i was wondering if anyone who works there or who has worked there could tell me a little bit about the office culture - how are they like to work for? do they pay reasonably well? long hours? what do they value most in their employees? or anything else you think might be relevant.
i hear it's hit or miss there. some people are for a long time, others are in and out. a buddy of mine worked there for a few years and he was stressed out the whole time. major workload for him.
i would suggest checking it out for yourself if you are in l.a. and passing through the zona de yuppie bullshit.
The reason for "west of the 405" is because it's cool, not because it's kewl. Other places are much more interesting (to visit), but too damned hot (to live in)>
(With apologies in advance to MArch06 --but it seems like the P+S comments are not forthcoming)
Blanket statements are usually a problem, and one such as "There is no such thing in L[A] as a neighborhood" can only come from someone who has never lived here, or has not paid attention when they did.
It's similar when someone claims that this place has no weather. Untrue.
Just because a place doesn't look like where _you_ grew up or where _you_ live doesn't mean it doesn't have identifiable and functioning neighborhoods.
I worked there for 2+ years, but that was awhile ago. I visited the office last year while I was in town on a USC NAAB accreditation visit. I didn't get the impression that there had been a radical change in the office culture since I left--with the possible exception of a switchover from Mac/Form-Z to Autocad/3D-Max.
True comment about the A/C. It's hotter inside than out during the summer, and colder inside during the winter. The building is basically a corrugated tin shed. But, the location with all the art galleries around is a pretty cool tradeoff.
Unless something changed that I didn't notice, you'll be given responsibility for a project (usually modest size) from start to finish. You may also pitch in on other larger projects. Larry Scarpa is the dominant personality in the office. Though you have plenty of opportunity to get your fingers into the design mix, there is no question that every project that leaves the office has his stamp on it.
On the whole, my experience there was very positive. My time in the office had a very strong influence on my development as a designer.
If you need any specific info, you can also contact me privately.
p.s. I lived in Santa Monica for my 3 years in LA. I enjoyed my time with the tourists and commies.
they have nice little cafe in the 'office park' we'd often walk to for lunch. it does get hot in that office but i've only been there a couple times so who knows. you should ask the drizzler.
congrats on graduating, march06. good to see you on here again.
just noticed this thread... I worked there for 2.5 years. Generally I really enjoyed the experience, although the comments about air conditioning and heating are very true. That place is an oven in the summer, but a lot of people would wear shorts and sandals on those hot days.
You will get a wide variety of experience. Larry tends to give everyone in the office their own project to manage, design and draw. If there is a deadline on other projects people will generally combine forces to get the project out the door and then go back to their own work.
Design wise, Larry is the lead designer on pretty much everything. You won't really find a rigorous process there. Larry sketches something he thinks looks good, somebody else irons out the details and does modeling/drawing and then Larry finds a way to justify it to the client. I found some of the work to be really interesting and innovative and other projects just seemed like a recycling of ideas.
They have a 3d printer and laser cutter in the office and use them frequently. Everything is modeled in Rhino and rendered in V Ray. They tend to be a bit slow to embrace new technologies (when I started they still used PowerCAD and FormZ), but Larry has a made a point recently of hiring several recent graduates from SCI-Arc and UCLA who I feel have brought a lot of technology expertise to the office.
Most people work right around 40 hours per week. I had a few 60+ hour weeks, but in general the hours were very reasonable. The compensation is better than most design oriented offices.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific questions.
Hi shaybug, I miss our summer lunches
If you're going to work at P+S definatly live on the west side, you don't want to commute.
I worked at P+S for a while too, I think drizzler and ByJoveByJingle summed it up pretty well. I wore shorts and flip flops all the time... though I had to hide from the clients... and in the winter you need winter clothes, 50 degrees is really cold for office work.
I ended up getting pigeonholed a bit into the design role, didn't follow a whole lot of projects through... actually those were all projects that died now that I think about it... oh and the MTV cafeteria is pretty good for lunch too.
pugh + scarpa
i was wondering if anyone who works there or who has worked there could tell me a little bit about the office culture - how are they like to work for? do they pay reasonably well? long hours? what do they value most in their employees? or anything else you think might be relevant.
thanks in advance
no air conditioning
i'd call that relevant. i sweat getting dressed
who needs a/c west of the 405?
Aaaaaah... that's why I live west of the 405...
apparently everyone who works there has no AC and no internet :)
... or they're not interested in talking about their employers in a public forum.
... and yeah, I always wonder why anyone would live anywhere in LA but the West Side.
Cuz its a huge city with lots of interesting people, places and things to do that aren't on the West Side...
And because the majority of the westside is overpriced, gridlocked, white yuppie bullshit.
Yeah Appleseed!
Whoops, sorry, don't want to start a flame war.
Downtowners representin'...
aside from the a/c issue...
i hear it's hit or miss there. some people are for a long time, others are in and out. a buddy of mine worked there for a few years and he was stressed out the whole time. major workload for him.
i would suggest checking it out for yourself if you are in l.a. and passing through the zona de yuppie bullshit.
