OFFICE LOG is a research-based design studio working across architecture, design and art. The studio works from Los Angeles and Mexico, with a focus in investigating the historical, political and social aspects that shape architecture and its subjects. Established by Luis Ortega Govela in 2020, the practice has a broad approach to its output, spanning a range of scales and methods, from theoretical projects through spatial design, design consultancy and films. Whether working directly with a client’s brief or carrying out self-initiated projects, the studio’s focus is the production of space.
The projects include a wide spectrum of arts, residential and commercial projects, spanning a range of scales from books, interiors, exhibitions, scenography to new-build houses and films. All our projects promote diversity within contemporary forms of life, designed to address and inspire new ways of being with a focus on historical understandings. We believe that through the process of carrying out research and writing alongside commercial work, the studio develops singular projects that inform each other.
Completed projects include Garage, a book published by MIT Press on the history of the American Garage, a Suburban development proposal for communal housing in Palo Alto and a documentary on contemporary forms of domesticity titled Garage that premiered at CPH:DOX in 2020. Current projects include a relocation and reconstruction of Case Study House 18 in Los Angeles, a documentary on the invention of mirror glass facades, a book on the development of Preshipanic Suburbias in Mexico, and a hotel in historic Tampico.
Luis Ortega Govela (1988) is a Mexican architect, writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture London. He has worked with Ushida Findlay Architects and David Kohn Architects in London and with The Archers and Charlap Hyman and Herrero in Los Angeles. He is theco-founder of ÅYR, an art collective which explores the complex evolution of the home and domesticity. The collective has exhibited internationally, including at theBritish Pavilion for the Venice Architecture Biennale and at the 9th Berlin Biennale of Contemporary Art.
He is the author of GARAGE a book on the architecture and image of the garage published by MIT Press which has now been translated into Russian by Strelka. The book was also adapted into a documentary and was part of the CPH:DOX festival official selection. He was a recipient of the MAK Center for Art and Architecture Residency in 2017.
He has lectured at the Architectural Association London, TU Delft, Garage Museum Moscow and The Royal College of Art.
LOS ANGELES, california 90065
Scott Hickman is a designer based in Los Angeles. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee. He has worked in digital fabrication, furniture design, and historic preservation. His work as a research assistant was published in Volume 10 of RISD’s design journal, Interventions Adaptive Reuse (Int|AR).
Stephen Zerbe is an independent designer in Los Angeles, and project managed for a design/build contractor doing residential and commercial. He received his M.Arch from SCAD in 2015. He is solution-oriented and interested in material innovation.
Art + Design Professional with ten years experience working in spatial design within related fields of architecture, furniture, sculpture, and installation art. He carries expertise in design documentation and visualization, industrial fabrication, engineering and trade coordination, and education in design technologies. Matt was a lead designer and technology officer for 5 years at RAC Design Build, which specialized in adaptive reuse in the Greater Los Angeles area. In addition to being Design Director at Office LOG, he currently runs a sculpture studio in the downtown arts district with specialization in digital manufacturing methods.