One-stop design shop.

TINY MEYER ARCHITECTS HAS ATTRACTED SOME BIG-NAME CLIENTS WITH A FULL-SERVICE AND LOW-COST APPROACH FOR HOMES AND OFFICES

Walk into a production studio designed by architect Walter Meyer and you're likely to see skylights. hardwood floors and sleek, custom-made furniture.

Meyer believes such touches foster a comfortable, holistic workplace. "We don't have a certain style that we incorporate. Our projects are very site-specific," he says.

Meyer and his wife Pain launched Meyer Architects in West L.A. in 1993, and they are trying to find a niche through their one-stop boutique approach to architecture and interior design. They even offer to custom-design furniture and then hire upholsterers and carpenters to make it.

It hasn't been easy. With hundreds of architectural firms in L.A., competition can be tough. Larger firms can throw more resources and expertise at projects. But that also can increase costs.

To compete, the Meyers make a commitment to keep the cost of a project to within 3 percent of its original bid. "Projects can often go over budget, and coming within 3 percent is excellent by anybody's standards," says Michael Lehrer, president of the L.A. Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

The strategy recently helped Meyer underbid architectural giant Gensler for work on a 15,000-square-foot production space in Hollywood for Ant Farm, a company that produces film trailers.

Meyer, 48, says people thought he was crazy when he defected from a corporate design firm and joined his wife to open their own business 1993.

"Everybody thought it was the wrong time," he says. "It was the recession, but I figured everybody was neutralized by it and that businesses would spend more time to shop out designs and compare prices, and that's what they did."

In the five years that followed their initial $5,000 investment, the Meyers have compiled a roster of entertainment, medical, residential and commercial clients ranging from UCLA and Kaiser Permanente to Charlton and Lydia Heston.

In the process, revenues have grown from $100,000 in 1993 to more than $500,000 last year. So far, the furniture component represents only about 5 percent of revenues, but the Meyers want to increase that to 30 percent over the next few years.

"We don't want to become so big that we're not flexible enough to do a wide variety of jobs, and we don't want to be so small that we can't compete," said Walter Meyer.

Jeff Koz, president of HUM Music + Sound Design, hired the Meyers two years ago for the build-out of his new facility in Santa Monica.

"Pam helps tie things together. She can blend things in with the right concept to make things functional and look good," said Koz, whose company does television and video productions for clients like Nike and Saturn. "Things are comfortable but not so comfortable that people fall asleep. We want our clients and our employees awake."

After a $500,000 renovation, the 6,000-square-foot former art gallery now houses two recording studios, including one that accommodates about 15 musicians.

The hallway is naturally illuminated by 8-inch-square skylights and features walls alternately layered with rough and smooth textures. To better utilize space, Meyer placed three workstations against a wall rather than in the center of the room. He also hung 14 blankets along the recording booth to help deaden sound.

"We use acoustic consultants on our jobs to help us better understand the needs of our clients," said Walter Meyer. "We don't profess to know everything. This is a collaborative process."

Meyer got his start in high school when he built models for a local firm. Following graduation from Arizona State University, he worked for Nadell Architects Inc. before deciding to join forces with his wife, who had launched her own interior design firm in 1987.

They cultivated much of their business through contacts made over the years. Their projects have included the $800,000 build-out of a post-production site for HKM Productions Inc. in Hollywood.

Tom Mickel, HKM's chief executive, had worked with the Meyers on residential renovations and appreciated their willingness to try new approaches on things like the configuration of editing bays. Instead of having clients look over the shoulders of editors to see production changes, editors now sit at desks facing clients who have an unobstructed view of the video monitor.

"When you're in the creative business, you need a creative environment for people and clients," Mickel says "Our business involves long hours and you can't do that in a cramped environment."

Even more creative designs will be needed as the recording and video production industries move to digital formats.

"The overlap (of work) into design is about Los Angeles you're not as likely to see this in Des Moines or Phoenix," said Michael Lehrer, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects. "And it's growing as these companies want to create a level of identity and being cool. It's also more rudimentary about creating a key quality environment."

Spotlight

Meyer Architects

Year Founded: 1993 Core Business: Architectural services Revenue in 1993: $100,000 Revenue in 1998: $500,000 Revenue in 1999 (projected): $700,000 Employees in 1993: 2 Employees in 1999: 4 Goal: To cultivate more corporate work and build on furniture-making division Driving Force: Demand for boutique architecture services at low cost