Photo Studio

Photo Studio
Culver City, CA

Tanaka’s keen interest in contemporary visual art often plays a key role in his architectural design, and this three-story commercial photography studio is an excellent example of such creative endeavors. Inspired by the sculptural works of artist Claus Oldenburg, who takes an ordinary everyday object and blows it up to a monumental scale, Tanaka used photography-related objects such as film cassette, peel-off Polaroid film and photo mounting tabs as the central visual theme of the building design. The juxtaposition of the sculptural elements and the overall industrial aesthetics effectively and whimsically conveys the identity of the building. The project was completed in 1990.