Project Type : Hospitality Location : Los Angeles, CA Building size : 5,700 SF Completed : 2022 Photographer : Gry Space Kodo is an urban sanctuary hidden in the leftover “between space”. It was created as a zen garden space for spiritual renewal with great friends, food and conversation. Sustainability was achieved by designing the restaurant around existing historic buildings and taking advantage of the negative space, rather than building new. Raw steel, boulders, gravel, concrete furniture, all contribute to the sense of permanence and intention that this 100 year old building continue its life another century and beyond. Weaving from inside and out of the historic Engine Company 17 Firehouse built in 1927, a new restaurant was conceived in the interstitial space between the existing urban fabric of the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles. “Kodo”, japanese for heartbeat, is a space that seeks to become the new focus of the burgeoning art and food scene along Santa Fe Avenue. An offset steel backdrop draws in guests from the street with a sense of mystery and fascination. Once inside, all is calm, inviting and a spiritual connection between nature, design and food becomes apparent.