wHY is an ideas driven design practice located in Los Angeles and New York City. The 30+ person studio creates work that embodies a mission to integrate culture into our everyday. wHY helps institutions in the arts, education and culture find and develop their identity through the work we do with them.
In 2007, wHY ‘s first building project obtained certification as the first LEED Gold museum in the world. The studio is currently working on a number of strategies and designs for institutions and clients, including Pomona College, Speed Art Museum, Bibliotheca Alexandria, James Perse, David Kordansky, Harvard Art Museums, CalArts, Art Institute of Chicago, Tower Hill Botanical Garden, Marciano Art Foundation, as well as a suite of developer and residential clients.
wHY is structured as one cohesive team organized into four workshops:
- Ideas (research and strategy)
- Buildings (architecture and interiors)
- Objects (products and material explorations)
- Grounds (landscape environments)
Each workshop is directed by a leader, with their team’s research and development infiltrating throughout all of wHY‘s projects. With collaboration being a central aspect of the work, each project engages a broad range of consultants, from engineers and botanists, to curators and economists, in order to deliver the highest degree of innovation, quality and design. In doing so, we seek to work with experts whose work is recognized for impact on the environment, adaptability and usability.