Boutique Design - Winter 2024 - 54

GO LD KE Y D E S I GN ER OF THE YE A R
unfolds over time. It's a different kind of
storytelling.
THE LOBBY AT THE MAYFA IR HOUSE
HOTEL & GARDEN IN MI AMI
MS: From retail, I learned about layering
user experiences. In hospitality, the interiors
become the statement, but they're layered
with functionality and user interaction.
Seeing how those layers evolve keeps the
process exciting.
AU: My architectural background helps carry
the conceptual ideation into detailed design.
The small details-how materials come
together, how spaces function-are just as
rooted in the foundation as the big ideas.
On design that is both fresh and timeless.
RR: We avoid trends, focusing instead on
designs that feel relevant but timeless. For
example, at Romer, we preserved a striking
orange marble wall from the building's
original design, letting it shape the palette.
We think about permanence and fl exibility,
ensuring elements can evolve without losing
the space's integrity.
CR: It's easy to avoid trends if you aren't
precious about a design aesthetic. If you're
not trying to maintain a look and feel as a
design studio every project is approached
completely differently and there's a different
design solution that's right for that client, for
that space, for that time and place. Because
of that, the idea of trends don't really cross
our minds much, except for potentially
something to avoid.
HF: My background and education wasn't
in hospitality, I fell into it. When you're just
doing product for a market, you do spend a
lot of time thinking about what's on trend.
One of the things I really fell in love with
about hospitality is that you have the power
to create a space where what's happening
outside this box doesn't matter. Inside
this box we can tell a story where a yellow
spotted sofa makes all the sense in the world.
When the whole story makes sense, even
just visually looking at it from top to bottom,
you can really do whatever you want inside
it. You can create something timeless within
your own rules.
On lessons learned from challenging projects.
RR: The UBS Arena project came to us when
we were a very small studio. We did not
have any completed work at the time and a
big client took a chance on a real underdog.
It was an amazingly collaborative effort to
come together and really break every rule
that has ever been done in arenas to bring a
hospitality focus to a venue type that hadn't
considered hospitality fi rst in the past. We
were able to break down preconceived ideas
of how design should function in this project
type. We challenged ourselves to bring both
fi rst-class hospitality and extreme durability
54
W I N T E R 20 2 4 / 20 2 5
THE LOBBY AT THE KIMP TON SYLVAN HOTEL
IN ATLANTA' S BUCKHEAD NE I GHBORHOOD
AN AER I AL VIEW OF THE S TANDARD, HURUVALH I MALD I VES
for the amount of people and traffi c that would pass
through. Unlike a restaurant, for example, the design had
to translate across different clientele-from hockey fans
to pop music fans to Disney on Ice fans.
CR: I am a massive sports fan and it was amazing to see
how [we were able to] create an arena with real intimacy
within it. You're there with 20,000 people but you can
fi nd personal moments with just your small group. This is
not like other arenas you've been to for that reason.
On fi nding inspiration.
AU: As a creative, I'm always interested in alternate
venues to experience art. Something like modern dance-
the set design, the music, the choreography, the dance-
it feeds the soul and contributes to what I do and adds to
my creativity as an individual.
RR: It's important to make sure we are searching for a
diverse set of references that inspire our projects, making
sure that we're not always looking towards the European
references that might be more commonly referenced in
design. Trying to get diversity and inclusivity into the
foundation of our projects.
CR: People are craving authenticity, I think more now
than ever. We're fi nding in our conversations with clients
and chefs that there's a desire to bring in a collaboration
with an artist or a maker, to have more creative hands
infl uence the experience. Although the leaps that AI
has made are incredible, there will always be a need for
human interaction. The more prevalent that is in design,
the more people want to spend time with it.
MS: Trying to get out of my routine as often as possible.
My friends know that I will always tag along to something
they want to go to. Meet new people, see a different
perspective. Having exposure to as many different things
as you can-food, art, people-it's not one thing.
HF: I have a lower-brow answer. I'm really into space-age
lighting and furniture, and the era of plastic furniture-
which fell away because of its environmental impacts and
also just perceptions of what luxury is. I'm interested in
people experimenting with ways to save some of these
designs. Goby was recently working on new ways to
mold some fi berglass classics. It's amazing to look back
at designs that are historical and how actually futuristic
they are. BD
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