North Hollywood, California, August 1, 2006–Architectural Digest, the world’s definitive design magazine, has selected AD100 designer Matthew White and Frank Webb of White Webb, LLC to create the signature Architectural Digest Greenroom at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, it was announced today by Amy R. Churgin, vice president and publisher, Architectural Digest. This year will be the fifth thatArchitectural Digest has created the exclusive backstage lounge.
Architectural Digest is widely credited for having “invented” the high-design greenroom concept. In designing this year’s room, White Webb has drawn inspiration from the exotic style of the Shrine Auditorium. A landmark theater in Los Angeles, the Moorish-style edifice boasts towering domes, elegant arches and fretwork that are reminiscent of a distant time and place. Taking their cues from the theater’s fantastical architecture and its Tinseltown setting, White Webb will envelop the stars with their unique vision of a “Hollywood Casbah.”
“We were intrigued by Matthew White, a classicist, and Frank Webb, a modernist, because of the way they blend their styles to create something entirely fresh and unexpected,” explained Churgin. “Constructed for one big night only, the Architectural Digest Greenroom will magically appear like a mirage from the barebones of the Shrine’s backstage. Opulent, mysterious and transporting, this beautiful space could be the dream of a genie.”
By playing with the proportions of dramatic Moroccan patterns and incorporating rich materials and sumptuous color, White Webb will present a stunning jewel box for Hollywood’s glitterati. At the center of the Architectural Digest Greenroom: a tête-à-tête covered in Bergamo coral velvet, from which the rest of the room will unfold in colors ranging from luscious melon to cool, calming pewter. Other furnishings will include a Gatsby sofa and Sparta end table by Kreiss, LC-TVs by Sharp AQUOS, and crystal accessories from Swarovski, including the debut of Swarovski’s new crystal pocket binoculars in clear crystal, gold and black, available to the public this fall. Off of the main room will be an alcove awash in faint colors that evoke the inside of a seashell. Set apart by silvered arches and shimmering sheers in Donghia fabric, the alcove will form an inner sanctum within the inner sanctum. As a backdrop for the furnishings, White Webb has designed special wallpaper for the occasion, which will be added to its new line debuting this fall. Blending enormously scaled patterns with subtle colors, the paper will call to mind the inside of a genie’s lantern.
The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, airing on NBC August 27th 8:00-11:00 pm (ET/PT), will mark the fifth consecutive year that Architectural Digest will design the greenroom where celebrity presenters gather and make their final preparations before heading onstage. Each year, Architectural Digest has selected a talent from the AD 100, the magazine’s list of the top 100 designers and architects, to create this backstage haven. Starting from scratch, the designers do everything from constructing the walls to adorning the space with furnishings, all in an effort to reflect and honor the glamour of Hollywood.