ABOUT

HOW WE WORK

CGA is a Design and Client focused Architectural Practice. We work primarily in the Northeast Area of Los Angeles but build outside the neighborhood and state. Practicing locally means we understand building constraints of the area allowing us to design efficiently

We are very interested in the relationships and the process of making Architecture, the final product and the gathering of talented people it takes to create the work. Our internal team has a varied breadth of experience and we work to form on-going collaborative partnerships with the contractors and tradespeople. We include the Client in the process so the space accommodates the needs of the individuals and the way they want to live and use it. We are delighted that at the end of many projects we hear surprise from our Clients at how well all of their practical needs were seamlessly woven into the design. 

We believe in making architecture that accommodates instead of dictates the way that people live. The idea of flexibility is not expressed in terms of neutrality or banality but rather using abstraction of form, light, and materiality. We challenge ourselves to incorporate as many programmatic requirements, materials, details and visual delight as the project allows with the final result still maintaining a sense of openness, naturalness and ease.

Site and context are important to the design process. A strong bold substructure must be present at the base of the design for the work to be able to hold a layer of living on and in it without losing its cohesiveness. Often this structure comes from a buildings relationship to site and ground and the resulting organizing principals. The immediate or distant landscape, urban environment, typology, or the building itself can constitute site and context.

We often treat the Building as another Client. Buildings have something to say about what can naturally be done to it without losing its best qualities or what can reasonable be achieved within a specific budget. And when our project is an addition we look at the building DNA for clues as to how to best design for it. Most buildings in Los Angeles do not call for strict historical restoration. They were originally historical fantasies and we try and capture that spirit and create a new chapter in their varied narrative.