Lovers Unite is an architecture and design practice creating one-of-a-kind homes and memorable hospitality spaces, mostly in California.
Karen Spector and Alan Koch founded Lovers Unite at the same time they started their family in 2018.
Lovers Unite is both a history and a call to action - to create community around a love of thoughtful design.
Both prior to and since uniting, the partners have created homes and ADU’s, art and cultural spaces (Dia: Beacon), consulted for select developers on ambitious mixed use projects in LA and designed multiple acclaimed restaurants (including Dunsmoor and Konbi: Bon Appetit “Best New Restaurant, 2019”).
We are a 6 person design studio located in the Cypress Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
Lovers Unite is both a history and a call to action - to create community around a love of thoughtful design.
Both prior to and since uniting, the partners have created homes and ADU’s, art and cultural spaces (Dia: Beacon), consulted for select developers on ambitious mixed use projects in LA and designed multiple acclaimed restaurants (including Dunsmoor and Konbi: Bon Appetit “Best New Restaurant, 2019”).
We are a 6 person design studio located in the Cypress Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
SERVICES
Architecture
Interior Design
Creative Direction
Brand Creation
Research & Strategy
Furniture Design
Architecture
Interior Design
Creative Direction
Brand Creation
Research & Strategy
Furniture Design
Alan Koch
Alan was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Ohio, and spent summers on his grandfather’s avocado orchard in Ventura County, California. He received a BArch from Cornell University, and a BFA from Otis Art Institute at Parsons School of Design. Following his studies, Alan co-founded the design studio Open Office, where he executed a range of East Coast residential projects and the internationally recognized art museum Dia: Beacon. His collaborations with artists such as Catherine Opie, Robert Irwin, and Chris Burden have taken many forms and include the creation of homes, artist studios, galleries and iconic artworks. Alan co-created a pre-fabricated building system which has been used to create dozens of homes throughout the United States, including an iconic Joshua Tree vacation rental. His work has been documented in publications as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Dwell and included in exhibitions and collections such as the Vitra Design Museum and MoMA.
VIEW COMPLETE CV
Selected Awards
AIA New York Design Award Winner, Merit Award, Dia Beacon AIA Los Angeles Design Award Winner, Merit Award, Off-Grid itHouse Emerging Voices Award, Architectural League of NY National Endowment for the Arts Grant, Houses x Artists, MAK Center for Art & Architecture Vertical Garden Competition Winner, MAK Center for Art and Architecture
Karen Spector
Karen Spector Karen was born in Westfield, NJ. She received a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from University of California, Santa Barbara. She taught photography and conceptual art in the Studio Art Department at UCSB. She has worked on retail and hospitality design for nationally recognized brands including REI, Jack Irwin, Konbi, and Kismet Rotisserie, and brand creation for developers of multimillion-dollar mixed-use developments in Southern California. Her designs for local and national clients have been published in Metropolis Magazine, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Eater, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Sight Unseen.