OWIU (an abbreviation for ‘only way is up’) was founded by Joel Wong and Amanda Gunwan in 2018. Since its inception, the boutique firm (which started with its two founders as its only employees and now has a staff of 15) puts craftsmanship and wellbeing at the core of its approach, encompassing a construction arm within its business to celebrate the process of making as a central element in design and architecture.
OWIU: projects and narratives
This focus on quality, texture and meaning extends to the type of work the pair choses to embark on. ‘We like projects that are on sites with rich history. In the same way, we love clients whose brands and identities have strong narratives and convictions behind them. Having a rich narrative really fuels the design,’ say Wong and Gunwan.
Co-founder Amanda Gunawan
A key example of this is one of their ongoing projects, the renovation of a Ray Kappe-designed home. ‘When we started this project, we really wanted to take the time to study the existing DNA of this house and learn about how Kappe designed it,’ the team explains. ‘Why he chose to make certain design decisions and the intention behind the existing structure. We then worked to add in our footprint, with the intention to improve [the property’s] current state while rendering it still relevant to present times.’
OWIU’s Biscuit Loft is a Japanese-inspired 1,620 sq ft apartment in Downtown LA’s prestigious Biscuit Company Lofts building. The upper mezzanine floor functions asa semi-private study/reading room, which rests above the open kitchen and living area
OWIU’s sensibility, centred on craft and materiality, can be applied to the smaller scale too, as the studio recently launched OWIU Goods, a line of ceramics, made by its own team in Los Angeles. The idea was born during the pandemic, when the founders gifted their employees a pottery studio membership as a way to bolster morale and support mental health.
Co-founder Joel Wong
‘The team enjoyed producing so much that in late 2022 we formally launched a shop carrying the pieces,’ say Wong and Gunawan. ‘It was very organic and unplanned but also surreal that we have graduated from that studio membership and now have a facility of our own and a team of potters.'
'We are still extremely involved and still very much make a lot of the pieces. Having a product line as well as an architecture firm has enabled us to learn how to shift from a micro lens to a macro lens.’ A line of furniture is now also in the works.
This piece is part of our January issue's profile series of emerging California studios in the architecture and spatial realm. The January 2024 issue of Wallpaper* is available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk SpaceFurniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
-
New York restaurant Locanda Verde’s second outpost will transport you to a different time and placeLocanda Verde’s expansive new Hudson Yards osteria exudes a sophisticated yet intimate atmosphere overflowing with art treasures
-
LVMH watch week 2025: everything we know so farOur guide to LVMH Watch Week 2025, taking place in New York and Paris, starting 21 January; keep an eye out for our updates
-
LA Mayor Karen Bass outlines her plan for rebuilding the cityFollowing the devastating LA wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, the city’s mayor has outlined her plan for reconstruction
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House, a Usonian modernist Michigan gem, could be yoursFrank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House in Michigan is on the market – a chance to peek inside the heritage modernist home in the countryside
-
Cabin House is a simple modernist retreat in the woods of North CarolinaDesigned for downsizing clients, Cabin House is a modest two-bedroom home that makes the most of its sylvan surroundings
-
A Texas ranch house blends Californian charm and Asian minimalism in a 'balance in hybridity'Pontious, a Texas ranch house designed by OWIU, is a home grounded in its owner's cultural identity, uniting Californian, Chinese and Japanese roots
-
The three lives of the Edith Farnsworth House: now, a modernist architecture icon open to allThe modernist Edith Farnsworth House has had three lives since its conception in 1951 by Mies van der Rohe; the latest is a sensitive renovation, and it's open to the public
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie StathakiThe top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
-
A vacant Tribeca penthouse is transformed into a bright, contemporary eyrieA Tribeca penthouse is elevated by Peterson Rich Office, who redesigned it by adding a sculptural staircase and openings to the large terrace
-
We walk through Luther George Park and its new undulating pavilionLuther George Park by Trahan Architects and landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels opens to the public, showcasing a striking new pavilion installation – take a first look
