(fer) Studio principal /architect Christopher L. Mercier is an active artist within the Inglewood community. His 2015 Rogers Park mural “Pathways to Success” was a collaboration with 28 pre-teen and teenage designers. His latest mural “Wiggle Walls” (also in Rogers Park) was recently completed. The work arose from city efforts to engage at-risk city youth creative options to gang involvement. The program was funded through a state grant and Parks resources.
(fer) studio is based in Inglewood which is the epicenter of a new wave of urban renewal and restoration. The architecture firm is part of a surge of urban explorers (and intrepid investors) including many writers, artists, designers and entrepreneurs who have discovered the city in their search for affordable live/work spaces and brick-and-mortar retail storefronts. Mercier also lives in a loft in the complex.
Mercier wants (fer) studio to be an active and vital part of the community’s transformation. “We want to be part of the re-development of Inglewood,” he says. (fer) studio has consulted with the Mayor of Inglewood and other city officials. “Part of the problem has been that it has no sense of place, no sense of identity,” Mercier explains. “We want to take this place, which has a lot of potential- -good scale and walkability, and bring in a transit hub. If people live, work and shop in a community, it is healthy.”
(fer) stands for Form, Environment and Research, the principles that describe the firm’s design philosophy. Firmly rooted in contemporary modernism, (fer) studio is dedicated to the idea that Form helps to shape the world, and can have a profound ability to positively impact contemporary experience. Through intensive research and the study of the site and environmental conditions, along with extensive client input, each project emerges as appropriate and unique.
(fer) studio’s projects have included “ground up” construction, as well as the rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of a wide range of building types: residential, commercial, hospitality and academic. (fer) studio is passionate about urban design and development and the development of sustainable, livable cities.
For more information please visit http://ferstudio.com/.
