Santa Monica, Calif.
Studio 0.10 Architects

Wielding curvy white walls, Studio 0.10 interweaves galleries, casual lounges, and state-of-the-art sound studios at AZLA

	Click images to view larger
	Andrew Liang & Li Wen, AIA
	Photo © Benny Chan / Fotoworks
	Click here to see the people & products

The plain brick exterior of AZ Los Angeles (AZLA) gives few clues to what lies within. Except for an address number, no sign identifies this one-story industrial building across from a car-towing lot in Santa Monica, California. Inside, AZLA offers facilities for engineering, recording, and composing music, voice-over, and dubbing tracks for radio, television, and film.

For AZLA’s new location, the latest in acoustic and electronic technologies simply wouldn’t have been enough: A freshly revamped identity was clearly in order. With two recording and editing rooms, plus one state-of-the-art surround-sound studio—a rare offering in a small, independent facility—the Peruvian-born owner, Alonso Zevellos, envisioned a place where he could also exhibit his extensive collection of Contemporary and Minimalist art, throw chic parties, and provide a casual hangout for the right crowd.

He challenged his architects, partners Andrew Liang and Li Wen of Studio 0.10, to transcend the sound industry’s aesthetic cliché, which Liang characterizes as “steely, high-tech, and muscle-flexing with incense-burning, bohemian touches.” Besides creating a salon atmosphere and accommodating complex technological requirements, the architects would have to choreograph a space where clients could enter, exit, and work without running into competitors (likely fellow clients)—and without feeling constrained or corralled.

With a light touch, the architects positioned long, curving white walls to separate distinct functions and gently guide movement through the 15,000-square-foot space. Though the plan recalls the sequential shunts of pinball machines, its 3D reality appears purely sculptural. The smooth walls seem to slip past one another—occasionally bending overhead or intersecting—enhancing spatial flow, rather than imposing barriers. By keeping these white elements from reaching the ceiling and by raising them from the floor with deeply recessed reveals, Studio 0.10 retained a sense of fluidity, free of encumbrances. Interior views appear wide and panoramic.

Want the full story? Read the entire article in our September 2004 issue.
Subscribe to Architectural Record in print, or get Architectural Record digitally

Read more about the people and products behind this project.