Sponsored content: Since its historic years as a military fort, a flourishing Art Deco capital and an exciting rush of Cuban and South American culture, the bright city of Miami is now home…
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“Design is always a collaborative process,” says Lauren Rottet, the founder of Rottet Studio and head designer of the freshly minted The James Royal Palm Hotel. The subject of a recent $42 million renovation, The James’ latest property has tapped into Miami’s local and extended community of hospitality, design,…
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Yabu Pushelberg’s latest hotel project resets the notion of modern luxury
Set to open 19 January 2012, the St. Regis Bal Habour Resort brings the supremely luxurious service and accommodations the brand is known for to the worldwide destination of South Florida. Designed by Seiger Suarez Architectual Partnership with interiors by renowned studio Yabu Pushelberg, the property sets a new standard for the St. Regis brand. Previewing the property last month I found a brilliant combination of materials and patterns; the aesthetic continuity is maintained from restaurants and reception to guest rooms and spa, yet the spaces are also clearly differentiated. My test for evaluating the effectiveness of a hotel brand’s design language is to imagine waking up in any of the spaces—a guest room, a chair by the pool, the spa or even a restaurant booth or the lobby floor—if there’s no doubt where you are, the design is well executed. In this case, I’d wake up feeling right at home and never wanting to leave.
Boasting 27 stories, housing 243 guest rooms and suites and 307 residences, the resort, built from the ground up on the site of the old Sheraton Bal Harbour, features extravagant detailing throughout. Just a few steps into the main hall Yabu Pushelberg’s consuming style transports you to a world of Deco-inspired modern luxury. Highlighting the extravagance are floors of Chinese God’s Flower marble sourced from a private quarry opened exclusively for the project, mirror-laden walls and chandeliers made of hand-hung crystals.
To further set the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort apart from the other destination resorts in the Miami area, the hotel is defined by its extensive collection of contemporary art from both local and internationally known artists—including works by Japanese artists Hirotoshi Sawada, Kohel Nawa, Miami-based graffiti artist Santiago Rubino and French photographer Jean Francois Rauzier.
To pay homage to legendary architect Morris Lapidus—creator of the iconic neo-baroque modern hotel style synonymous with Miami—guestrooms echo a contemporary Art Deco aesthetic. With warm yellow and whites and mirrored surfaces, the interior design nod can be seen in the subtle details throughout the hotel.
For more information on availability head to St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort online.
Two luxury hotels introducing a welcome modern touch to classic Venetian style
In a place like Venice where nearly everything in the city has been featured in a postcard, the Bauer Hotel and Palazzo stand out for their surprising design, which I recently had the pleasure of exploring.
Built in the ’40s, the linear and austere façade of the hotel on Campo San Moisè creates a deep contrast with the picture-perfect cliché of a gondola gliding down the nearby canal. The decor of the wide hallways (a rarity in the compact town) reflect owner and art director Francesca Bortolotto Possati’s knack for integrating classic materials, such as marble, gold-plated candelabras, silk wallpaper and Murano glass chandeliers, with the clean lines of modernism.
A grand ballroom and lounges continue the opulent atmosphere, boasting more luxurious materials like ostrich leather, walnut root, marble and brass as well as a constant mixture of objects from different ages, including Moresque sculptures and Art Deco armchairs.
Bauer’s twin structure, Il Palazzo, is an 18th-Century boutique hotel offering guests the chance to experience the life of Venetian palazzo living. The views on the Canal Grande are unique, both from the De Pisis Restaurant (located at Canal level) and the Settimo Cielo—the highest terrace in town, providing a beautiful panorama overlooking the entire lagoon.
Each room in the Hotel and Il Palazzo is distinct, incorporating precious antiques, rare prints, small pieces of furniture as well as 20th-century paintings and design objects.
Prices for the Bauer Hotel span €200-900, and €390-8,000 for Il Palazzo.
Following her eponymous label’s dazzling debut last fall, London-based fashion designer Holly Fulton has been on one stellar ascent. In keeping with the momentum, her current Spring/Summer 2010 collection delivers a fantastically vivid flashback to New York circa 1930. While floral and animal prints seem to be the dominating trends this season, the Scottish designer speaks to her signature aesthetic with a series of bold prints and geometric patterns—an Art Deco-inspired tribute to iconic silhouettes adorning the Manhattan skyline.
A recent graduate of London’s Royal College of Art and a recipient of the 2009 Scottish Fashion Awards‘ Young Designer of the Year, Fulton took inspiration from artist Eduardo Paolozzi‘s 1964 colorful screenprint graphic “Wittgenstein in New York for her current collection’s tenor, which includes dresses seemingly suited for the opening party of the Empire State Building.
Emblazoned on silk, lightweight wool and even patent leather, Fulton’s hand-drawn prints—meticulously rendered swirling lines, sharp angles and tromp l’oeil details—recall the architectural embellishments of structures like Rockefeller Center, while visually bold clutches and bib-sized necklaces in lucite, crystal and metal show off her talents as an accessories designer (before launching her own line in 2009, she cut her teeth designing accessories at Lanvin).
The Spring/Summer 2010 collection is available in stores throughout Europe and Asia, and can be purchased online through the London department store Browns.
At the height of the Art Deco era, the SS Normandie, an opulent transatlantic ocean liner fitted with lavish furnishings, attracted the most sophisticated passengers of the day. To commemorate the stylish ship, NYC’s South Street Seaport teamed up with Lalique—the French label responsible for much of the glamorous interior—for an exhibition opening this Thursday, 25 February 2010, and appropriately titled Decodence. Featuring original furnishings, rare passenger photographs, video footage, voyage logs, uniforms and fashion accessories, the show dives into the history of the glamorous vessel (before it was converted to a troop ship and caught fire in 1942) and we have a few exclusive images from the project to share with you.
The gem-like “floating city” arrived in New York City’s harbor in 1935 to over 100,000 spectators eager to check out the liner’s impressive structure. Pillars covered in Lalique glass stood tall in the three-hundred-foot-long dining room, a winter garden boasted exotic flora and fauna, the first theater-at-sea entertained, while an 80-foot-long swimming pool provided a place for leisure and exercise. Art Deco luminaries, including Hermés, Raymond Subes, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean Dupas, designed many of the maiden voyage’s features. Organizers even tracked down the only surviving example of Hermés’ contribution, an exceedingly chic boat-shaped clutch given to first class passengers. (Pictured below.)
Jeremy Scott created a limited edition shirt and Lalique reissued their original 1931 Cabochon glass ring. All the exhibit-related products,pictured in the gallery below, sell exclusively through the South Street Seaport Museum shop or by calling +1 212 748 8733.
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