Hotels are no longer just places to lay your head. Like most hospitality spaces these days, they have become multifunctional environments that include an ever-expanding set of services. Catering to different types of clientele—travelers who take in everything a location has to offer. Frequent flyers who demand both essentials and reproducible creature comforts; Locals simply looking for a new third place to relax or have a drink—these destinations now include extensive food and beverage options, expansive co-working settings, gyms, game rooms, and increasingly, lobby “lounges.” These, themselves multifunctional spaces, are increasingly programmed as porous buffers, softening the transition between the street outside and the accommodation on the upper floors.
In a growing push to cope with what’s already there (adaptive reuse), long-standing hotels like Lower Manhattan’s Hyatt Union Square are reconstructed along these lines. Multi-city interiors company LEGEARD STUDIO recently renovated its palatial lobby overlooking Fourth Avenue and turned it into a neighborhood salon with a public view. Responding to all the requirements of such an environment—an easily recognizable reception desk, an abundant variety of seating areas, etc.—the retrofit marries past and present, rooting the space in the site’s history while foreshadowing its future.
Nearby Union Square is, for many New Yorkers, a focal point for the city, stretching out on the edge of downtown and uptown. Its cultural history is nothing to scoff at, either. Andy Warhol kept his Factory here. The famous Parsons School of Design is nearby. When it’s not hosting a twice-weekly farmers’ market (a resort village during the season), its bustling square is the site of large public gatherings. New York’s sprawling array of differently defined but ever-evolving neighborhoods unfolds from here in all directions.
Carrying out a complete renovation of the two-story interior, the company brought back elements that were familiar and others that were new. Hints of Palm Springs tropical modernism are combined with nods to the understated but warm Milanese style of the same mid-20th century period. A custom tile floor with amoeboid patterns sets the stage for a series of partially confined alcoves, breaking up what would otherwise be an overly imposing and monotonous singular void. The time of shocking submission of guests and guests is over.
However, the richly veined wooden reception takes pride of place. A stained glass wall, geometrically shaped like the floor, emphasizes its importance but also suggests what else is yet to be revealed. The Bauhaus-inspired backdrop captures and refracts natural and indirect artificial light in unexpected ways. Out front hang paper lanterns reminiscent of the Akari lamps imagined by Isamu Noguchi—a long-unsung, erudite New York creative hero.
The adjacent guest lounge takes on more intimate dimensions. Wrapped in wood paneled walls, the space is defined by low sofa pits from the 1970s. Playful rugs and polished vintage touches. Lush greenery, wrapped in raised linear planters, traverses the entire lobby area.
The cocktail lounge to the rear is anchored by tall columns encased in diamond-studded wood carvings. Murano glass-inspired sconces are subtle touches that tie everything together. Both canopies appear with the iconic Alfa Sergio Mazza lamps as focal points. The main bar features a Charlotte Perriand-inspired bottle rack and a large slab of Verde Antigua marble. An undulating plaster relief spans the adjacent wall. Glistening with its grand Venetian chandelier by day, the bright cocktail lounge transforms into a sultry, dimly lit hangout by night.
Having all of these cohesively niche, the lobby is both nostalgic – romantically dramatic, like the legendary Palladium nightclub that once stood around the corner – and contemporary in its human-scale accommodation.
To see this and other works by the company, visit legeardstudio.com.
Photo courtesy of Legeard Studio.
