Rock-n-Roll Art 101 with Gallery 319

Platinum Showcase Designers Taking in Gallery 319's rock-n-roll art collection.

This week, Gallery 319 hosted a special mixer in their Ocean-adjacent studio space for all of the Platinum Showcase's design savants. It was the perfect opportunity for the designers to absorb some rare rock-n-roll renderings of iconic musicians like Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley and John Lennon, and for the rest of us to imbibe wine and good vibes! Besides artwork whose subject is rock-n-roll, the gallery also features artwork created by rockers such as Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones), Ringo Starr (The Beatles) and Paul Stanley (KISS) to name a few.

Also check back very soon for more news about Gallery 319's first-ever rock-n-roll pop-up art exhibit, to be launched in September during REthink Development's Platinum Showcase at the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios.

TV hosts, designers, and lifestyle experts Kristin Casey and Rick Rifle of Stylush Life

Brook Casey  of Dennis Design Group in the company of a giant olive.

REthink Development Co-Founder Greg Reitz (far right)

Jennifer Siegal (OMD) and Sandra Sharma (BLANKSPACE) talking art and rock-n-roll with our own Aunny De La Rosa.

USGBC-LA Visits the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios

Last week, the Los Angeles Chapter of the USGBC stopped by for an informal hard hat tour.  The group got up close and personal with the project, checking out all the ins and outs of the sustainable features.  

Once the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios are completed in September 2009, the USGBC will send an evaluator back with a giant check-list to make sure that all the green features that were proposed during design made it through to construction.  And then....the project will receive its official LEED rating.  

We humbly predict...Platinum!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the hard hat tour! 

Platinum Features for a Platinum Future

With such a rich and storied history of platinum records, the new Lofts @ Cherokee Studios could settle for nothing less than a LEED Platinum rating from the USGBC.  

The decision to build platinum features into the project 

from day one in order to ensure a platinum future was not a small one, especially when one considers that of the 4,775,000 loft, condo, and apartment homes in the State of California, only twelve units are designed to meet LEED Platinum green certification.  And all twelve are located at 751 N. Fairfax.

The USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental

 Design (LEED) program is the one of the most rigorous green building systems in the world.  Platinum is the highest certification level achievable.  This high level certification is only possible through a steadfast commitment to the highes

t standards of healthy, environmentally friendly design and construction practices.

Together, REthink Development and two-time American Institute of Architects Top 10 Green Award Winner Pugh + Scarpa have created the greenest live/work building in California.

So what makes a green building platinum?

• Being evaluated as over 40% better than California's strict Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards (this means a smaller monthly bill!)
• 20 kW solar electric array (power up your laptop with pure sun juice!)
• Dynamic double facade creates shade and buffers street noise while enabling ventilation 
• Electric car charging for every unit
• Located in a walker's paradise (being car-dependent is so passe in LA!)
• Extensive bike storage (LA has one of the biggest emerging bike cultures in the nation, who knew?)
• Reclaimed Black Forest Walnut from Sinatra's Studio One
• Formaldehyde-free cabinets and flooring
• High efficiency air filtration (breathe clean air...a rarity in LA)
• Optimal natural ventilation
• Efficient lighting, including strategic use of LED lighting
• Abundant natural daylight
• Green, living, cooling roof (with crazy views of the city)
• Upgraded glass enhances thermal and sound insulation
• High recycled content and locally produced products
• Forest Stewardship Council certified wood (50% of all wood products)
• Reduced landfill waste by over 75%
• Reduced storm water runoff through groundbreaking under-sidewalk infiltration system
• Drought resistant native landscaping
• Energy star appliances
• Dual flush Toto Aquia II toilets
• Water-efficient fixtures
• Design for durability (like a good song, a green building can last forever)
• Double walls between units for sound insulation (and enhanced 'rockability')

Lofts @ Cherokee Studios Featured on Yanko Design

Super cool web magazine, Yanko Design posted a great write up featuring the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios. Thanks to YD Creative Director, Long Tran for spreading the word!

(Excerpt from Yanko Design)
Cherokee Studios by REthink Development is a new soon to be completed project in Los Angeles boasting LEED Platinum certification. Huge Kudos to REthink since this is only 1 of 12 buildings in California to achieve that rating. The building won’t be completed until September ‘09 but I’m so giddy with excitement that I think REthink and whomever the land owners are should just let me move in. Better yet, lets open the Yanko Design Los Angeles branch in the building!

Cherokee Studios...Past, Present & Future

Past : Cherokee Studios was one of the most significant Hollywood recording studios in the 1960s and 70s. Altogether, its hallowed halls and cutting edge studio spaces produced a combined 300 Gold and Platinum albums by iconic artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis. As the seasons changed, so did the music, and Cherokee welcomed each new wave of music just as it had with the genres of the past. From the days of big band to the disco era, in every age Cherokee was the place with “the vibe” and where musical magic happened.


Through the years, the artists who recorded at Cherokee Studios gathered inspiration from the ones who were there before them. Whether it was Elton John sitting down to write his now unmistakable lyrics at the same piano in Studio One where Frank Sinatra once recorded, or Elliot Smith sleeping on the tracking room floor until final touches were made to his album where David Bowie tracked ‘Changes’, its legacy is a collection of stories, experiences, and the collection of creative spirits that make this musical landmark worth preserving.


Present : In August, 2007 Cherokee Studios officially closed its doors located at 751 N. Fairfax, with plans to once again usher in a new era of musical history. Los Angeles, a rock-n-roll Mecca for anyone with big dreams of making it big as a musician will soon be home to one of the most unique musical institutions in the world. Original Owner, Bruce Robb entrusted his beloved Cherokee Studios (on Fairfax) to the team at REthink Development, pioneers in green building and the renowned architectural design team at Pugh + Scarpa to ensure that “the vibe” at Cherokee Studios was preserved in this new endeavor.

