Avast Ye Matey

Our office at AdamsMorioka is in the Flynt Building in Beverly Hills. It used to be the Great Western Bank Building and has a giant statue of John Wayne out front. Don't worry, there is no porn being filmed in the building, unless it's happening after hours in our office and I don't know about it. The building was designed by William Pereira and Associates in 1972. It is an oval shape and has beautiful details of late modernism. When we tell a guest how to get to the restroom or other directions, we use the terms "bow" and "stern". That's the curved front or back of the building.

Landor and Associates in San Francisco, however, had a real boat. When they talked about the bow and stern, they meant it. The Klamath was the company's headquarters from the 1960s -1980s. This was a radical departure for a firm. Most design agencies don't work on boats, especially a company engaged in high end corporate work. But it became a symbol for Landor's creativity and separated them from the traditional and stodgy firms in New York.

We've been considering a move recently. Right now we're on the port side of the building in the middle. We would like to be on a real boat. Barring that option, we may find ourselves on the bow or stern of our landlocked ship at the corner of La Cienega and Wilshire. If that happens, I intend to redesign the office in a nautical theme with anchors, nautical flags, oil paintings of clipper ships, and desks that look like old ship flooring. We'll serve grog to guests rather than water or soda.