TPG Architecture Reinvents the Office to Prioritize Connection

Here’s a refreshing change for a 21st-century workplace: no open cubicles. Though this financial firm’s New York office can accommodate 300 employees, TPG Architecture skipped the sea of desks in favor of glass-walled team rooms for just four to 12 people. “The client sought a place where people could work efficiently while feeling comfortable and valued,” managing associate and studio creative director Ricardo Nabholz explains. 

The bright, dynamic space centers on a steel-and-walnut staircase that connects all three floors. Positioned in a windowed corner, its profile forms an asymmetrical pentagon, with Michael Anastassiades chain pendants of linked geometric shapes dangling down like jewelry. Employees can meet at communal areas on each landing, in a café (with greenery by Plantwalldesign) that converts into an assembly space, or on a private terrace with views over the treetops in Central Park. They can also slip into what Nabholz calls the “quiet car,” a cozy, librarylike room tucked behind a hidden door. Designed for smaller gatherings, it offers a break from the typical office atmosphere and invites employees to feel at home. 

Inside a Houston Healthcare Building Dedicated to Connectivity

Everything’s bigger in the Lone Star State. The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest such complex in the world as well as among its most highly regarded. Spanning more than 2 square miles, encompassing 61 different hospitals and institutions, it constitutes the eighth largest business district in the U.S., one that recently became even larger with the addition of TMC Helix Park, a 37-acre trailblazing life-sciences campus that will eventually include multiple laboratory and research buildings along with a convention center, hotel, an apartment tower, and retail space—more than 5 million square feet of real estate in all. 

The first structure, the four-story, 250,000-square-foot TMC3 Collaborative Building, opened in October 2023. Elkus Manfredi Architects, the big Boston-based firm assigned the inaugural project as well as the master planning of Helix Park, has stats almost as impressive as the client’s: It not only ranks number 48 among the Interior Design top 100 Giants but also 34th, 43rd, and 49th on the Hospitality, Sustainability, and Healthcare Giants lists, respectively. David P. Manfredi, CEO and founding principal along with the late Howard F. Elkus, describes TMC3 as “both the convening space for the Helix campus as well as a microcosm of the whole.” Dedicated to connectivity and cooperation between and among researchers and private-sector partners, the facility is inspired by translational science: “Traditionally, there’s been a great divide between academic and commercial science, the biopharmaceuticals,” Manfredi notes. “The translational science construct brings the two worlds together to move solutions from lab to market as fast as possible.”

Discover The LEED Gold-Certified TMC3 Building

“The model at TMC3 is to combine fully equipped laboratory space, promising startups, and organizations that offer seed capital and support in translational medicine,” says Elkus Manfredi principal Elizabeth Lowrey, who led the interior architecture team. “We’re shifting from a research mindset of ‘mine’ to one of ‘ours.’” Thus, the building’s 43,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratories are shared by three of TMC’s founding institutions: the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. 

The building itself, Manfredi continues, “is almost square in plan, out of which is hollowed an atrium that serves as the town square for the whole campus, the agora for ideas.” Throwing off the rectangular footprint slightly, the east facade describes a long, shallow curve that follows the arc of the adjacent garden—one of five green spaces by landscape architect Mikyoung Kim that connect in a DNA-inspired double helix, a near 7-acre expanse that gives the campus its name. 

As for the atrium, it’s also strikingly expansive: 12,000 square feet of limestone-clad floor space topped by an almost equally large ceramic fritted glass skylight nearly 75 feet above. Fronted by deep balcony corridors, three encircling tiers of glass-walled laboratories and administrative offices overlook the huge volume, which is crisscrossed by a bridge and staircases linking the floors. Transparency and connectivity are more than metaphors here. 

Thanks to bleacher seating and a podium backed by a giant video screen, the atrium accommodates educational and cultural events, while oak slats covering the walls and balcony undersides bring warmth and texture to the imposing venue, as do the poured-in-place concrete walls surrounding the reception area. Dedicating so much cubic footage to an atrium might seem counterintuitive but, flooded with daylight, its vast dimensions and natural surfaces animate the whole building. “You walk in, and the generosity of light and space become palpable,” Lowrey observes. “The materials bring a human touch to the scale, making the huge volume feel approachable and reassuring.” 

