Hospitality Design - May 2018 - 152

perspectives

interview

David Collins Studio

Simon Rawlings, creative director

Woven screens adorn Chef's Palette
restaurant in Le Méridien Seoul

A sun deck tops the Ritz-Carlton
Residences, Bangkok

152

May 2018 hospitalitydesign.com

Mexico's vibrant culture comes
to life at Ella Canta in London

The elegant Glendevon lounge
in Scotland's Gleneagles

Photos by KENSINGTON LEVERNE, EDMON LEONG, and SEAMUS RYAN and courtesy of DAVID COLLINS STUDIO

In 1988, architect and designer David Collins,
along with business partner Iain Watson, opened
his namesake London-based studio, crafting iconic
restaurants-chef Pierre Koffmann's La Tante
Claire in Chelsea, the Gilbert Scott from chef
Marcus Wareing, and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
at Royal Hospital Road, to name a few-that have
come to define his illustrious career. They "put
London on the map as a global dining destination,"
says Simon Rawlings, creative director at the firm.
The studio expanded its scope with residential,
hotel, and retail work, including the Delaunay
hotel and stores for Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods,
and Alexander McQueen. "At the time, it was
unique for one practice to specialize in multiple
fields," he says. Collins pushed the design limits
until his sudden passing in 2013, only three weeks
after being diagnosed with melanoma.
"Our main focus was to ensure that projects
that were underway received over and above the
amount of attention," Rawlings says. "We worked
extra hard to make sure we delivered on the
things David believed in and stood for." Rawlings,
who has been with the firm for nearly 20 years,
joined Watson in a leadership role along with
design director Lewis Taylor and communications
director David Kendall. Tasked with providing old
and new clients with care and attention, Rawlings
is also helping redefine the studio's goals as they
forge ahead without Collins.
F&B continues to be a specialty for the studio.
London's Ella Canta at the InterContinental
London Park Lane, for example, is infused with
Mexico's vibrant culture to match chef Martha
Ortiz's signature use of bold flavors. Rawlings
channeled "the midcentury Mexican furniture
movement" in the design, he says, with a
geometric-carved walnut screen adding dimension
to the three dining rooms and bar. Circular, handforged metal window lenses, tabletops crafted
from eggshells handlaid into resin lacquer, and
a sun-bleached color palette of sand and salmon
capture Mexico's soul as they create "a wonderful,
evocative, charming, and layered interior," he says.
The 80-seat Carriage House club at Adare
Manor in Limerick, Ireland arrived last month
along with the recently opened 359-key Le
Méridien Seoul and the reimagined Roastery and
Bakehall food hall at Harrods. The diversity of
projects comes as no surprise. "David always was
the master of reinvention and always challenged
us never to repeat ourselves," says Rawlings. "We
strive to still maintain this as our mantra."

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Hospitality Design - May 2018

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