Hospitality Design - December 2013 - 53

products

proﬁle

marc thorpe
By Ashleigh VanHouten
Photography courtesy of Marc Thorpe Design, Tim Franco, and Moroso

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2

1. A glimpse of the
"striking geometry" in
the Thorpe-designed
Under Armour office
in Shanghai.
2. The sleekly simple
and functional Mark
Table for Moroso.

IN THE ZONE
An architect and industrial designer develops
brands while building his own

Architect and industrial designer Marc
Thorpe's first hospitality project was the
Mark Lounge in College Park, Maryland,
"developed as a spatial study of solid and void
through the programming of surface and the
articulation of movement." Composed of five
"zones of activity" complemented by highgloss surfaces and linked by passive, muted
transition spaces, every element-including
custom furniture and a cantilevered steel
framed bar-was the result of thoughtful
planning and rigorous research that is now a
staple of Marc Thorpe Design.
Creativity runs in Thorpe's veins. "My
father is a graphic designer and professor
of design at the University of Maryland,"
he says. "I studied industrial and graphic
design there and then at Parsons the New
School for Design where I earned a master's
in architecture." Now, Thorpe and his New
York-based team collaborate to develop and
execute brand growth strategies-and his
eclectic resume showcases his broad creative

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range: from Acura to Mercedes Benz;
L'Oreal to Esquire; Target to David Yurman
to Bernhardt Design. The firm's focus on
building complete brands necessitates a mix
of progressive architecture, interior design,
digital media and graphic design,
furniture and product creation, retail,
and exhibit design.
Case in point: Thorpe just completed
an Under Armour office in Shanghai-and
once again, the space is divided into zones
of activity: the Entry Light Tunnel, the
Experience Room, and Retail, with every
detail mirroring the fitness clothing brand's
ethos. "It is the translation of muscular
definition into built form. A highly tuned,
striking geometry giving a presence of visual
weight, intensity, and unique style."
Thorpe also recently collaborated with
Italian furniture company Moroso on the
Mark Table (a cantilevered table made
from powdercoated steel with the aim of a
functional yet minimal surface) as well as

3. Thorpe's Blur sofa
for Moroso features
upholstery made with
digital knitting-a
process that took three
years to complete.

the Blur collection of sofas and seating-the
latter, he says, was his most challenging
product design to date. "The development of
the fabric took three years to complete," he
explains. "It was manufactured in Holland,
and made with 100 percent digital knitting."
Produced by Innofa, digital knitting is a
layering process that produces fabric with an
integrated gradient pattern, resulting in the
visual suggestion of dissolving, fading,
or blurring.
The best part of following this designer's
work is not knowing what he will come up
with next, although we can be sure
he won't simply go with the flow: "We
never follow trends," says Thorpe, who is
currently working on a 20,000-square-foot
private members' club in New York. "We tell
stories through the work; every story
is different." hd
m arct horpedesi gn .co m

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