by Brianna Crandall — February 23, 2018 — Tangram Interiors, a provider of highly creative commercial interior environments and workspaces, was engaged to provide furniture for the University of Southern California’s “massive” USC Village development in Los Angeles. Tangram collaborated with L.A.-based architectural firm Harley Ellis Devereaux on the project, which reflects current trends in education facilities.
Touted as the largest development in the history of South L.A., as well as USC, encompasses restaurants, retailers and residential colleges in a medieval Tuscan village setting. It reflects USC’s embrace of on-campus living as an integral part of the educational experience and will house some 2,500 students. In addition, the project is expected to generate about 800 jobs.
The furniture is intended to foster collaboration, offer spaces to hang out, and be flexible (shown: a USC lobby). Courtesy Tangram
Tangram supplied furniture for lobbies, multi-purpose rooms, group study rooms, individual study rooms, outdoor areas and dining hall. The university’s goals for student areas included fostering collaboration, study and engagement among students along with a place where they could “hang” within an inviting living environment.
A mix of furniture styles is designed to accommodate a variety of postures, an attractive feature for the students. The furniture arrangements are also flexible and can be moved around throughout the day. The students take full advantage of that flexibility, constantly rearranging the space depending on their needs or preferences.
According to Tangram sales executive Lupe Morfin:
Tangram began working with USC Housing in 2013 to convert existing spaces to different furniture lines and configurations, with students testing the spaces. We learned from all those experiences and applied the information we’ve gathered to these five incredible new buildings.
With 1.25 million square feet in six buildings spread over 15 acres, the $700-million project increases the university’s University Park footprint by nearly a third. Residential college suites are on the upper floors, with retail on the ground level. The A-frame dining hall features custom stained-glass windows and Gothic-style seating.
In addition to its core furniture offering, Tangram Interiors operates five business units for a complete approach to workplace design and installation: flooring, architecture walls, custom furniture, move management and technology. The Tangram Studio division is focused on custom and co-designed workplaces, while Tangram Technology creates unified ecosystems incorporating audiovisual, acoustics, lighting and sound masking. This range of services is said to allow for a top-to-bottom approach that places each aspect of office planning, design and installation under careful consideration to maximize utility and comfort for the people who make organizations run.
