People

Gunawan defines herself as a progressive architect. When people hear the term progressive architect they get intimidated. In her experience, people assume it means something technical and lofty, but she stands by the term. It means always improving, turning failures into opportunities. In practice that means building upon what already exists. This is the philosophy behind the name of her architecture design and build firm, The Only Way is Up.

The CEO, principal and creative director of Savvy Interiors in San Diego, hadn’t worked on a space that met guidelines emanating from the Americans with Disabilities Act. So, she did what she always does when faced with a new challenge: She read everything she could, reached out to medical experts, consulted with design colleagues who’d worked on such spaces and, of course, talked to the teen and his parents about his unique situation.

I’m looking for designers that really want to make this part of their giving-back philanthropy. It’s a commitment, and you need to have a good support system because you can’t (do these projects) in isolation. You need a support system of colleagues and resources you can tap,” she says. “I really love collaborating with local designers here in San Diego that have businesses similar to mine — that we get to work together on these volunteer projects, toward a common goal.”

Each year, A-list interior designers are selected to design 45 furniture showroom windows along Melrose and La Cienega.The occasion is the highly sought-after Legends of La Cienega event and the theme this year was The Fashion of Home. This year’s window design line-up included Eric Hughes, Ken Fulk, Alexa Hampton, Jake Arnold, Paloma Contreras, David Frazier, Amy Meier, Breegan Jane, Noz Nozawa, Studio Heimat and more.