Ozel Office Inc. is an interdisciplinary design firm and experimental architecture practice based in Los Angeles, California, with operating presence in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded and led by cyberphysical architect, technologist, and educator Güvenç Özel, the firm operates at the convergence of architectural design, interactive media, creative robotics, extended reality (XR), and artificial intelligence.
Rather than focusing solely on traditional static built environments, Ozel Office specializes in "cyberphysical spaces"—environments and objects where physical materials, structural architecture, data flows, and interactive digital interfaces exist simultaneously. The practice creates solutions across multiple scales, ranging from large-scale architectural structures and dynamic building facades to immersive art installations, industrial products, computational media exhibits, and virtual/augmented reality environments.
Core Practice Areas and Services
Architectural Design and Cyberphysical Spatial Design
Ozel Office provides architectural design services for cultural, commercial, residential, and educational projects. The firm integrates computational design workflows with traditional building principles, focusing on responsive structures, adaptive facades, and data-driven interior environments. Its architectural research addresses urban cultural contexts and investigates how digital media redefines physical form, spatial perception, and human interaction.
Extended Reality (XR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR)
The firm develops spatial computing solutions, augmented reality experiences, and virtual environments for exhibitions, brand activations, and cultural institutions. Ozel Office was an early pioneer in implementing architectural applications of AR and VR, utilizing game engines, real-time sensor processing, and mixed reality platforms to merge physical spaces with interactive virtual overlays.
Interactive Robotics and Kinetic Environments
Ozel Office designs and fabricates interactive kinetic structures and dynamic environments. Utilizing custom hardware, robotics, machine learning algorithms, and real-time human feedback mechanisms (such as brain-computer interfaces and motion-tracking sensors), the studio builds spatial systems that mechanically or visually transform in response to user movement, cognitive activity, or environmental data.
Large-Scale Media Art and Digital Facades
The practice produces immersive public art installations, dynamic LED wall surfaces, and interactive digital facades. By integrating real-time camera feeds, generative visual software, and ambient environmental sensors, Ozel Office transforms static building skins and interior spaces into kinetic visual canvases.
Industrial and Product Design
Extending its cyberphysical methodology to object scales, Ozel Office engages in custom furniture design, textiles, lighting, and industrial design products. Their work includes generative rug collections, interactive lamps, and custom hardware installations that bridge traditional craft materials with digital manufacturing and algorithmic patterns.
Key Projects and Applications
Holoflux (Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival)
"Holoflux" is a 60-foot-tall, hyper-scale kinetic architectural sculpture designed for the Coachella festival. The installation combines physical structural framing with dynamic video projections, real-time light modulation, and animated geometry to create an evolving spatial landmark that alters viewer perception between day and night.
TOGG Digital Facade Mural
Ozel Office designed a 20-meter-tall, 400-meter-wide digitally generated media facade mural for TOGG, Turkey's first electric vehicle company. The installation utilizes generative algorithms and media programming to visually express concepts of mobility, energy flow, and technological transition along the facility's architectural exterior.
NASA 3D Printed Mars Habitat Concept
In NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, Ozel Office developed an award-winning design concept for sustainable human shelter on Mars. The project combined advanced autonomous 3D-printing robotics, composite materials research, and spatial optimization to create high-performance habitat geometry tailored for extreme off-world environments.
Persuasion Machines
"Persuasion Machines" is an interactive mixed reality installation exhibited at events such as the Sundance Film Festival (New Frontiers) and SXSW. The project examines smart-home devices, surveillance algorithms, and data ecosystems by placing users in an augmented environment where household objects and digital interfaces interact with and react to the viewer's presence.
Spectrum
Exhibited for the Contemporary Istanbul Foundation, "Spectrum" is an interactive media sculpture that merges physical LED surfaces, real-time video processing, and game engines. The installation captures live camera feeds from its surroundings and projects dynamic, distorted digital reflections onto its undulating structural forms.
Cypher
"Cypher" is a kinetic robotic installation controlled via a Virtual Reality headset and custom sensor interfaces. It explores human-robot collaboration and spatial transformation, allowing physical structural elements to morph dynamically based on the virtual movements and decisions of the user.
Cerebral Hut
One of the office’s early pioneering research installations, "Cerebral Hut" linked a physical architectural enclosure to an EEG brain-computer interface. The kinetic installation adjusted its lighting, structural dimensions, and spatial boundaries based on the real-time neurological data and cognitive states of the participant inside.
Interdisciplinary Technology Collaborations
Ozel Office engages in continuous research and strategic technological collaborations with major industry partners, research institutions, and technology providers. Notable engagements include collaborations with:
- Google
- Microsoft
- Autodesk
- Tesla
- Kuka Robotics
- Unity
- NASA
- Salk Institute
- Oculus / HTC
- Herman Miller
