Mother L.A. Completes Renovation of Office in Historic West Adams Neighborhood

Independent creative agency Mother in Los Angeles has announced the completion of its renovated additional 15,000-square-foot new office located in the city’s historic West Adams neighborhood.

Initiated in 2022 and completed in April 2025, the renovation was led by Larry Cohn and Rachel Newton of NYC-based Shadow Architects. As an homage to the history of West Adams’ legacy as the hub of commerce and culture in the early 20th century, the building’s exterior features four storefront-inspired silhouettes, echoing the familiar façades seen throughout Los Angeles. In collaboration with the rest of the design team, the duo worked with vernacular components and materials, including broad overhangs, projecting display windows, aluminum siding, textured stucco and glass block – characteristic items commonly found in the neighborhood.

“In designing Mother L.A.’s new space, we wanted to authentically capture the architectural language of both the surrounding neighborhood and the city’s evolution,” stated Newton. “We didn’t want to create a monolithic design for the city block but instead were looking to break down the street-facing façades into different entities and identities, with varying levels of opacity. Over time, this neighborhood came to be a hub of small industry and fabrication, and we similarly see the inner workings of Mother as a factory of creatives where production is very much part of their offerings. An entrepreneurial spirit is at the heart of their culture. With Mother’s encouragement and playing with an architectural vocabulary, we were after opportunities where the building and the new production taking place within could engage street life – in a two-way conversation.”

(Erik Undehn)

With the newly renovated space, Mother L.A.’s office encompasses an entire city block. Shadow Architects collaborated with the interior design studio Office of BC to create a diagrammatic plan for the design of the additional 15,000-square-foot building’s interior.

The space unfolds across three distinct zones designed as a neighborhood – Mom’s House, Mother Department of Recreation, and Mother’s Goods and Services – each inspired by Los Angeles’ rich history of residential, civic and commercial designs. At the heart of the office is the open area “marketplace,” a nod to the founding of Mother at a kitchen table, where ideas are shared and culture is made. Together, these zones reflect the multidimensional community of Mother, supporting diverse ways of working, moments of leisure and opportunities for connection and discovery.

“We start the same way each time: find a space with just enough stubbornness to hold us. Then we tune in - to the neighborhood, to the people who’ll make it theirs and to that quiet little hum that says, ‘Yep, this is Mother,’” said Paul Malmstrom, founder and creative chairman, Mother. “I’ve been up to my elbows in this build, and I’ve learned that designing an office in our industry is like building a house on a rollercoaster. The tracks shift while you’re pouring the foundation. You need enough nerve to make wild guesses and enough humility to let the thing become what it wants to be. Luckily, we had people who were up for that kind of ride.”

The office’s nine meeting rooms are programmed with varying levels of formality, ranging from structured, table-centered spaces for strategic conversations to lounge-style rooms that encourage casual exchanges and creative flow. For individual work, Shadow Architects and the Office of BC have carved out quieter zones throughout, including open-air inspired seating, bar-height surfaces and a network of phone rooms designed for privacy, focus or quick calls. Each zone is tailored to a different mode of working, creating a layered environment that adapts to the team’s needs.

Mother leases the building from Fundrise and has operated in Los Angeles since 2017.

HLW served as the AOR for both the core/shell and TI scope and were critical to the space’s delivery.

Information sourced from Mother. Learn more by contacting info@motherusa.com.