2013 gold key AwArds Best loBBy luxury SourceS CASEGOODS: Yue Xing; FABRICS: Edelman Leather; Romanez Fabric; FLOORCOVERINGS AND MATERIALS: Tai Ping Carpet; FURNITURE: B&B Italia; Fritz Hansen; Moroso; LIGHTING: Marset Illumination; SEATING: Decca Guests look up to see 35 floors of tapering, diagonal glass, running to very top of the building. A reference to its aerie perch, cloud-white dominates the palette. Stylized Chinese dragon motifs and shots of color, as in a ruby red lacquer sculpture and hints of gold, integrate a strong sense of place. There's also a bit of the natural world: groves of 26-ft. tall bamboo trees that link the interiors to the city's river delta. THE TAkEAwAy Don't lose the plot. Though the architecture provides the outline, the design story is still about making guests feel like they're living in the clouds. Imaginative touches, such as a gently flowing fountain and a white spiral stairway sparking with LEDs, make the lobby seem to float. The cloud reference isn't just a literal nod to the hotel's location in one of China's tallest buildings. Clouds are said to be the dragon's preferred mode of transport. 48 boutiquedesign.com december 2013http://www.boutiquedesign.com