The second and third stories contain the joint laboratories and adjacent administrative areas. The fourth floor houses the TMC executive suite—a low key–luxe environment of glossy whites and silver grays offset by marble flooring and wood or suede paneling—partner-institution offices, and the James P. Allison Institute, a 14,000-square-foot cancer research lab named for the resident Nobel laureate. Furniture throughout is clean and modern, with a representative sampling of blue-chip pieces by Jasper Morrison, MUT Design, Luca Nichetto, and other contemporary luminaries. 

As befits a medical center, the LEED Gold–certified TMC3 building places a premium on the health and well-being of its occupants, most conspicuously by maximizing the physical relationship between the interiors and the natural world. “When we began discussing our involvement with Helix Park back in 2019,” Manfredi recalls, “one of the first things I said was that the outdoor spaces are as important as the indoor ones.” The curving east facade hosts an amphitheater-like array of staggered terraces—sun-drenched, lushly planted, and furnished with pristine-white tables and chairs by Lievore Altherr Molina and Richard Schultz, they are an irresistibly welcoming al fresco amenity. And, of course, the ground floor offers immediate access to the green park where in good weather research teams can hold meetings under a canopy of shade trees. “People are not just working out there—they can have lunch together or a beer on Friday after work or movie nights and kite festivals,” Manfredi concludes. “Making all those connections with colleagues and their families in a low-pressure, natural environment will accelerate the science.” 

Take A Look At The TMC3 Collaborative Building In Houston

History Meets Innovation in Greylock Partners’ San Francisco HQ

Greylock Partners is one of the oldest venture capital firms in the country. Founded in 1965, it has funded hundreds of companies in myriad sectors, from networking entities (Meta, LinkedIn) to healthcare (AmplifyMD, Atomic AI) and housing (Airbnb, Redfin), and continues to work with early-stage entrepreneurs to build strong businesses. Given its history and focus on innovation, Greylock found a fitting location for its new San Francisco headquarters: 140 New Montgomery Street, originally built in 1925 by architecture firms A.A. Cantin and Miller and Pflueger for the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company. The 26-story art deco tower was the city’s tallest when it opened and seen as a symbol of growth and technology. Greylock leased the top floor and hired Rapt Studio to transform it into a modern-day office that honors the site’s history.

How Rapt Studio Transformed an Art Deco Tower into a Modern Office

The 7,300-square-foot penthouse was once a ballroom and an assembly hall, with a 15-foot-high, painted plaster ceiling, views of downtown and San Francisco Bay, and cruciform traceries outside the windows. “It was a beautiful, interesting space,” Rapt CEO and chief creative officer David Galullo begins. Yet it presented challenges. Greylock required nine private offices, a boardroom, six conference and meeting rooms, and 15 desks, plus a reception area and a pantry. “You’re in the penthouse, so you want big volumes, but the program is a lot of little rooms,” Rapt creative director Mike Dubitsky adds. It was one of the many areas where the design studio had to weigh competing priorities. Having previously outfitted offices for such clients as Goop, PayPal, and Tinder, Rapt was up to the task.

Designing a Welcoming Space for Young Entrepreneurs 

“This concept is all about quiet balance,” Galullo continues. “Between the historic and the future, impressive and comfortable, cerebral and collegial.” Greylock has a hybrid workforce of 50 employees and mainly uses the office for meetings; about 30 people come in on a given day. The firm desired that the environment project gravitas without being pretentious and feel inviting to the young entrepreneurs who come in to pitch ideas. Rapt blended contemporary and nostalgic details for a warm yet distinguished workplace that celebrates Greylock’s legacy and forward-thinking mentality. 

