Hospitality Design - July 2017 - 67

Gray tones and light wood define Yabu Pushelberg's
Moxy Times Square guestroom

Mill Building-the former New York Times
headquarters-while the public spaces and
guestroom design come courtesy of Yabu
Pushelberg, the local and Toronto-based firm
tasked with an overall aesthetic reboot of
the brand for the North American market.
The scene will be further enhanced by three
F&B spaces-including a rooftop lounge
and a 5,000-square-foot restaurant-from
the TAO Group, crafted by Rockwell Group.
(The restaurant veterans are also handling
the Yabu Pushelberg-designed grab-and-go
and lobby bar.) "We took inspiration from the
notion of 'urban camping,' whereby spaces and
furnishings are flexible and reconfigurable,
responding to shifting needs of guests based on
the time of day, activity, and individual needs,"
explains cofounder George Yabu.
Moxy hotels share a similar design ethos,
depicting "the tension between chic and
raw and industrial" as "smooth, interesting,
and playful," says Stoeckl. To that end, Yabu
Pushelberg took great care to infuse the Moxy
Times Square with a distinctly New York
energy by integrating graphic terrazzo floors,
a periwinkle blue-stained wood plank ceiling,
limed wood plank walls, and penny-copper clad
columns that "add a warm, worn patina." A
custom digital display reminiscent of the splitflap boards found in European train stations
commands attention, while the bar is capped
by an existing metal-framed peaked skylight,
"connecting Old World New York to the new,"
says cofounder Glenn Pushelberg. "There is a
sense of youthful grit throughout the hotel."
With 10 hotels open, Moxy growth is
rampant with 71 deals worldwide (24 in North
America). According to Stoeckl, European
locations, which are already open in cities
including Berlin, Munich, and London,
encompass a large majority of the development,
both in key airports-such as Frankfurt-and
prime downtown locations. Oslo, Copenhagen,
Edinburgh, and Dublin are in the works, as
are properties a bit further afield in Tbilisi,

The bar at Moxy Times Square is capped
with an existing skylight and decked out in
periwinkle blue wood and terrazzo

The Moxy Times Square features three flexible meeting studios

Georgia, and Osaka, Japan.
AC Hotels also has its roots in Europe,
founded in Spain by its namesake, Antonio
Catalán Díaz, in 1997. Marriott International
formed a joint venture with the brand in 2011,
and today, there are properties spanning Italy,
Denmark, Portugal, Brazil, and, since the
2014 debut in New Orleans, the U.S. There are
almost 90 more in the pipeline from Calgary to
New York, all of which feature modern designs
using materials including wood, metal, ceramic,
steel, and glass, as well as staples such as
European breakfasts and lounges that morph
from coworking spaces in the day to buzzy
evening hangouts.
"At a Moxy you inhale when you walk in.
It's fun. It's vibrant. You're active in it. AC is
much more about letting you exhale. It lets
you actually refuel the creativity you've had
all day and take a moment of pause to be in a
much more harmonious space versus a more
disruptive one," explains Stoeckl, highlighting
the brand's use of quality materials and great
attention to detail that suggest thoughtful,
European modernism. Similar to the upbeat
Moxy traveler, AC attracts "someone with
an entrepreneurial, innovative spirit who is

looking for a hotel stay that resonates. This is
very much a discerning traveler who, while
maybe budget conscious, wants to have a
premium experience for whatever they do
spend on."
Prime examples include Chapel Hill, North
Carolina's modular property (the second for the
brand), set for a September debut from local
firm Overcash Demmitt Architects; the openair rooftop with an infinity pool overlooking
an artist colony in Guadalajara; and the
celebration of local artwork in downtown
Portland, Oregon. For the latter, developed by
Sage Hospitality, local firm SERA marries
the brand's "sophisticated European aesthetic
with that of Portland" through pieces such as a
painting of famous brewer Henry Weinhard's
barrel room-lit and framed to appear as a
window into history-behind the marble and
wood reception desk. But the lobby showpiece
is a molded aluminum tree stump at the wall
of the coffee shop-which was poured piece by
piece and welded together-that opens when
the barista is serving, giving guests a peek
inside. It's an ode to the city's "designation as
Stumptown, as well as its favorite beverage,
coffee," says principal Lisa Zangerle.

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