In today’s live entertainment landscape, premium and VIP offerings are not a luxury—they’re the business model. Suites, sky decks, and club levels help venues compete for tours, support capital improvements, and give fans new ways to connect with the artists they love.
But there’s a catch: if premium areas feel disconnected from the show, they fail. At Ervin Architecture, we’ve designed a variety of elevated experiences, including rooftop premium seating at Maine Savings Amphitheater and layered hospitality spaces in projects like KANU. Here’s what we’ve learned.
1. Preserve the core experience: sightlines and sound
No matter how plush the furniture or how exclusive the lounge, VIP guests still want the same core experience as the crowd: a great view and great sound.
Our premium design rules: – Never sacrifice sightlines for decor or glazing. The view to the stage comes first. – Coordinate balcony edges, canopies, and glass railings to minimize acoustic reflections or bothersome echoes. – Position speakers and fills so that premium zones feel sonically “connected” to the main bowl, not like they’re listening through a door.
At Maine Savings Amphitheater, rooftop suites and decks give guests elevated views of both the stage and Bangor’s waterfront, turning each show into a double spectacle.
2. Design for social variety, not just seating capacity
The most successful premium spaces are not rows of chairs; they’re social landscapes.
We mix: – Lounge clusters with sofas and low tables – High-top perches for small groups watching the show – Bar zones for mingling – Dining areas for clients entertaining guests
This variety allows premium areas to accommodate everything from corporate outings to birthday groups to couples on a big night out—often all in the same section.
3. Seamless service is part of the architecture
VIP guests expect elevated service, but service can’t be an afterthought.
We design premium zones so that: – Staff have discreet circulation paths to bars, kitchens, and back-of-house. – Storage for glassware, linens, and supplies is integrated into millwork, not parked in ad-hoc carts. – Point-of-sale locations are logically distributed to avoid bottlenecks.
At the Waterfront Concerts rooftop suites, the layout supports personalized food and beverage service while keeping the space visually clean and focused on the stage and river views.
4. Make VIP feel inclusive, not divisive
Premium experiences should feel special but not smug. The goal is to enhance the venue’s social ecology, not create hostility between sections.
Architectural strategies: – Use transparent railings and open edges so premium guests still feel part of the crowd, and the crowd can see the energy above. – Avoid overly fortified entries that read as “private club only.” – Use material upgrades—better finishes, more refined details—without creating jarring visual breaks.
When done right, guests in every section feel like they’re part of the same story, just from different vantage points.
5. Build for reconfigurability
Promoters and operators need flexibility. A VIP club that can only function in one configuration will eventually become a constraint.
We aim to: – Design furniture systems that can adapt between small groups and larger buyouts. – Integrate discreet infrastructure (power, data, mounting points) for future technology and sponsorship activations. – Use lighting and movable partitions to shift the mood between shows, genres, and seasons.
The venues that will thrive over the next decade are those where premium doesn’t just mean “more money per square foot”—it means more ways to program the building.
If your venue or project team is exploring new premium experiences—suites, clubs, rooftops, or VIP terraces—Ervin Architecture’s live entertainment and hospitality expertise can help you design spaces that keep fans coming back, season after season.
