2019-10-16 The Hollywood Reporter

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 83 OCTOBER 16, 2019

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HOLLYWOOD DESIGN

ell before AT&T

cemented its

acquisition of

Time Warner in

June 2018 to form

WarnerMedia,

the decision to combine all divi-

sions under a single roof already

had been made. The strategy to

execute a decidedly egalitarian

approach soon followed. “This was

a very different process than most

companies use, where a small

cadre of people make decisions

behind closed doors,” says Thomas

Santiago, senior vp global real

estate at WarnerMedia. “What

we did was consensus-driven

and we cast a wide net,” he says of

the midtown design lab set up to

allow staffers to provide feedback

on every element of furniture

and design in the new offices

that landed at New York’s mini-

city Hudson Yards. “We paraded

hundreds of employees through to

see and touch and cycled through

different finishes, screening-

room seating, desks, even ceiling

fixtures. We went for the chair

that hundreds of employees

preferred, not one a guy picked

out of a catalog. It proved to be an

effective process.”

The decision to co-locate at

the new Hudson Yards not only

gave the company the ability to

build its new headquarters from

the ground up, but it also had

financial advantages as well.

“Developers need anchor tenants,

so we enjoyed some early adopter

prices,” says Santiago.

The space the company took is

massive, encompassing 1.4 mil-

lion square feet and 25 floors

stacked like a wedding cake, with

the larger and taller ones occu-

pied by CNN, truTV and Warner

Bros. at the base, and the other

divisions, including HBO, in a

tower above. Two main architec-

tural design firms were hired to

tackle the job: Gensler to oversee

the whole project and Meridian to

focus specifically on CNN.

“A number of the elements

that make up the style of our

new home give a nod to both our

history and our future, in unique

combinations,” says Jeff Zucker,

WarnerMedia chairman, news

and sports, and CNN president,

referring to the decorative photos

of reporters on assignment as

well as the new, more transparent

configuration of the network’s

news desk. Monitors and other

equipment stack visibly behind

the correspondents instead of

being housed in a control room,

while a raised platform was cre-

ated for the anchors in an open

newsroom. Antonio Argibay,

who led Meridian’s design team,

points out: “When they moved

into Time Warner [Center, off

Central Park] around 2001, there

was no Facebook — the process of

newsgathering has changed. You

are getting a lot more informa-

tion from digital means and more

people are participating in the

1
Jeff Zucker,
flanked by CNN’s
New Day anchors
Alisyn Camerota
and John Berman,
was photographed
Sept. 26 at the
WarnerMedia offices
in New York.

2
The Prow juts out at
30 Hudson Yards.

3
The Bistro on floor 35.

2

1

3

W

former global design head for Soho

House, while L.A.’s Julia Corden,

wife of James Corden, handles the

business — brings an inviting clubby

vibe into the homes of an astound-

ing roster. Clients are said to include

David and Victoria Beckham, George

and Amal Clooney (for whom they

designed nurseries in three cities),

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Liv

Tyler, Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell,

and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

CLIFF FONG

“I think I’m known for creating unique

environments for people who have an

honest and deep love for design,” says

the Matt Blacke Inc. designer. That cer-

tainly describes Ellen DeGeneres, his

most high-profile client. In more than

two and half decades of collaborating,

they’ve tackled two dozen-plus homes.

He’s also fit in work for Ryan Murphy

and Balthazar Getty. Fong’s impec-

cably curated showroom on Melrose

juxtaposes African stools, weathered

Swedish sideboards and French

modern chairs, adding up to a relaxed

and inviting vibe. On deck, a restaurant

space. “We’re looking forward to sink-

ing our teeth into that,” he says.

DISC INTERIORS

David John Dick and Krista Schrock

layer the colors of the California desert

into livable spaces like the Silver Lake

home Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis

just picked up for $3.5 million. Says

Schrock, “ ‘Warm’ and ‘calm’ are words

we hear a lot from our clients,”

including SNL’s former co-

head writer Chris Kelly, who

raves, “Disc has amazing

taste but is also great at

listening to what your taste

is, and then elevating and

perfecting it.” The pair

are finishing up a Monterey

Spanish-style home in Cheviot Hills

for Sundance CEO Keri Putnam and

a Los Feliz home for Stranger Things

co-creator Ross Duffer, complete with

12-foot-long gold velvet sofa.

DEMITRI

SGOURAKIS

“I worked on Brooke Shields’ dorm

room at Princeton,” says Sgourakis

with a laugh about his start. Since

then, he’s done houses for Cher,

Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Paul

McCartney and is designing homes

for Pat Sajak, Toni Braxton and Mary

J. Blige. But even in rooms dripping

with luxurious patterns and textures,

like the houndstooth glam room he

created for Braxton’s sister Tamar,

his focus is his clients. “It’s really a

place for them to shine,” he says. Next:

the lobby renovation of The Carlyle

Residences on Wilshire Boulevard.

DON STEWART

A chance meeting with design legend

Tony Duquette — on a set for a Pizza

Hut ad, of all places — got Stewart

started on redoing the cottages at

Sortilegium in Malibu. Now clients

include Chrissy Teigen and John