Employees and visitors enter the building through an exuberant black-marble and bronze lobby. When they arrive on the 26th floor, Rapt devised the setting so it wouldn’t be a stark change when the elevator doors open. “Our portal has a double archway that smoothly transitions people from the art deco lobby to this office,” Dubitsky says, “and creates a sense of arrival.” With black-and-white penny floor tile, ebony plaster wall paint, and golden brass accents, the dramatic elevator lobby feels vintage as it leads to a bright reception area anchored in the present day. 

Materials and Furnishings Reference 1920s Glamour 

Reception is one of three big nodes along the L-shape floor plan that have a scale worthy of a penthouse. A 22-seat boardroom is in one direction and a pantry with open workstations is in another. Smaller conference and meeting rooms line the corridor between them, while a backlit LED ceiling panel illuminates the path. Wood joists and framing give the latter the feel of a skylight, notes Dubitsky, appropriate for the top-floor space.

Materials, furnishings, and custom details gesture to the roaring twenties. Teardrop pendant fixtures finished in brushed brass hang over the reception desk, itself clad in panels of antiqued mirror and bronze, and a glamorous banquette, channel-tufted in pale-jade velour, wraps around the adjacent lounge. Underfoot, a bird motif references deco-era animal prints. “There used to be huge reliefs of elephants and palms in the ballroom,” Dubitsky explains. “The rug subtly nods to that, in an unexpected way.”

An Expansive Office Pantry Enables Employees to Recharge

Historic and modern most clearly intersect in the pantry, where staff members come to socialize and touch down between meetings. Rapt restored the painted plaster ceiling using original stencils found in the building’s basement, recreating ornate detailing that had worn away. At about 100 feet long and 10 to 15 high, the ceiling makes a big statement. “We decided to lean in and embrace the geometry,” Dubitsky says. 

Half the pantry space is open, with hot desks across from a kitchen island, in black marble and whitewashed elm, that extends to form a dining table. Private offices occupy the rest. Yet instead of standard white boxes, Rapt conceived greenhouse-like glass huts with aluminum frames and gabled roofs that don’t quite touch the historic ceiling. “They define the smaller rooms without interrupting the grandiosity,” Galullo observes. Employees needed enclosed offices, but they didn’t have to be soundproof, which gave the studio the flexibility to formulate what are essentially little solariums that maximize daylight. 

It was a bold move, but the contrasting elements sit well together and form the kind of balance Rapt sought throughout the project. “The blend of historic and new is thoughtful. Nothing seems jarring or out of place,” Galullo concludes. The design also expresses the client’s brand. “It brought to life who we are as a firm,” Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber contributes. “It feels personal, curated, bespoke, clean.” Her colleague Allie Dalglish, vice president of business operations, adds that this is how entrepreneurs experience working with Greylock. It’s daunting to pitch a VC firm, but this one feels welcoming—the better to let ideas flow. 

Explore Greylock Partners’ San Francisco Headquarters 

RAPT STUDIO: TANJA PINK; LINN KAGAY; JONNY PAIS; JANELL LEUNG

NAVA CONTEMPORARY: ART CONSULTANT.

PAW: MILLWORK.

PRINCIPAL BUILDERS: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. 

FROM FRONT ERIK LINDSTRÖM: CUSTOM RUG (RECEPTION).

HOLLIS+ MORRIS: CUSTOM PENDANT FIXTURE.

&TRADITION: CHAIRS, LOW TABLE.

CLASSICON: ROUND TABLES.

GUBI: TABLE LAMP.

PACIFIC ARCHITECTURAL WOODWORKS: CUSTOM BANQUETTES (RECEPTION, PANTRY, BOARDROOM).

KVADRAT: BANQUETTE FABRIC (RECEPTION, PANTRY).

NEWMAT: LUMINOUS CEILING (RECEPTION, BOARDROOM). 

ROCKART: FLOOR TILE (ELEVATOR LOBBY).

PORTOLA PAINTS: PLASTER PAINT.

BANKER WIRE: WALL MESH.

MARTINELLI ENVIRONMENTAL GRAPHICS: CUSTOM DISK WALL (RECEPTION).

KNOLL: BLUE CHAIRS (OFFICE AREA).

KUSH RUGS: RUGS.

