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MillimeterPost Modern
Sep 1, 1998 12:00 PM, Cynthia Wisehart
Step inside New York's Blue Rock Editorial Company, leave 51st and Lex behind, and experience the calming influence of feng shui. That is the idea behind the design of Palestrini Post's new facility-within-a-facility. "It's so quiet, that people immediately lower their voices along with their anxiety level," says John Palestrini.
In spring, Blue Rock opened in a $3 million, 15,000-square-foot facility designed around ancient Chinese principles. Feng shui seeks to maximize the flow of chi, or energy, through a living or working space. No bank or hotel in Hong Kong has opened without the guidance of a feng shui practitioner, whose warnings and instructions are more binding than the building code.
At Blue Rock, a circular, earth-toned facility with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides reflects feng shui principles. "There were to be no blind spots, no dead-end corners where energy can be trapped," Palestrini explains. "The whole design had to flow. It had to incorporate natural light and all natural materials, and we wanted it to be made up entirely of curved lines. Even the Avid consoles are curved organic shapes. The suites were laid out so that the editors can see who enters the room. In the business office, no one faces anyone else's back. There are trees, but not too many; a certain minimalism is important."
"The place is so right. It's like a September day," Noot says. "I believe that's because feng shui is rooted in practicality and comfort. You can direct your creative energy to the job at hand when your surroundings are comfortable and conducive." Artists at Fuel, Santa Monica, also report positive results from their new facility, which Santa Monica feng shui practitioner Parvin LoPresti helped design. "She told us, 'Here is the area where people should work who handle money, here is where people who work on the telephone should sit.' And we built accordingly," says Monica Epstein, VP at Fuel.
"The Jewish word is yiddishikup," says Steve Weber, co-owner of Voodoo Effects and Graphics. "It means smart in a common sense kind of way." It is also the ancient principle he used to build out Voodoo's new Santa Monica home in nine weeks. The result, like Blue Rock, is a welcoming two-story space full of big windows and natural light. A fluid circular floor plan ties Voodoo together with facility-mates Crush Editorial and Stompbox Music and Sound Design. As at Blue Rock, the floor is raw concrete, the Avid consoles are organic and rounded, and all of the conduit is exposed. But instead of understated earth tones, Crush/Voodoo's vintage furniture is purple and red, and the lounge is stocked with arcade games. The meandering walls are Ralph Lauren shades of butter, charcoal, and gold combined with concrete-gray Wonderboard and patio roofing material. Industrial designer Ilan Dei made the Avid consoles from carbon fiber and resin.
The new facility, co-owned by Weber and editor Chris Kern, continues a post trend toward bringing services under one roof. With four Avid suites, music composition, sound design, and voice-over services-plus Flame, Flint, Mac Graphics, and one of L.A.'s first Jaleos for online and high-def-the team has attracted a range of work from Taco Bell commercials to effects for Armageddon. And though no specialist was consulted, Crush/Voodoo has what may be the ultimate in auspicious feng shui, at least in Santa Monica: There are 14 parking spaces in front of the building.
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