Hôtel Americano is making headlines for multiple reasons. Not only is it Mexican hotel company Grupo Habita’s U.S. debut, but it’s also the first hotel from French designer Arnaud Montigny, and one of the few design-forward boutiques in the still somewhat grungy area of New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. “There’s this duality about the neighborhood: it’s very sophisticated yet very gritty. We wanted to preserve that,” explains Carlos Couturier, Grupo Habita’s creative eye and managing partner. With that in mind, Mexican architect Enrique Norten dressed the 10-story façade in a stainless steel mesh screen, and punctuated it with a glass-tiled elevator that runs up the center of the building and pops out on the rooftop. “The building’s form is responding both to the needs of the hotel program and strict A closeup of the steel wall of discs in El Privado, which the design team sourced from France. www.hospitalitydesign.com November 2011 115