MILLERKNOLL: TASK CHAIRS.

UHURU DESIGN: WORKSTATIONS (OFFICE AREA), TABLE (BOARDROOM).

DE LA ESPADA: CHAIRS (PANTRY).

BLUE GREEN WORKS: CUSTOM PENDANT FIXTURE.

ROLL & HILL: SCONCE (RESTROOM).

CAPITAL LIGHTING: MIRROR.

KOHLER CO.: SINK FITTINGS.

OBJECT CARPET: CARPET (BOARDROOM).

HOLLY HUNT: BANQUETTE FABRIC.

ALLIED MAKER: TABLE LAMPS.

ZIMMER + ROHDE: DRAPERY FABRIC.

BERNHARDT DESIGN: CHAIRS (BOARD­ ROOM), TABLE (MEETING ROOM).

SANCAL: CHAIR (MEETING ROOM).

THROUGHOUT SIENA: ENGINEERED­ WOOD FLOORING.

VAN BESOUW: CARPET. ARMSTRONG: ACOUSTICAL CEILING.

FLOS: RECESSED CEILING FIXTURES.

FENIX: MILLWORK LAMINATE.

GLASPRO: ANTIQUED MIRROR.

KELLY-MOORE PAINTS: PAINT. 

Sail the Nile River on This Viking Cruises Ship by Rottet Studio

How, exactly, do you top the spectacle of the Pyramids of Giza, the Luxor Temple, and King Tut’s tomb? “You don’t,” says Rottet Studio cofounding principal Richard Riveire. He was the lead designer for the Aton, Viking Cruises’ newest ship that sails along the Nile River in Egypt. “One could never compete,” he continues. “You’re dealing with 4,000 years’ worth of history!”

Speaking of history, Rottet Studio began collaborating with Viking on its global fleet of new ships 13 years ago and has now completed more than 80. “Our team has spent many years perfecting the design of the ships, learning from the original schemes, tweaking them, and staying fresh while maintaining the intrinsic culture and brand identity,” founding principal and CEO and Interior Design Hall of Fame member Lauren Rottet adds. A case in point: One of the studio’s very first meetings with Viking chairman Torstein Hagen took place at a giant table covered with myriad swatches and samples, at which he homed in on a single piece of fabric, Hella Jongerius’s Borders for Maharam. “I love this,” Hagen said. The embroidered wool-blend textile now features on the walls of every ship; it swathes the Aton’s main lounge, among other places.

Behind the Design of Viking Cruises’ Newest Ship

Viking’s design ethos, Rottet notes, “is very aligned with ours: a truth to materials and expression. It is a serious company devoted to the experience of travel, not made-up entertainment.” In other words, there can be drama, but it shouldn’t be in-your-face. Indeed, when conceiving the Aton, Riveire imagined a homelike refuge. After a busy day being awed by trips to historic marvels, he explains, “You come back and have a chance to relax and recharge in an atmosphere that feels familiar.”

The 82-passenger cruiser—named for an ancient Egyptian sun god—is 236 feet long, encompassing 47,715 square feet on five decks. Riveire eschewed what he calls the typical “pancake” layout of most ships by creating a three-story central atrium, with skylights above and windows on both sides, imparting a sense of volume and connection. “The abundance of natural light and the verticality distracts you from the fact that you’re in a closed steel box,” Riveire says. Public spaces and stateroom hallways feed off the atrium. “Resort architecture works best when there is a sense that there’s something wonderful right next to where you are,” he continues. “You move from space to space with a sense of anticipation.”

Natural Light and Considered Design Details Abound 

Public areas are numerous and host abundant seating, so they never feel crowded—even the two eateries. The main restaurant’s decor reflects Egyptian daily life: Screen patterns are based on wooden crates used to transport goods around rural areas by bicycle and the peels used in flatbread baking, and woven cords that decorate the entrance nod to traditional looms. A second dining area can be opened to the elements on cooler days for an indoor-outdoor experience. It leads to a terrace at the ship’s stern, traced by an infinity-edge pool with a full-width tiled bench for watching the scenery.

