Introducing Studio Collective, the design team <br>that has been winning big at Staples Center
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No doubt, the most innovative nightclub concept to emerge in 2009 was SBE’s Hyde Lounge inside Suite C at Staples Center. Forget the traditional box seats, with their Formica countertops and bad lighting. Hyde looks like a jewel box complete with dark woods, hand-carved furniture and a back-lit onyx ceiling that creates the most gorgeous amber glow.
During a Lakers game or concert, Hyde Lounge has the feel of a souped up living room – albeit one with the most perfect view of the stadium. And when the event is over, the black curtains close and Hyde transforms into a nightclub.
Just as exciting as Hyde, though, is the team that designed it. Studio Collective, which only formed in August, features three design hotshots: Adam Goldstein, Leslie Kale and Christian Schulz, pictured at right. Their collective résumé would include working for Frank Gehry, Dodd Mitchell, Ian Schrager and Kelly Wearstler. The Collective has several projects in the works for 2010, including residences in San Marino, Manhattan Beach and the Hollywood Hills.
Kale also has an eponymous luxury handbag line, and you can see how her feminine edge plays well with her partners’ architectural technique at Hyde. Take, for example, the Bordeaux-colored crocodile skin that covers the bar tops.
“When we design a space, we always invent fictitious characters of who would inhabit it,” says Schulz. They also aim to create a residential feel, even when designing a club.
The VIP room at Hyde, for instance, was built to resemble a den in the spirit of Wilt Chamberlain, Hall of Famer and ultimate bachelor. There’s a serpentine tan leather couch, gold dome ceiling, modern shag rug, and rosewood media cabinet housing a 103-inch television, vintage flasks and silver binoculars.
What’s most remarkable, however, is that the Studio Collective took a place destined to fill with real, live intimidating characters – beautiful girls in mini dresses in one corner, Leonardo DiCaprio in another – and made it feel as utterly comfortable as your own living room.
-- Alexandra Le Tellier