In July, Brooklyn-based Bernheimer Architecture made history as the first private-sector architecture firm to ratify a collective bargaining agreement in 80 years. It marked a massive milestone in the industry’s labour movement, which has been gathering momentum since SHoP Architects attempted (and ultimately failed) to unionize in 2021. Though BA attributes its success to “countless hours of organizing, brainstorming and collaboration” (which amounted to more than one year), the time spent organizing didn’t take away from the firm’s primary mandate — designing impactful spaces. Case in point: the two retail locations it recently opened for skincare brand MALIN+GOETZ in Los Angeles.

Given that the city is the epicentre of the film industry, the firm drew inspiration from cinema history in designing the two stores, taking a contextual approach that reflects each neighbourhood. In Silver Lake — an area sometimes described as the “Brooklyn of Los Angeles” — BA cleverly adapted a former auto body repair shop on Sunset Boulevard into a contemporary retail space while retaining its Art Deco façade and wooden truss structure. The architects opted to leave the structure exposed, adding a skylight that allows natural light into the deep interior. The centrepiece of the store is the white terrazzo bar, framed on either side by natural white oak shelving.

Not only does the renovation artfully preserve L.A.’s architectural history, it also references the 90s cult classic Pulp Fiction. Like the briefcase, whose glowing interior lures both the character and the audience in, never revealing its contents, a green archway at the rear of the space beckons visitors into the monochromatic back room: a semi-private lounge area with comfortable seating for socializing and a makeup counter for testing products.

While the Venice outpost on Abbot Kinney Boulevard utilizes a similar layout and palette — concrete floors, wood, white walls and green accents — the interior has a more pared-down feel. The store is also bookended by white oak shelving on either side, but the displays instead comprise a grid of cubbies recessed into the walls. Here, the designers drew inspiration from the “gin joint” in Casablanca, focusing on the bar as a locus of social activity. While the Silver Lake store has one central island, the Abbot Kinney location has two, this time rendered in pale green terrazzo with integrated wells for travel-sized products. They too serve as a central hub, for product testing and point-of-sale, and control the flow of client traffic within the store.

Like all good projects, the two new MALIN+GOETZ locations are the result of BA’s focus on client relationships. As a longtime collaborator (13 years to be exact), the firm has designed nine other U.S. stores and international locations as far as Hong Kong.  “I’ve valued our long-standing relationship with MALIN+GOETZ as the company has evolved from the earliest days selling product out of a Manhattan storefront through its growth to Silver Lake, Abbott Kinney and beyond,” recalls Andy Bernheimer, founder and principal of Bernheimer Architecture. “As these two stores prove, MALIN+GOETZ values good design that ultimately supports the brand’s customers as they also become valuable additions to their neighbourhoods.”

BA’s continued success may help to dispel many myths about the downfalls of unionization, such as pushback on fees or impact on client service. As Andy told us when the firm first unionized in 2023, “There’s an inclination to ask, ‘How does this negatively affect the firm?’ But I also think that there’s something to be said for how clients look at a stable, consolidated and cohesive group of people who want to work together.” It’s already been to the firm’s benefit.

Now, in an effort to help other firms seeking to follow in their footsteps, they are working to make the standards they established in their first contract publicly accessible via the Architectural Workers United Instagram page. The firm isn’t just designing thoughtful buildings and interiors, they’re also reshaping the architectural workforce as we know it.