Emeco House, Venice, California. All photos by Martin Tessler.

Welcome to Emeco House

Emeco was founded on the principle "Begin with what's left over. Turn it into what will last." Emeco House is a testament to that ethos. A complete conversion of a neglected 1940's sewing shop situated at the edge of a residential neighborhood in Venice, Los Angeles, Emeco house is a work/living/event space that serves as a hub for local architects, designers and the local community to connect.

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Emeco Owner Gregg Buchbinder with daughter Jaye, Business Development. Together, Gregg and Jaye spearheaded the Emeco House project. "Our love for furniture emanates from our love of nature, we wanted to do architecture that reflects all of the ethos of Emeco.”

“In a lot of ways, chairs are small buildings. This really gave us a chance to codify and scale our value system - focus on honest, humble materials. Nothing is flashy, but everything is thought through. We hope the quiet comfort will help foster a closer connection between people who come here. It's not a commercial space, it's a conversation place. ”

External staircases connect the two levels. The roof garden is home to a selection of local plants and succulents.
The central light-well connects the two levels, bringing natural light, passive ventilation and cooling.
The ground floor event area extends outside with a rear courtyard providing social space.

The design process began with the intention to retain, upgrade, and restore as much as possible of the original construction, with the new interventions and additions progressively layered in and seamlessly integrated. Lead architect David Saik has created a kind of ‘architectural natural diversity’, with the old and new supporting each other in the creation of an indivisible whole.

The goal of zero energy self sustaining operation is achieved through solar energy, with the central light-well and skylights introduced to bring natural light to each space and effectively generate passive ventilation and cooling within and between the levels of the building. Planting was introduced throughout, from the cactus in the interior to a roof garden of succulents in the rear yard.

Balcony overlooking the Venice neighborhood. The small Za stool by Naoto Fukasawa is handcrafted from recycled aluminum.

Emeco House is a mark of our commitment to slow manufacturing and purposeful, sustainable design. We approached every decision about the conversion the same way we do our chairs - which extended the process, but gave us a way to codify our own priorities in a very tangible way. As a result, Emeco House is built to stand the test of time and sit lightly on the planet - just like our furniture. We hope it will serve as a venue for conversations around sustainability, craftsmanship, and longevity for many years to come.



The house is open by appointment.
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