BIG – nearing 20 years of activity since its foundation in Copenhagen by Bjarke Ingels – has opened its second US studio in Santa Monica, in a renovated 1928 building designed by the famous Los Angeles architect Paul R. Williams, known for designing the homes of many Hollywood celebrities. The BIG Los Angeles team, led by partner Leon Rost, has been recruited both from the New York office and from the local talent pool.

Many of the original elements of the Spanish Colonial Revival style of the building, such as the reliefs on the facade and the interior plasterwork, have been preserved. The primary space on the second floor has been opened up, with much of the walls removed to reveal the wooden structure and unfinished concrete columns added to the center. This has created an open space with large desks and Roulade seats by KiBiSi, of which Ingels himself is a partner.