The Webster
Retail + Entertainment
The Webster’s latest flagship store is a new, ground-up retail development adjacent to the historic Beverly Center. Juxtaposed beneath the monolithic eight story structure, The Webster elegantly asserts itself as a sculptural and experiential counterpoint to the retail experience.
The cantilevered concrete facade references and reimagines the brutalist shell of the original existing building and is injected with a pink dye, an ode to the luminosity of California. Neumann/Smith served as Architect of Record, working alongside Design Architect, Adjaye Associates on the project.
Encompassing square footage originally allocated for interior retail, The Webster establishes a new public space at the intersection of San Vincente and Beverly Boulevards. Featuring a digital art wall and a sculptural water fountain, the new space cultivates an unexpected urban oasis. Visible only from the underside of the cantilever, the wall spans its surface area to form a columnless portico with banquette seating. Both out of deference to and in defiance of Hollywood’s amplified digital culture, the art wall is intentionally low resolution; it is a sculptural canvas that will debut bespoke art pieces commissioned by The Webster.
At the main entry, a panoramic window—comprised of three sheets of curved glass—creates an angular visual portal, dissolving the boundary between the public space and the retail inside.