A Big Welcome: Thao Do and Joleen Hultberg

Fantastic additions to our creative and talented design team

ID Studios continues to grow! We recently added a new Project Architect and a Senior Designer to the ID Studios “work family”.

Thao Do first earned a BA in Architecture with Distinction from the Massachusetts College of Art, and then went on to earn a Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) with Distinction from the University of Michigan. Immediately following graduation, she spent a year in Vietnam before heading state-side.  A few years later, she was inspired to move to San Diego and continued her Architecture career working for MW Steele Group and Tucker Stadler Architects until she joined ID Studios in 2021. Thao’s outstanding skills are currently focused on life science projects for a confidential client, a corporate headquarters, and a shell and core repositioning for a building near Petco Park. 

Joleen Hultberg was born and raised in South Africa before moving to the US to attend William Rainey Harper College where she earned a BFA in Interior Design. With family spread across five countries, she has traveled around the world many times, but her favorite place is Mulback Austria where her father was born. She spent the last 16 years at Catalina Design Group where she was the Interior Design Manager with a focus on multifamily and hospitality projects before joining ID Studios. Joleen is engaged in the strategic planning stages of a locally headquartered company, and business development at ID Studios.

Thao and Joleen continue the tradition of excellence ID Studios brings to our clients and we hope you get a chance to work with them soon.

Congratulations to our New Associates

Growing our own talent

Kelsey Held graduated from Cal State University Long Beach with a BFA in Interior Architectural Design. She strives to inspire, excite and enhance the experience of the people inhabiting a space by learning about each client’s business and their unique culture in order to bring relevant solutions to the table. A great example of this approach is her design leadership of Swinerton Renewable Energy’s office. While furthering her career in Interior Design, Kelsey and her husband are also wholeheartedly raising their two pre-school-age boys.

Mike McDonald received a BFA in Interior Design from the Design Institute of San Diego. Currently, he is leading the management of several life science lab projects in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Mike brings real-world solutions to his clients and team members through his exemplary management and creative skills. He is engaged in the community in a variety of ways and has recently joined the NAIOP Developing Leaders program. Mike and his wife have two young daughters and he has taken on the extreme challenge of coaching his 5-year-old daughter’s soccer team.

Mike and Kelsey have proven their design, management, and leadership ability and are of great value to the ID Studios team. Congratulations to them both!

Back to School: Logan-Memorial Educational Campus, Phase 1 Complete

Focus on Student-Centered Learning Environments

Transitional Kindergarten through 8th-grade students heading back to school in Logan Heights will be in for a treat! A new campus, built on the grounds of the original K-6 school will evolve into a remarkable K-12 school called the Logan Memorial Educational Complex. For now, Phase 1 of this project is complete and has started welcoming kids through grade 8 into the campus.

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ID Studios’ FF&E expertise along with the architect, DLR Group|BakerNowicki‘s design talent and Balfour Beatty Construction‘s strength have brought this project to life for generations to come. We can’t wait to see Phase 2 complete!

Back to School: New Student Housing Project Planned for San Diego State University

Focus on Student-Centered Living Environments

Pierce Education Properties invited ID Studios to collaborate with KTGY Architecture on a build-to-suit, six-story off-campus student housing complex dubbed “College View Apartments” and located just blocks away from the San Diego State University campus.

With the desire to create a fun, energetic, modern design aesthetic, ID Studios designed furniture groupings for maximum flexibility in the common areas. The ceiling surfaces are highlighted with saturated hues and modern lighting and full-height glazing fills the interior with natural light and provides a connection to the exterior.

Construction is expected to be complete in Fall 2023. College View Apartments will be home to more than 300 students of this growing university.

Another collaborative project between Pierce Education Properties and ID Studios is the Avenue on College Apartments near the University of Bloomington.

Unique Interior Accents: Rope

Over the years, we’ve used some materials that provide unique interior accents, but a favorite is rope. Whether it’s to add visual interest and texture or to enhance the theme of the space, check out some of the places we’ve used rope as a design element in our projects.

In the “Cantina” at the WD-40 Company Headquarters, rope was used as a reference to the rough building materials to help reflect the many facets of their customer’s lives. See more about this project HERE.

At the Nautilus Tavern, rope was used as a reference to the name of the restaurant and the usefulness of rope in nautical applications. See more about this project HERE.

In the café at Mission Federal Credit Union, rope was installed to add visual interest (and some acoustical qualities) to a seating area. See more about this project HERE.

At a confidential Pharmaceutical Company, we used rope to draw interest to the feature staircase that connects the two-story break room. See more about this project HERE.

Do you have a unique product you’d like integrated as unique interior accents into your project? Get in touch and our creative designers will show you how we can make it shine!

Bringing the Indoors, Out

Enriching the “Outdoor Office” and Collaboration Experience

Did you know that many of our projects involve designing outdoor spaces? San Diego has the perfect weather to take advantage of the outdoors, and after a year of outdoor activities to stay healthy and safe, this renovation happened just in time. After living in their 250,000 s.f. space design by ID Studios over a decade ago, this Medical Device company planned a total renovation of their private, exterior “back yard” with five primary goals:

• Support the New Outdoor Healthy Workplace Culture
• Enrich the campus experience,
• Reinforce a sense of place,
• Encourage collaboration and
• Consider maintenance and sustainability.

Our design team leveraged their extensive open outdoor space providing indoor/outdoor collaboration and plans to enhance the first-floor cafeteria which now provides access to a variety of fresh air opportunities. ID Studios, in collaboration with Spurlock Landscape Architects, added several shade structures that anchor outdoor meeting spaces and integrates power and technology to make sure everyone can be productive. A large presentation area accommodates all-hands meetings, firm-wide presentations, or social events.

Check out more project photos here…

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Life Science Market Segment Update

Last October we announced an alliance between ID Studios and ORANGEWALLstudios. This partnership was formed specifically in response to the increased demand for highly qualified lab planning and cutting-edge workplace design services in the Life Science sector. As soon as we made the announcement, life science project coordinators recognized the potential. We were quickly able to make connections and start work on projects up and down the west coast.

To date, we have seven active life science/lab projects including two with Ligand Pharmaceuticals. These projects include scopes such as core and shell upgrades, lab planning, space planning, and TI projects.

We’d love to partner with you on your upcoming life science and/or lab project and show you how the alliance between ID Studios and ORANGEWALLstudios can be of benefit to you. See more of our completed life science projects HERE and Contact Us to get started!

We’re Open!

Last night we celebrated having all of our team members officially fully vaccinated and to celebrate that we’re open! It feels great to get together and enjoy a group happy hour at the office again, just like old times! 

Please be aware that we’re following state and local guidelines for a safe reopen. Please call ahead and pay attention to signage when you come for a visit.

Summer 2021: Together Again!

As we enter the summer season, we’re excited to be able to work together again. Nothing beats face-to-face collaboration and team building and we love to see that starting to happen again all over San Diego.

As we follow state and local guidelines, we can’t wait to see you too! Get updates on our Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media accounts.

Women of Influence in Architecture 2021

Principals at ID Studios Recognized in the San Diego Business Journal

As a woman-owned business, we were thrilled to have our three women principals featured in the San Diego Business Journal’s Women of Influence in Architecture this last month. Deborah Elliott and Amy Morway are founding principals whose vision created ID Studios in 2005. Jill joined the firm as a designer in 2006 and became an owner and Associate Principal early in 2020.

Each of the three has attributes that make them outstanding leaders and we’re proud to have them leading our firm.

To read the entire SDBJ Special Section, go here…