The reason for "west of the 405" is because it's cool, not because it's kewl. Other places are much more interesting (to visit), but too damned hot (to live in)>
Haha, yeah, and I liked being able to ride my bike to the beach.
thanks singlefin, not in LA yet moving at the end of the month...but lets try not to turn this thread into a LA neighborhood war.
damn, neighborhood wars sound wicked, a sweet prelude to the water wars!!
If we're talking water wars, let me be the first to claim Mars.
There is no such thing in La as a neighborhood, they are separate municipalities or cities. Thus, a neighborhood war is fundamentally impossible.
thanks for clarifying, added a lot
(With apologies in advance to MArch06 --but it seems like the P+S comments are not forthcoming)
Blanket statements are usually a problem, and one such as "There is no such thing in L[A] as a neighborhood" can only come from someone who has never lived here, or has not paid attention when they did.
It's similar when someone claims that this place has no weather. Untrue.
Just because a place doesn't look like where _you_ grew up or where _you_ live doesn't mean it doesn't have identifiable and functioning neighborhoods.
"There is no such thing in La as a neighborhood, they are separate municipalities or cities."
You're joking, yeah?
My independent municipality will go head-to-head with your culturally distinctive neighborhood.
Wait, what were we talking about?
Santa Monica is full of tourists and commies. SM 'beach' has one of the highest recorded levels of fecal matter ppm in the state.
PS: My downtown bum and beat your soft SaMo bum. POW!
PPS: GLOW sucked.
oh well, i can't stop this fire...burn baby burn
sm beach is at the terminus of the 10.
only those freaks from east of the 405 arrive to that beach by the 10.
q.e.d.
ps. i'm east of the 405, by about 850 miles...
I worked there for 2+ years, but that was awhile ago. I visited the office last year while I was in town on a USC NAAB accreditation visit. I didn't get the impression that there had been a radical change in the office culture since I left--with the possible exception of a switchover from Mac/Form-Z to Autocad/3D-Max.
True comment about the A/C. It's hotter inside than out during the summer, and colder inside during the winter. The building is basically a corrugated tin shed. But, the location with all the art galleries around is a pretty cool tradeoff.
Unless something changed that I didn't notice, you'll be given responsibility for a project (usually modest size) from start to finish. You may also pitch in on other larger projects. Larry Scarpa is the dominant personality in the office. Though you have plenty of opportunity to get your fingers into the design mix, there is no question that every project that leaves the office has his stamp on it.
On the whole, my experience there was very positive. My time in the office had a very strong influence on my development as a designer.
If you need any specific info, you can also contact me privately.
p.s. I lived in Santa Monica for my 3 years in LA. I enjoyed my time with the tourists and commies.
thanks ByJoveByJingle, i appreciate your candor. if things go well and i end with an interview i may take you up on your offer. thanks again.
they have nice little cafe in the 'office park' we'd often walk to for lunch. it does get hot in that office but i've only been there a couple times so who knows. you should ask the drizzler.
congrats on graduating, march06. good to see you on here again.
just noticed this thread... I worked there for 2.5 years. Generally I really enjoyed the experience, although the comments about air conditioning and heating are very true. That place is an oven in the summer, but a lot of people would wear shorts and sandals on those hot days.
You will get a wide variety of experience. Larry tends to give everyone in the office their own project to manage, design and draw. If there is a deadline on other projects people will generally combine forces to get the project out the door and then go back to their own work.
Design wise, Larry is the lead designer on pretty much everything. You won't really find a rigorous process there. Larry sketches something he thinks looks good, somebody else irons out the details and does modeling/drawing and then Larry finds a way to justify it to the client. I found some of the work to be really interesting and innovative and other projects just seemed like a recycling of ideas.
They have a 3d printer and laser cutter in the office and use them frequently. Everything is modeled in Rhino and rendered in V Ray. They tend to be a bit slow to embrace new technologies (when I started they still used PowerCAD and FormZ), but Larry has a made a point recently of hiring several recent graduates from SCI-Arc and UCLA who I feel have brought a lot of technology expertise to the office.
Most people work right around 40 hours per week. I had a few 60+ hour weeks, but in general the hours were very reasonable. The compensation is better than most design oriented offices.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific questions.
Hi shaybug, I miss our summer lunches
If you're going to work at P+S definatly live on the west side, you don't want to commute.
I worked at P+S for a while too, I think drizzler and ByJoveByJingle summed it up pretty well. I wore shorts and flip flops all the time... though I had to hide from the clients... and in the winter you need winter clothes, 50 degrees is really cold for office work.
I ended up getting pigeonholed a bit into the design role, didn't follow a whole lot of projects through... actually those were all projects that died now that I think about it... oh and the MTV cafeteria is pretty good for lunch too.
Wow that was helpful. Sorry.
P.S. Powercad blows.
i heard that Larry is one of the 5 best architects in the world...
is that you, larry?
;)
Is singlefin Scottish . . . or know a Scottish intern?!
Larry may not be Chuck Norris, but he's got your back in a bar fight. ;)
ha! no, never worked at P+S. just heard that story the other day and thought it was hilarious.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that was at the HMS Bounty.
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