DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
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18 DIGS.NET | 3.19.2021 P R O F I L E | H OT E L J U N E PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF THE INGALLS The Spirit of Southern California Set to make a splash, Hotel June combines the mid-century architecture of a historic building with coastal interiors and poolside exteriors designed by Studio Collective. Located along Pacific Coast Highway, on the west side of Los Angeles in West- chester, Hotel June reflects the soul of the city. On one hand, the hotel honors its architectural past—some- thing that immediately caught the attention of the team of Venice-based Studio Collective, which spent three years working on the renovation—and on the other, it unveils its new dynamic face with an authentic California feel, especially inside. W R I T T E N B Y K A R I N E M O N I É L ead designer Chris Sheffield, designers Yasha Sangam and Tahlia Heffernan, and principals Christian Schulz, Adam Goldstein and Leslie Kale—all from Studio Collective— reimagined the vertical 14-story concrete structure initially conceived by famed L.A. architect Welton Becket in the mid- to late-1950s. "The buildings' facades have a slight brutalist look and feel, due to the deep window sills and eaves expressed around the punched window openings, adding texture to the exterior but also a fortress-like quality at the same time," Schulz describes. The public spaces primarily occupy the ground floor. Separating the hotel's restaurant and bar from the main lobby area, the interior screening partitions comprised of steel and woven leather strapping were developed by Studio Collective with a fabricator in Oaxaca, Mexico. "It is one of the most tactile and beautiful elements," Schulz says. "Just across the main entry is a freestanding two-story structure that borders and protects the poolside exterior spaces. Here, the entire second floor is dedicated to an indoor-outdoor bar and dining areas that overlook the poolside below, complete with dedicated bathrooms and a small prep kitchen. The ground level is primarily back-of-house office, storage and support spaces. For the most part, these spaces were existing hotel program and amenity spaces that were largely kept intact but got a major top- bottom overhaul for all finishes, fixtures, furniture and equipment." Providing unparalleled views from mid-upper floors out toward the ocean, Downtown L.A. and the surrounding mountains, Hotel June comprises 250 rooms decorated with a calming, neutral palette, reflective of the natural materials used by Studio Collective. Stained white oak and sisal help to create a relaxed feel, as if the hotel were a beach house, and also highlight the California sunlight. The very pale blue paint applied from the floor up to around the 60-inch mark on all the rooms' walls, and the pale blue bathroom tile are nods to the tones of the nearby Pacific Ocean. More playful pops of color, such as deep green, mustard yellow, orange and terracotta, among others, and motifs were used in the lobby, restaurant and poolside exterior areas through the furnishings and artworks. "Hotel June has a variety of design influences, but its essence is of a coastal inspiration and a true California spirit, acknowledging adventure and a coastal road trip from Ensenada up the Highway 1 through Big Sur," Schulz confesses. "We were inspired by the A R C H I T E C T U R E + D E S I G N