traditional and modern spaces which was achieved through a wood-paneled arcade that ran down the center of the space. This also served as a display of the brand’s products.