The topmost sundeck gives the opportunity to lounge outside and watch the world go by under the cover of shade. As elsewhere, there are abundant seating options, itself a luxury: Tables and chairs, loungers, sectionals, and armchairs are all on offer. There are rocking chairs, too—a detail Riveire had to fight for on a previous project: “Everyone thought I was insane when I first suggested them.” Now they’re on all Viking ships and are enormously popular with passengers.

How the Cruise Ship Nods to Egyptian Architecture

While a degree of consistency from ship to ship is important for branding—and to make Viking’s legion of repeat customers feel at home—the design of each cruiser reflects its unique location. In Aton’s atrium, for instance, four monolithic columns crafted of locally quarried stone relate to monumental Egyptian architecture, in particular the ancient site of Abu Simbel on the bank of Lake Nasser, which is fronted by four statues of Ramses II. The library on the upper deck is replete with themed volumes curated by London bookshop Heywood Hill. (Yes, there are several copies of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile.) Even the structure itself reflects the location, as it was partially dictated by constraints including the Nile’s shallow depth and low bridges. Riveire originally wanted narrower walkways across the atrium, for instance, but the engineers needed the extra width for stability.

Site-specific, too, are the evocative 1920’s black-and-white photographs of Cairo, rural Egypt, and the expedition that discovered King Tut’s Tomb, all of which line walls in public spaces as well as the 41 passenger accommodations. The four sizes of staterooms range from 239 to 525 square feet, all but those on the main deck boasting private outdoor space. The larger suites are more like apartments than cabins, with floor-to-ceiling windows, sitting areas, desks, stocked bookshelves, walk-in dressing rooms, and surprisingly large bathrooms.

Throughout the Aton, everything from bedding to menu covers to the flowers is top tier and has been carefully thought out to maintain a consistent mood. A stairwell wall is covered in a real wood-veneer wallpaper, in an aqua colorway suggesting faience; elegant leather-clad chairs pull up to stateroom desks; hallway carpet in deep blue with geometric patterning is a rich wool-blend. Says Riveire, “You don’t want to pull people out of the moment with something that doesn’t feel like it was part of the experience.”

ROTTET STUDIO: HAROUT DEDEYAN; MARK BORKOWSKI; MINH PHAM; BROOKE WALKER; NOGA SMERKOWITZ; HOKULEA DUFFETT; SILVIYA BROWN; OMID GOLZAR; YI YANG; JIAN-MIN (RACHEL) CHEN; JISOO KIM; YIFAN (DANNY) CHEN; ADAM POON; CHRIS JONES; ERI KAWAGUCHI

ANKERBEER B.V.: NAVAL ARCHITECT

DFI DAUERFLORA INTERNATIONAL: LANDSCAPE DESIGN.

MARAHRENS GROUP: CUSTOM SIGNAGE.

DECKMA: LIGHTING. 

WALTERS: CUSTOM SIDE TABLES (AFT DECK).

LINK: PILLOW FABRIC.

MAHARAM: CUSHION FABRIC (AFT DECK), DRAPERY (RESTAURANT), WALLCOVERING (LOUNGE, SITTING AREA).

FLOWCRETE: FLOORING (FOYER).

BRISA CASA: SOFA.

B&B ITALIA: CHAIRS.

COSTANTINI DESIGN: COCK­ TAIL TABLES.

BLU DOT: SIDE TABLE.

J.D. STARON: RUGS (FOYER, EXPLORERS SUITE).

VESCOM: CEILING TREATMENT (FOYER, LIBRARY), BLACKOUT DRAPERY (VERANDA SUITE).

ETHIMO: TEAK­BASE TABLE (SUNDECK).

LEOLORI: RUG.

MINOTTI: CORIAN­TOP TABLES (SUNDECK), SOFA, SIDE TABLES (LIBRARY).

STONE.DE: COUNTERTOP (RESTAURANT).

CARNEGIE FABRICS: CHAIR FABRIC.

LAUTEX: CEILING PANELS (RESTAURANT, LIBRARY, HALL).