Today, what once was an unassuming building in West Hollywood has been given a facelift, after all this is LA, and come September, 2009 will be unveiled as the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios. Continuing its impressive track record for winning awards, these 12 live/work lofts and 2,800 square feet of commercial space are slated to achieve LEED Platinum status, the highest level a building can receive in green construction.


The Lofts @ Cherokee Studios manifest the best in environmental efficiency mixed with a lot of Rock-n-Roll history. Amazing natural light, clean air, non toxic materials, and advanced green heating and cooling system all provide a healthy and productive environment in which to create. The five-story building also boasts a meticulously landscaped green “living roof” with incredible views of the Hollywood Hills. Dedicated in-home music production suites are built in to the Premium Penthouse lofts, as designed by renowned acoustician George Augspurger and Bruce Robb himself.



Future : The musical legacy of the original studios continues as the torch is being passed on to twelve new owners who will now occupy the space. The natural ventilation and renewable energy will breathe new life and creativity into the indoor environment, while the gold and platinum records that fill the lobby will serve as a reminder of the artists who once recorded there, and inspire the next generation of musicians and music lovers. It’s only a matter of time before the next Platinum album comes out of the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios.

Our Platinum Sponsors

Besides our rock star cast of designers, architects, and installation artists, REthink Development’s ‘Platinum Showcase’ at the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios is being made possible by an incredible and dynamic group of cutting edge vendors, who have each graciously donated their valuable time and resources to this unique endeavor. Our official ‘Platinum Showcase sponsors include:

LIMN Los Angeles proudly features rarified and carefully edited selections of furnishings from designers around the world. Spotlighting innovators such as William Sawaya & Luca Sacchetti to design legends such as Piero Lissoni & Ettore Sottsass.

Cisco Home is a leading Los Angeles-based sustainable furnishings company with six retail showrooms.

Livingreen provides materials and products for healthier homes and workspaces. Offering home furnishings and interior finish materials that are all natural, non-toxic, made of recycled content and energy efficient.

Gallery 319 exhibits rock-n-roll-inspired fine art created by artists and photographers from around the world, many of whom are musicians themselves.

We look forward to the collaborative process between designers, vendors, and developers and cannot wait to unveil the finished ‘Platinum Showcase’ later this fall. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities for the exciting series of upcoming events scheduled for the month of September, feel free to contact us.

Meet the Designers

Music and design are intrinsically related. They're based on the same principles: creating something out of nothing; something that elicits an emotional response; something memorable. Both require creativity and talent. And the Platinum Legacy Showcase brings the best of both together.

REthink Development has assembled a 'rock star' (pun intended) cast of designers to be part of the Platinum Legacy Showcase. The mission? Interpret music through design, melding musical creativity with a three-dimensional space. Designers have been asked to select an artist from the long list of stars who have recorded at Cherokee Studios and build a compelling, mind-blowing space based on their specific music and character. We're talking homage to, and not mausoleum for.

Joining the team to transform the Lofts @ Cherokee Studios into a living, breathing design interpretation of music are:

Rogerio Carvalheiro - Rogerio has worked with and been strongly influenced by design luminaries such as Julie Eizenberg, Arthur Erickson, and most recently, Philippe Starck. He launched the RC Design Federation earlier this year and will be designing a space in homage to his all-time favorite artist, the Thin White Duke himself, David Bowie.

Kristin Casey + Rick Rifle - Both are familiar faces from shows on HGTV, The Style Network, and TLC. This dynamic (and dare we say, theatrical) duo are designing a tri-level suite in homage to the legendary Frank Sinatra. Martini, anyone?

Lori Dennis + Brook Casey - Lori is the undeniable doyenne of green interior design. Her company, the Dennis Design Group has been designing eco-friendly residential and commercial spaces for the last decade. Brook Casey, a young design phenom in his own right, will join Lori on this project, as they build a space around Alice Cooper.

Jennifer Siegal + Sandra Sharma - Jennifer is a internationally renowned designer who has elevated prefab design to a fine art with the Office of Mobile Design. Sandra Sharma integrated her passion for art and her experience in hospitality design by relaunching BLANKSPACE in Los Angeles this year after completing projects for Wynn Resorts at Wynn Macau and Wynn Encore Las Vegas. The Siegal-Sharma team takes on alternative rock favorites 30 Seconds to Mars.

Check back for more information on each design team and their respective rock stars. Their designs are sure to make the Platinum Legacy Showcase a truly epic experience.

The Platinum Showcase: Music. Interpreted Through Design.

Bowie cut ChangesOneBowie album there. Studio One was built specially for Frank Sinatra's string orchestra.  The list of rock royalty who have passed through the hallowed recording booths at Cherokee Studios is virtually endless.  Altogether, there were 300 Gold and Platinum albums cut there.  But just because the old studio is gone doesn't mean that Cherokee Studios' platinum days are over.  Today, thanks to REthink Development, the site's winning Platinum legacy will continue, as the new structure gets ready to achieve LEED Platinum certification upon completion in September 2009.  (This will make the new Lofts @ Cherokee Studios the greenest mixed-use development in the State of California.)

To honor this legacy, The Platinum Showcase will re-interpret music history through creative design. We're taking the idea of a showcase, and shaking it up with a bit of rock-n-roll.  We've assembled a diverse and rockin' team of design phenoms to create compelling, mind-blowing spaces in homage to a hand-picked selection of artists who have recorded at Cherokee Studios, melding the spirit of musical creativity with a three-dimensional experience.  Introducing music, interpreted through design.

Join us as we embark on an epic creative journey and check back often to get the latest updates.