Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 63
perspectives
interview
christopher
norton
By JoAnn Greco
GOLD STANDARD
Few-if any-hotel brands can claim a heritage
as firmly rooted in the design arts as Four
Seasons Hotels and Resorts, founded after all, in
the 1960s by architect and builder Isadore Sharp.
The brand has had to adapt over the
years, but what has never changed, explains
Christopher Norton, the company's executive
vice president of global product and operations,
are its "core values-the timbers that hold the
company together." And those values have kept
Norton at Four Seasons for more than 25 years.
His hospitality career began with a fascination
with a friend's family hotel outside of Zurich,
followed by an apprenticeship at Zurich's famed
Baur au Lac hotel and an education at Ecole
hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland. After a
host of other hotel positions, Norton landed at
Four Seasons in 1989, where he's found, he says,
those core values defined as a commitment to
quality, service, and a corporate culture that
emphasizes the Golden Rule.
Explosive Growth
Now, after identifying 400 locations that can
support a luxury hotel (or, at least, another one)
of this caliber, the brand is poised to add to its
current 95 properties at a brisk pace. "We've
just opened four properties, and we will open
several more this year," Norton says. Some of the
recent additions include properties in Orlando,
1
1. A rendering of an F&B
space at the soon-to-beconverted Four Seasons
Hotel Casa Medina
Bogota.
2. Architectural details
abound in the BAMOdesigned Four Seasons
Resort Dubai at Jumeirah
Beach.
Johannesburg, Moscow, Bahrain Bay, and Dubai.
This year's newcomers include a mix of
new builds and reflags. For its fifth property in
Hawaii-the 365-room Four Seasons Resort
Oahu at Ko Olina-the company is converting
an existing resort, originally designed by noted
architect Edward Killingsworth. That's also the
case with a second property in Miami Beach, the
317-room Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club,
a revitalization and expansion of an iconic 1930s
property by local architect Russell Pancoast and
helmed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning
Richard Meier. In addition, the brand recently
announced that two existing properties in Bogota,
Colombia will be renovated and reopened as
Four Seasons.
Meanwhile, the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul
is a mix of old and new, adding a 25-story, 317room building onto the foundation of a 15thcentury palace; and the 186-room Four Seasons
Hotel Casablanca, opening later this year, is a
new build that's part of an upscale mixed-use
development in Morocco's largest city. "Starting
in 2016, we're looking at adding an average of a
dozen hotels per year"-a 10 percent growth rate,
Norton says.
Brand Refresh
"To survive, we need to continue to reinvent our-
2
Photo by PAUL THUYSBAERT
A company veteran helps define luxury for
Four Seasons
selves," Norton says. "It has to be very clear that
we have absolutely no wish to be the same places
as the ones where your grandparents stayed."
Design, of course, has a role in this directive.
"We've become very active in meeting with new
designers," Norton says. "About 80 percent of
projects under construction are being designed
by people new to the brand. As a result, what you
will see in Surf Club Miami, for instance, will be
hospitalitydesign.com March/April 2015
063
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - March/April 2015
Contents
Online TOC
From the Editor
People
Perspectives
Sketchbook
Sustainable Studio Kittitian Hill
Places Miami
Interview Christopher Norton
5 Questions for Ron Arad
Products
Profile Autoban
Luxury
Bath
Special Feature Lifestyle Brands
HD Expo Preview
From the Show Director
Products
Conference Highlights
Projects
Hotel Zoo Berlin
One&Only Hayman Island
Sofitel So Singapore
Sixty Soho
Ad Index
Back Space
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Intro
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Cover1
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Cover2
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 1
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 2
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 3
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 4
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 5
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 6
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Contents
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 8
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 9
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 10
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 11
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 12
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Online TOC
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 14
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 15
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 16
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 17
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 18
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 19
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - From the Editor
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 21
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 22
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 23
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 24
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 25
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - People
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 27
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 28
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 29
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 30
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 31
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 32
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 33
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 34
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Perspectives
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 36
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Sketchbook
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 38
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 39
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 40
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 41
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 42
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 43
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 44
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 45
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 46
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 47
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 48
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Sustainable Studio Kittitian Hill
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 50
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 51
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 52
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 53
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 54
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Places Miami
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 56
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 57
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 58
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 59
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 60
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 61
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 62
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Interview Christopher Norton
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 64
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 65
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 66
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 67
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 5 Questions for Ron Arad
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 69
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 70
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 71
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 72
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Products
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 74
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Profile Autoban
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 76
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 77
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 78
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Luxury
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 80
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 81
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 82
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 83
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 84
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Bath
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 86
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 87
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 88
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 89
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 90
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Special Feature Lifestyle Brands
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 92
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 93
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 94
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 95
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 96
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 97
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 98
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 99
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 100
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 101
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 102
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 103
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 104
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 105
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 106
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - HD Expo Preview
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 108
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - From the Show Director
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Products
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 111
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 112
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 113
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 114
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 115
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 116
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 117
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Conference Highlights
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 119
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 120
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 121
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 122
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 123
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 124
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 125
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 126
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Projects
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Hotel Zoo Berlin
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 129
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 130
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 131
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - One&Only Hayman Island
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 133
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 134
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 135
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Sofitel So Singapore
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 137
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 138
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 139
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Sixty Soho
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 141
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 142
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 143
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 144
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 145
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 146
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 147
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 148
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 149
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Ad Index
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - 151
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Back Space
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Cover3
Hospitality Design - March/April 2015 - Cover4
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