SYNLAWN: TURF (SUNDECK).

SLETTVOLL: SOFA (VERANDA SUITE).

WOLF-GORDON: WALLCOVERING.

BERNHARDT DESIGN: TABLE (VERANDA SUITE), BANQUETTE FABRIC (EXPLORERS SUITE).

GRUPPO MASTROTTO: SEATING UPHOLSTERY (LOUNGE, LIBRARY).

MURASPEC: WALLCOVERING (LIBRARY).

TARKETT: CARPET (LIBRARY, SITTING AREA, HALL).

NIKARI: TABLE (ATRIUM).

MAJILITE: DISPLAY CASES.

GIORGETTI: SOFA, CHAIRS (SITTING AREA).

DESIGNTEX: SOFA FABRIC.

MOBITAL: TABLES.

CRATE & BARREL: ROCKING CHAIRS (SUNDECK).

KETTAL: TABLE.

CASSINA: CHAIRS (VERANDA SUITE).

HOLLY HUNT: CUSTOM BANQUETTE (EXPLORERS SUITE).

MAYA ROMANOFF: WALLCOVERING.

POLTRONA FRAU: TABLE.

POLIFORM: CHAIR.

PHILLIP JEFFRIES: WALLCOVERING (STAIR).

TIGER LEATHER: HANDRAIL LEATHER.

PORCELANOSA: TREADS.

MAXWELL RODGERS FABRICS: CUSTOM BEDCOVER (VERANDA SUITE).

GISLAVED FOLIE: WHITE­FOIL WALLCOVERING (HALL).

HEICK BY KZWO: CUSTOM OUTDOOR FURNITURE SUPPLIER.

HIGHCLERE ENTERPRISES: ARTWORK.

BOLIDT: DECKING.

EGGER; PFLEIDERER; RESOPAL: LAMINATES, VENEERS.

ARCHITEX; CLARENCE HOUSE; JAMES DUNLOP TEXTILES; JANUS ET CIE; KNOLL TEXTILES; KRAVET; LOOM SOURCE; MAXWELL; OPUZEN; POLLOCK; RUBELLA; SCHUMACHER; SILVER STATE FABRICS; WEITZNER: FABRIC. 

Houston’s Brava Tower Blends Newspaper History with Modern Luxury

2023 Best of Year Winner for Small Residential Lobby/Amenity Space

The Brava tower in Houston, Texas, a 46-story apartment building, has something most contemporary towers lack: a sense of place. A slim dynamic rectangle, Munoz + Albin Architecture & Planning rotated the structure 45 degrees to maximize views for the 373 rental units, its LED-edged glazed facade resembling a sail. Interiors, by MaRS Culture, focus on the history of the location, which was once owned by The Houston Chronicle, thus tip a hat to both the physical newspaper and the stories within it. In the lobby, for instance, a custom fluorescent-tube fixture spells out Libertas perfundet omnia luce, Latin for Freedom will flood all things with light, referring to freedom of the press. Gently undulating plaster walls evoke newspaper folds in the leasing lounge. And in a penthouse lounge nook, wallcovering is woven from recycled newspaper.

mars culture: kelie Mayfield; erick ragni; rachel grady; daniela gonzalez; linnea wingo; zoe pittman; alisha gaubert.

munoz + Albin architecture & planning: jorge munoz; enrique albin; jeff schmidt; taylor currell; richard rodgers; michael cox.

Explore a Trio of Eateries at The Morrow Hotel in Washington, D.C.

2023 Best of Year Winner for Hotel Dining

Part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, The Morrow Hotel engaged New York–based INC Architecture & Design for its F&B spaces: Le Clou, a first-floor restaurant; Vesper, an 11th-floor cocktail lounge; and Upstairs, the rooftop bar—more than 19,000 square feet in total. The first, a modern take on the traditional French brasserie, features an open plan with both the kitchen and wine storage on show. Custom furniture is joined by leather banquettes and circular ceiling fixtures in a gold-tone setting for a luxe but contemporary feel. A midnight-blue palette, centered around plush-velvet lounge chairs and a bar clad in backlit onyx, establishes a sophisticated clubby vibe at Vesper. Taking its cues from the subtle spectrum of a sky at twilight, the penthouse bar frames unobstructed views of the Capitol dome with a wash of soft colors redolent of the magic hour.

