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A founding member of Commune Design, Pamela now runs her own studio in Los Angeles with an earth-friendly ethos
LA-based Pamela Shamshiri shares her design tips
Who is she? One half of LA-based Studio Shamshiri, which she set up with her brother Ramin in 2016, Pamela always knew that she wanted a career in the design world. ‘We grew up playing in our father’s furniture showroom. Ramin has a business background; I studied art history and architecture, then production design at NYU,’ she recalls. The siblings were two of the four founding partners of Commune Design studio, best known for the Ace hotels. ‘When we started Commune it was a moment when all of us wanted to change our lives,’ she says. ‘At that time, there weren’t many multidisciplinary firms and it felt so thrilling. We were approaching design in our own way.’ Today, Studio Shamshiri and its team is housed in the historic Thomson Building, a 1920s Hollywood landmark. What’s her style? Narrative and research driven, Pamela’s process always starts with the building. ‘We’ve been lucky to work on a lot of restoration projects,’ she continues. ‘I like to honour the architecture; there’s a lot to be learnt from history.’ Supporting local artisans and sustainability have always been important, too. ‘I have never been a fan of plastic; I prefer organic materials and metals such as copper, which develop a natural patina as they age.’
What are her recent projects? Studio Shamshiri’s first hotel venture was the eclectic Maison de la Luz in New Orleans, which was completed in 2019. ‘We imagined that Iris Apfel had travelled the world and then decided to open a guest house. It was a more-is-more, layered concept where the colours lighten as you go up the building. By the time guests are in the bedrooms, the palettes have desaturated and it feels like you’re in the clouds,’ explains Pamela. Colour also played a key role in a Californian Palladian villa that was originally decorated by Mark Hampton and took a decade to complete (she began the work while part of Commune Design). ‘The house needed to be freshened up and we did that by infusing a lot of colour into it,’ she says. ‘For instance, the dining room was red but we changed the shade to paprikasoitmoresuitedtheclients’personalities.’ What is she currently working on? The iconic Rainbow Room event space, restaurant and cocktail bar at the top of the Rockefeller Centre in New York. ‘We’re revitalising it; preserving the architecture with an element of art deco but also making sure it’s a cool place for people to hang out.’
She says: ‘Currently I’m responding to colours from the 1940s, but since Covid-19 I can see that my aesthetic is shifting daily. When there is a complete change in a way of life, design has to respond to that. I think, overall, that it will feel simpler, more edited and grounded.’ studioshamshiri.com
‘I LIKE TO HONOUR THE
ARCHITECTURE; THERE’S
A LOT TO BE LEARNT
FROM HISTORY’