ABP Capital

Capitalizing on California Cool

The ethos and collaborative business approach of ABP Capital is guided by three principles: honesty, transparency, and openness.

These core values were the driving influences behind the interior design of the financial company’s headquarters. The office design leverages the building’s proximity to the beach and presents clients and staff with an open, relaxed space. The use of clear, honest, and modern materials in an accessible layout invokes these principles. 

An open gallery space hallmarked by a 12’ diameter geometric LED light fixture—custom designed by Blitz—draws visual interest upward and welcomes individuals entering the building. A 14’x9’ block of 16 monitors broadcasting a continuous loop of ABP Capital’s client videos or a live stream of the beach entertains waiting guests. Central to the floor plan is an atrium with a Japanese-inspired bamboo garden, visible from most vantage points throughout. 

Lounge spaces with soft residential furnishings are balanced with industrial materials to evoke a modern, comfortable, and inviting atmosphere. Western red cedar wood slats line the ceilings. Recycled teak wood floors inject warmth into the glass and concrete structure while contributing to sustainability.

The building, by Brett Farrow Architect, Inc. capitalizes upon the Southern California climate and abundant light with several open terraces and the central atrium.

  • Client: ABP Capital
    Location: Encinitas, California
    Size: 15,000 SQFT
    Completion Date: 2018

  • Architecture, Interior Design, Bespoke Furniture, Furniture Selection & Coordination, Lighting Design,
    Environmental Graphics

  • Seth Hanley, Kimberley O’Dowd, John Hunter

    Core & Shell Architect: Brett Farrow Architect, Inc.

    Photography: Tom Bonner, Paul Rivera

  • 2020 IIDA Northern California Workplace Small Honor Award

A Central Garden

Blitz’s solution to designing within a largely glass envelope was to maintain transparency without the obstruction of solid materials. Interior walls are turned perpendicular to the long, glazed exteriors of the building, and all parallel interior surfaces are glass. The program’s linear arrangement promotes consistency across the two-story building as visitors navigate both floors through a circular path that wraps around the central garden.

Balancing natural with industrial

The second floor hosts the CEO’s office, main conference room, open office space, and large employee pantry. The CEO’s office is appointed with a collection of modern furniture and distinguished by a custom desk of quartzite, metal, and wood. Expansive glass walls encircle the main conference room and provide views of the LED light fixture at eye level. A custom walnut wood table anchors the space and a glass bay window—which faces the main street—extends the room over the sidewalk below.