What’s in a name? In the case of Los Angeles-based CO Architects, the essence of its practice. Rather than an abbreviation, “CO” serves as a prefix meaning “jointly, equally and together with”—attributes that have made the firm something of an institution in the realm of institutional design.
“You could say ‘CO’ also stands for collaboration, cohesion and commitment,” says Scott Kelsey, the firm’s managing principal. The result is relationships with higher education, health care, civic and research-oriented clients—some spanning decades—that support complex programs and allow for manipulating forms and materials to striking, eye-catching effect. Examples include the futuristic Student Services Building for Pomona, Calif.-based California State Polytechnic University and the modular, metal-clad Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion for the University of California-San Diego (UCSD), completed in 2018. No two of the firm’s projects appear even remotely the same.