Adam Rolston; Drew Stuart; Gabriel Benroth; Tyler Kleck; Megan Mcging; Marissa Zane.

Bold Red Hues Energize Virgin Hotels’ New York Locale

2023 Best of Year Winner for Domestic Hotel Chain

The location and parent brand of Virgin Hotels New York City, in a new 38-story tower by Stantec, have their own distinct identities. Thus, for Interior Design Hall of Famer Mark Zeff and team, the goal for the interior was blending the energy of the urban environment with the chain’s irreverent decor, including its signature bold red. The color can be found on a central metal stair and the lounge furniture upholstery; elsewhere, custom textile patterns and artworks pay homage to New York’s history and diversity. Food and beverage options throughout the 227,000 square feet give guests a chance to mingle day and night, while the 463 rooms offer full-height windows through which they can take in the cityscape.

Markzeff: mark zeff; stacie meador; priya panse.

stantec: Brian McFarland; Richardo Bermudez.

Inside an Award-Winning Boutique Hotel in Washington, D.C.

2023 Best of Year Winner for Boutique Hotel

The Morrow Hotel, Washington, a 150,000-square-foot property aims to bring much-needed optimism to D.C., thanks to Interior Design Hall of Famer Lauren Rottet and her team, which handled the guest rooms and meeting spaces, and INC Architecture & Design, which oversaw F&B and public areas. Blending neoclassical, modern, and organic styles, the concept draws on the location—a new development in the formerly industrial NoMa neighborhood—and the passage of time throughout the day. Public spaces transition from light and airy to dark and moody. In the lobby, green ribbed-glass panels frame the lounge and fluted white-oak millwork wraps columns; in the bar, the latter reappears with a deep blue stain, similar to the shade of wainscotting in guest rooms, which also feature watercolor-esque wallcovering. Custom furnishings, pure geometries, and such elemental materials as burnished brass and travertine create a timeless refinement.

rottet studio: lauren rottet; david davis; james cull; chris evans; ashley lu; christian hinze; felipe cosio; sophie brasfield; stacy rapa; lori firpo.

inc architecture & design: adam rolston; drew stuart; gabriel benroth; tyler kleck; megan mcging; marissa zane; amy cahill; joselyn dontfraid; billy abramenko.

A Former Car Manufacturer’s Locale Becomes a Chic Paris Office

2023 Best of Year Winner for International Extra Large Corporate Office

For years, the modernist 1964 building at 75 Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris housed the French automotive manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën, which left in 2017. Saguez & Partners restored existing details while also transforming 250,000 square feet of the interiors into a serene, biophilic headquarters for Boston Consulting Group that maximizes sunlight for 1,200 employees. Part of the triple-height former car showroom has become a cathedral-like lobby, café, and coworking space, with greenery creating semiprivate groves along windows, that’s open to the public; elsewhere on the ground level is the business center featuring a 180-seat auditorium.

Upstairs, closed offices convert into meeting rooms, library alcoves offer places to focus, and a large rooftop terrace boasts panoramic city views. Speaking of nature, during construction, 394 metric tons of CO2 emissions were avoided thanks to the reuse of 81 metric tons of materials.

pierre-olivier-pigeot; jean-philippe cordina; claire cieslak; christelle person; laurent brudner; jeff bazile; gaelle coen; marine belkebir.

Houston’s Brava Tower Blends Newspaper History with Modern Luxury

Residential high-rises tend to look similar. Step into a gleaming white-stone lobby, and you could be anywhere from Philadelphia to Phoenix. But Brava, a 46-story building in downtown Houston, by MaRS Culture and Munoz + Albin Architecture & Planning, bucks the trend. It has something most contemporary towers lack: a sense of place.

