MANUAL LABOR IS AN ARCHITECTURE DESIGN & FABRICATION STUDIO BASED IN CA

MANUAL LABOR IS AN <a href="/work/architecture">ARCHITECTURE</a> <a href="/work/design">DESIGN</a> & <a href="/work/fabrication">FABRICATION</a> STUDIO BASED IN CA

Manual Labor worked closely with the owners to design this substantial addition and remodel of a small cottage in Venice. 
<div>Located within a beautiful historic neighborhood, this design converts a 600 sf one-bedroom 1920s cottage into a 2,100 sf four-bedroom two-story family home. Despite the substantial increase in size, the resulting home maintains the residential feel of the original cottage. We retained a number of quirky original details, while adding a number of contemporary craftsman touches. The interior is modern, yet reflects the history of the home. </div>
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<div>Manual Labor successfully led the project through a contentious permit process with many stakeholders, including the City of Los Angeles LADBS, Venice Coastal Planning, Office of Historic Resources, Venice Neighborhood Council and the California Coastal Commission. The project was ultimately sold before construction. We continue to work with the same owners on a number of projects.</div>

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Render

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Artboard 2 copy 2

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Artboard 13

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Artboard 2 copy 6

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South Elevation

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West Elevation

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Area

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Local

<a href="http://www.sizlstudio.com/" target="_blank">SIZL Studio</a> designed a home for a growing family in Alameda and came to us with a design for some built-in storage and details. We worked together to fabricate solid walnut floating shelves that taper towards the front and have a kerf pattern, designed by SIZL Studio, which is reflected in the solid walnut drawer fronts of the built-in bench below. We also made a beautiful walnut mantle with kerfs that carry the lines of the tile through the walnut.

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Beaver House-SQ

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Beaver House-3

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Beaver House-2

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Beaver House-1

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Beaver House-5

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Beaver House-7

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Beaver House-6

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Beaver House-8

We worked with chef Anthony Strong, previously of Le Bernardin, Delfina and Locanda, to design and open his first restaurant. <a href="http://prairiesf.com/">Prairie</a> is in the heart of San Francisco&#8217;s Mission District and serves lively &#8220;new-school Italian&#8221; fare. To complement the menu, we partnered with our close friends at <a href="https://holdenarchitecture.com/">Holden Architecture</a> to quickly transform a dim, masculine whiskey bar into a bright but intimate restaurant space. 
Every inch of the existing ash tables and bar top were stripped, reused and resurfaced to make the tables, benches and dividers. Manual Labor&#8217;s fabrication shop made the three part benches. We recommend you grab a comfortable seat at the end of the bench with the dog leg and order a tasty Highball or an Italian Greyhound before tucking into your meal.

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Prairie

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The Donut Rack is gentle on clothing with rounded over solid walnut “hooks” and blackened steel hardware.
ML collaborated with <a href="http://www.chothompson.com/">Atelier Cho Thompson</a> on two pieces for the <a href="https://diffa.org/">Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids</a> benefit auction. This coat rack was our design contribution.

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Coat Rack_009

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Coat Rack_007

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Coat Rack_012

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Coat Rack_001

Constructed of Red Elm and custom veneered panels with large compound-angle facets, this case was produced to house shoes for a family of four.

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Geta Bako_034

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Geta-Bako

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Geta Bako_002

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Geta Bako_004

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Geta Bako_005

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Geta Bako_030

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Geta Bako_026

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Geta Bako_028

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Geta Bako_032

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Geta Bako_027

Manual Labor worked with Mr. Izumi Motai of <a href="https://www.takarasake.com/verify?destination=node/56" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Takara Sake</a> to produce a half-circle shaped bar with a 2.5” thick solid VG Douglas Fir top. The bar separates into two quarter circle sections as needed for their Berkeley, CA tasting room.

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HALF CIRCLE BAR_SQ

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HALF CIRCLE BAR_006

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HALF CIRCLE BAR_004

We designed these portable TV stands for Capital One. We strived for elegance and simplicity to provide traveling displays that are lightweight, stable, and easy to break down for shipping. The &#8220;spine&#8221; is the largest element and its size determined the size of each three-unit crate. The TV support brackets can be repositioned to support a 65&#8243; TV horizontally and a 36&#8243; TV vertically. Mark at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nicholsondesignfab/">Nicholson Design &amp; Fabrication</a> provided the metal fabrication.
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(the image from Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki&#8217;s Studio Ghibli is just used for fun &#8230; the copyright is theirs and theirs alone)

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Cap One Stand_SQ

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Cap One Stand_00013

The <a href="http://www.caminorestaurant.com/">Camino</a> team asked us to work with them to develop the layout and then fabricate the fixtures for their new restaurant, <a href="http://www.thekebaberyoakland.com/">The Kebabery</a>, in the Longfellow neighborhood of Oakland. The goals of the project were to make a warm and inviting space, be scrappy, and have some fun. One of the things this lead to is the clear pink acrylic sign on the outside of the building. The sign, logo, and their copious use of colored tape throughout the restaurant has made hot pink a clear brand for The Kebabery. Almost a year into the life of the project, it&#8217;s evident that the neighborhood has taken to the restaurant, and that head Chef Traci Matsumoto-Esteban is producing consistently wonderful food.
Starting from their initial plans we made some adjustments to the layout and then began testing bench seating designs that would be comfortable without additional padding. Using large slabs of sugar pine, we fabricated counters, storage, tables, and 40&#8217;+ of continuous bench seating. The steel bases to the benches were fabricated by our frequent collaborator Ryan &amp; Sons, powdercoated with a hammertone power tool green.
<a href="http://www.lam3d.com/">Katherine Lam</a> led a Furniture Production II at California College of the Arts to work with the Camino team, and her four students (Nathaniel Hedges, Stephen Moore, Kjetil Smedal, &amp; Malachai Trent) designed, tested, and produced a set of eight white oak and steel chairs. One is placed at each table in the restaurant. The backs have a nice give to them that really makes them a comfortable seat.
If you haven&#8217;t been here yet we&#8217;d highly recommend it, <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/us-restaurants-we-travel-for">Condé Nast Traveler</a> agrees. You&#8217;re likely to run into one of us and our families enjoying a great meal.

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Kebabery_SQ_Web

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Over the years, <a href="https://silveroak.com/">Silver Oak Cellars</a> saved the old wine-stained oak staves from their largest barrels. While <a href="https://www.danielpiechota.com/silveroak">Piechota Architecture</a> was designing their new LEED Platinum winery at Alexander Valley, they contacted us to reclaim the stored oak staves to build this central staircase.
Working with reclaimed materials poses unique challenges &#8211; especially when a very high level of finish is desired. We built detailed digital models and utilized those to coordinate with the architecture team, the construction/installation team at <a href="https://cello-maudru.com/">Cello-Maudru</a> and the metal fabricator <a href="http://www.cfrenchmetal.com/commercial-project/112">Chris French Metal.</a> The Cabernet-stained American oak provides a visual nod to the history of the family-owned company.

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Silver Oak-7

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Working for the second time with Lisa Milestone of <a href="http://www.pippaco.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pippa &amp; Co</a>. we designed and fabricated this Balloon Table. It doubles as a POS station and anchors the new Berkeley, Ca location. Using a light pink solid surface material we worked to have our table design match the energy and feel of her infectiously bright space!