Those visiting downtown Santa Monica for the first time may not know that along the beautiful oceanfront and across from the historic pier is a lush, 6.2-acre park called Tongva. Designed by award-winning firm James Corner Field Operations—known for designing NYC’s The High Line, one of my favorite must-see places in Manhattan—Tongva Park has been recognized for its landscape, structures, horticulture, and sustainability.
Read MoreWithout a doubt we ALL miss our local restaurants, and in my humble (and yes, biased) opinion we have the best here in LA. While we have supported them by way of carryout and delivery these last few months, there is nothing like sitting down at a table in a beautiful, well-designed space and eating delicious food with your favorite person or group of people.
Read MoreI knew at the age of nine that I wanted to design homes. Jeff knew he wanted to be a builder when he was young; he was fascinated with taking apart and rebuilding things. So encouraging creativity early on with our children was really important to us.
Read MoreNearly 20 years ago three of my employees and I moved into a corner suite on the 5th floor of the Central Tower Building in downtown Santa Monica to house my growing architectural design firm. I had already been running my business for a couple of years, but when I signed on the dotted line of the lease, everything suddenly got real…but also got very exciting. I knew there was no looking back.
Read MoreThe right tile selection, whether subtle or bold, can either make or break the flow of a space. But it’s incredibly fun as a designer to search for the perfect size, shape, pattern, texture and color to see the vision through. Thankfully, we have been seeing quite a few inspiring tile designs (some that will be incorporated into our current projects). We’d like to share our favorites with you.
Read MoreWe like giving credit where architectural photo credit is due, which is why we are putting a spotlight on Chang Kyun Kim. When we saw Chang’s photography featured in Dwell a few years ago, we knew we had to have him take photos of SweisKloss projects. The images that he captures is inspiring, showing the essence of the built environment through angles and light.
Read MoreLos Angeles is rich with architectural history, and we have plenty of places to choose from to get our cultural and visual fill. But since many of our favorite places have temporarily closed, I’ve been searching around online for virtual tours of interesting architecture. One well-done tour is of the Hollyhock House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and located at the Barnsdall Art Park on Hollywood Blvd.
Read MoreAs we continue to shelter at home into day/week I-am-not-sure-anymore, I now have a routine down. I’ve adjusted my home to have a more functional workspace. I’ve conducted more design + construct business through the virtual world than I thought possible.
Read MoreTaylor Horton, Designer + Assistant Project Manager, recently hit his year mark with SweisKloss. When I asked him how it has been being a part of the SK team, he told me he really appreciates the detail of work that goes into each project. There’s an indelible satisfaction in seeing these elements come to life through the construction process.
Read MoreEveryone knows about the benefits of having indoor plants—they release oxygen into the air and absorb carbon dioxide. But for many people, it is the simple joy of having them and caring for them. Evidenced by how much we water, feed, and sun (or not) them.
Read MoreAs we move into another week of the California safer at home order, many of us have been using an existing home office or created a makeshift WFH space. Telecommuting is nothing new, but for those new to telecommuting, carving out a workspace—no matter how big or small—to call your very own will bring a sense of order to the day-to-day.
Read MoreI knew that running a design + construct firm would involve an immense amount of multi managing, which honestly, I thrive on. But multi managing also means knowing when to delegate wisely. What Jeff and I discovered early on as business owners is that having the right people in place is imperative to just about everything. Filling a position is not always about immediate need. It’s about projected need and constantly being on the lookout for great people.
Read MoreIf you drive north along the Pacific coast for about four hours—a loose approximation of LA driving time—from Santa Monica, you might think you are in the middle of seemingly nowhere. But you’ll find yourself in a small town called San Simeon with its picturesque shore to the west and rolling hills, albeit a bit barren, to the east.
Read MoreGrowing older in place is something that a lot of our clients are planning on doing. And just like us, they do not want to have to compromise on beauty and comfort now for their future selves. Well they do not have to. We thought we’d take a minute to share a list of design ideas to help make aging in the home as graceful as possible.
Read MoreWhat’s a typical day for Jeff? There is no typical day. That’s because every construction project phase and progression vary and are unique to each property. And when Jeff starts his day at 5:15 a.m., he knows his day will be full. “I have a mile-long list of what needs to get done each day to stay on schedule and keep things moving, all while making sure the quality of work is up to the SK level of standards,” says the Construction Partner of SweisKloss.
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Embarking on a new design + construct project can be overwhelming for a property owner. And agreeing to a proposal for a large-scale build or renovation is a major commitment, especially if the client is not entirely sure what they want to do with their property. Do they want to build up, do they want to build out, do they want to remodel, or tear down and build new?!
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SweisKloss recently became a Santa Monica Certified Green Business, and we are truly proud of our new status because environmental responsibility has always been one of our core philosophies. It’s simply a part of our everyday, which is why we incorporate sustainable design into every built environment we create and construct.
Read MoreAnyone who has been to the SweisKloss office in downtown Santa Monica knows that we have a materials library filled with a wide array of samples from manufacturers who strive to have their product at the forefront of what we select for design + construct projects. We often receive various materials that range from the most innovative and creative to the simply exquisite.
Read MoreI liked learning about our staffs’ favorite moments of holidays past and traditions they do to this day. Allow me to share; reading them will make you smile. We’d love to hear from you! Tell us one of your favorite things in the blog comment section below.
Read MoreI lost a great friend and teacher.
Some people we meet in life touch us in immeasurable ways; Martin Gelber was one of these people. He was my first architecture teacher, my mentor and my friend for 30 years. He will always be a part of who I am.
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