Kelie Mayfield, MaRS principal and the interiors lead, believes that a concept only resonates if there’s a story behind it. “It has to do with the site, the context, and the nature of the location,” she says. “If it doesn’t have a soul or purpose, then it’s just a pretty space.” Mayfield starts each project by creating a narrative that informs all design decisions. For Brava, she and her team focused on the history of the location, which was once owned by The Houston Chronicle, thus formulated interiors that tip a hat to both the physical newspaper and the stories within it.

Located in the heart of the arts district, Brava stands out with its shape, a slim rectangle diagonal to the street. Munoz + Albin, the building architect, rotated the structure 45 degrees to maximize views for the 373 rental units and gave it a dynamic exterior. The developer, Hines, has its headquarters across the street, so Brava had to be a showpiece with distinctive offerings. On the podium, housing retail and parking, a white aluminum frame projects in front of a dark perforated screen, mimicking a proscenium in a theater. Above it, Munoz + Albin devoted level 10 to such amenities as an outdoor pool, entertaining kitchen, a fitness room, and coworking space, and installed a sky lounge with a terrace on the 46th floor.

Designing a Residential High-Rise That Reflects Its Surroundings 

“We made some innovative moves,” principal Jorge Munoz notes. “It’s a unique assembly of pieces that resulted from the geometry of the site.” The confines of the parcel required Munoz and co-principal Enrique Albin to round off the corners of the rectangle, resulting in a boatlike shape. They also created a curtain wall with a bowed vertical edge that resembles a glass sail. The mix of curved and straight lines continues inside. “The interior and exterior work together well,” Albin adds. “When you walk into the building, it feels like a whole composition.”

Read All About It: How Newspapers Shaped the Interior Design 

MaRS, which was responsible for the two model apartments and all public areas, totaling 20,00 square feet, aimed to make the interiors feel fluid. This was a challenge given the unusual geometry and hulking structural columns. The designers embedded the latter in undulating plaster walls inspired by the folds of a newspaper. “This helped us integrate the structure while creating something seamless,” Mayfield explains. The folds also draw you through and impart a sense of movement, which she thinks of as a kind of choreography that references the dancers that perform in the neighborhood’s surrounding theaters.

Columns that remain visible are still on theme: They’re embossed with front-page headlines from the Chronicle dating to 1908. The earliest headlines are in the lobby and more recent ones appear upstairs on the amenity floor; they range from “Thousands Out to Greet President Taft in Houston” (1909) to “Thousands Jam the Streets to Celebrate With Astros” (2017). A local muralist applied the text on hand-troweled concrete using a custom stencil.

Local Art Enlivens Public Spaces in the Luxury Building 

Inside The Brava Tower in Houston 

munoz + albin architecture & planning: erick ragni; rachel grady; daniela gonzalez; linnea wingo; zoe pittman; alisha gaubert: mars culture. jeff schmidt; taylor currell; richard rodgers; michael cox.

kirksey: architect of record.

tbg partners: landscape architect.

kpk lighting design: lighting consultant.

weingarten art group: art consultant.

natural graphics: custom graphics.

magnusson klemencic associates: structural engineer.

schmidt and stacy: mep.

2stone designer concrete: concretework.

harvey cleary: general contractor.

meyda lighting: custom light fixture (lobby).

arhaus: chairs.

four hands: bench (lobby), chairs (resident kitchen).

rove concepts: chairs (leasing lounge).

abbey: custom rug.

echo-wood: paneling (elevator lobby).

minotti: sectional (resident lounge).

rh: cocktail table.

through branch: custom rug.

thorntree slate: island top (resident kitchen).

neri&hu: pendant fixture.

innovations: wallcovering (nook, penthouse lounge).

sunpan: table (nook).

ledge: chaise lounges, side tables (pool).

mitchell gold + bob williams: chair (pool lounge).

jaime young co.: table lamp (bedroom).

area environments: wallcovering (hall).

protec: flooring (gym).

astek: wallcovering.

dcw editions: pendant fixtures (penthouse lounge).

living divani: sofa.

porcelanosa: floor tile.

ppg paints: paint.