UCLA architecture faculty members recognized among top 50 in nation
UCLA faculty members Jeffrey Inaba, Neil Denari, Jimenez Lai and Benjamin Freyinger (clockwise from top left) were selected as four of the Architect’s Newspaper’s top interior architects. (Courtesy of UCLA Newsroom)
By Maddie Ostergaard
April 10, 2019 3:06 a.m.
An American architectural publication selected four UCLA faculty members’ design firms in its ranking of top interior architectural firms.
The Architect’s Newspaper, which reports on a community of architects and designers, recognized UCLA faculty members Jimenez Lai, Jeffrey Inaba, Claus Benjamin Freyinger and Neil Denari as part of the publication’s top 50 interior architects for their creativity, thoughtfulness, resourcefulness and influence, respectively.
The AN Interior’s “Top of the Class” recognizes architects and designers for their innovative approaches to designing interior spaces such as retail and workspaces.
Lai, a UCLA lecturer, won the recognition for his company Bureau Spectacular, which he founded in 2008. Bureau Spectacular was featured for its unique designs.
The AN Interior also featured Inaba Williams Architects, a design firm co-founded by UCLA adjunct associate professor Inaba, for the firm’s diligence in planning its projects. Inaba Williams Architects has previously won the Architect’s Newspaper’s 2018 AN Best of Design award in the institutional interiors category for designing the Brooklyn Aozora preschool.
Freyinger, a UCLA lecturer in the architecture department, also placed in the top 50 list for his firm The Los Angeles Design Group. Freyinger co-founded The LADG with Andrew Holder in 2004. According to its website, the AN recognized The LADG for its use of unique materials other companies may shy away from.
Denari, a UCLA professor in the architecture department, is the principal at the Neil M. Denari Architects and won the AN’s acclaim for the company’s influence on young designers.
The UCLA department of architecture and urban design promotes creativity, diverse values and expanding the influence of architecture in society, according to the UCLA AUD website.
