Christopher
Mercier, AIA
(fer) studio: Form, Environment Research
Architect Christopher
Mercier, AIA, left Frank Gehry’s Gehry Design Group in 2002 to establish his
own architecture practice to create (fer) studio: Form, Environment Research.
Their goal: to design contemporary spaces for creative clients, and to
re-imagine and re-purpose existing structures, preserving their history and
character while adapting them to modern use.
In projects large and small, (fer) studio has designed
upscale homes, hotel and hospitality projects, academic and industrial
buildings; they even have plans for a large-scale community development called
Cedros Market, near San Diego.
Based in Inglewood,
California, (fer) studio is at the epicenter of a new wave of urban renewal and
restoration. The architecture firm is part of a surge of urban explorers (and
intrepid investors) including many writers, artists, designers and entrepreneurs
who have discovered the city in their search for affordable live/work spaces
and brick-and-mortar retail storefronts.
Mercier wants (fer)
studio to be an active and vital part of the community’s transformation. “We
want to be part of the re-development of Inglewood,” he says. (fer) studio has
consulted with the Mayor of Inglewood and other city officials. “Part of the
problem has been that it has no sense of place, no sense of identity,” Mercier
explains. “We want to take this place, which has a lot of potential- -good
scale and walkability, and bring in a transit hub. If people live, work and
shop in a community, it is healthy.”
(fer) studio is
staffed by 14 architects, and divides its talents between residential,
commercial and hospitality projects. (fer) studio has designed two
well-known local restaurants, Father’s Office in Culver City and Connie &
Ted’s in West Hollywood. They are the architects behind, the newly opened
Officine Brera, an Italian restaurant in downtown Los Angeles’ arts district.
Officine Brera is housed in a 1920s industrial building that once was home to
the Gas Company. “Officine Brera is a mixture of adaptive reuse set against the
influx of a new contemporary geometry that fuses together,” says Mercier.
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| Zen Zoo |
(fer) studio brings
the same design philosophy to its residential projects as well, designing
houses for clients in Venice Beach, Fullerton, California, La Canada
Flintridge, Santa Monica, and Mulholland Estates in the Hollywood Hills.
“It varies from year
to year, but our practice usually breaks down to 20 to 30 percent residential,
20 to 30 percent hospitality, and the rest creative office spaces,“ says
Mercier. Some of the “creative office spaces” they have designed include a new
lobby and reception area for noted business woman Sunnie Kim’s Hana Financial
in downtown Los Angeles, and Smashbox Studios in Culver City.
Other recent or
currently developing projects include The Hayden, a 30,000 square foot creative
office adaptive reuse project in Culver City in the Hayden Tract.
(fer) studio strives
to combine environmental sensitivity and trend-setting vision in every project,
no matter how large or small and develop a dialogue between interior and
exterior space that morphs through the façade.”
________________________________________________________
STUART
SMITH
Founder,
General Partner, Enologist,
In May 1971, with a partnership of
family and friends, Stuart Smith bought the ‘terroir’ which today is
Smith-Madrone Vineyards & winery. He was 22 years old and had just received
his B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley in 1970 and was taking classes towards
his Master’s in Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis. In trying to find land
to plant vineyard in the Napa Valley, through a family friend he explored a
forest on the remotest and highest part of Spring Mountain and discovered that
the land had been a vineyard in the 1880s and in fact had been part of the
wagon trail route between Napa and Santa Rosa. Today he is respected for
his expertise and leadership as a mountain vineyardist.
Stuart was born and raised in Santa
Monica. Every summer during college, from 1966 – 1970, he worked as a
lifeguard on the beaches in Santa Monica. He started at Tower #1 just north of
POP Pier, spent some time at the tower just south of the Santa Monica Pier
(Muscle Beach) and later spent most of his lifeguarding time north of the Santa
Monica Pier. One summer Stu worked on the rescue boat and
became friendly with the boat’s operator, Lt. Tommy Zahn. Tommy was a
legend in the surfing world and also famous for winning the Honolulu-Molokai
paddle board race twice, first at age 20 and then again at age 40. Tommy
was also famous as Marilyn Monroe’s true love. In 1971 the Santa Monica
Lifeguards were folded into LA County’s lifeguard program.
While pursuing his master’s at UC
Davis, Stuart was the Department’s first teaching assistant, for wine industry
pioneers Maynard Amerine and Vernon Singleton. He taught Viticulture and
Enology at Santa Rosa Junior College and Napa Valley College; he has chaired
the 1986 and 2006 Napa Valley Wine Auctions. He is an active member of
the G.O.N.A.D.S. (the Gastronomical Order for Nonsensical and Dissipatory
Society), a group of Napa Valley vintners who started getting together for
monthly lunches in the 1980s. He served on Napa River Watershed Task Force for
several years, appointed by the Board of Supervisors; in 2006 he was appointed
again by the Board of Supervisors to sit on Napa County General Plan Steering
Committee, responsible for updating Napa’s General Plan, a three year
project. Stu also serves as auctioneer for an Omaha (NE) charity
auction every year.
Stuart served as Scout Master for St.
Helena’s (Boy Scout) Troop 1 for many years and continues his involvement as
Troop 1 Committee Chair. He is an avid canoeist, having canoed through the
Quetico Wilderness in Canada many times and often canoes the Klamath, Trinity
and Eel Rivers in California. He has five children and two grandchildren; the family
includes a photographer, beekeeper/artist, management information specialist,
winemaker, wine marketer and college freshman.
LOCAL
VINTNER GATHERS NO ON C MATERIALS IN WEBSITE
In depth
background material on C and Napa County’s environment
Napa Valley, May 2018 --- Napa Valley
Vintner Stuart Smith has created a blog to be an online home for all of the
materials supporting No on C, www.stopmeasurec.com.
“In my nearly 50 years of living in
Napa Valley I’ve never seen a ballot initiative which has become so divisive in
our community,” he explains. “My goal is to bring facts, articles and science
to bear on the many issues that are applicable not only to Measure C, but to a
better understanding of how our environment functions. Hopefully, those
who support Measure C will find the information thoughtful and challenging,” he
says.
Smith will be adding additional
updates and links until the election in June.
Sections on the blog include:
· The text
of the initiative
· The
language in the voter’s pamphlet
· An
analysis of the numbers being quoted in the initiative discussion (By The
Numbers)
· The anti
C editorials from the editorial boards of the Napa Valley Register and St.
Helena Star
· Research
articles about forestry, water and air quality
· A
discussion of Section E of Measure C
· Stuart
Smith’s reflections on the ethics (Morality of Measure C)
· A
compilation of No on C letters, including several of Stuart Smith’s
· Links to
the 9111 Report, the Groundwater Sustainability Report, the Voluntary Oak
Woodland Management Plan
· The
list of organizations opposing Measure C
