Boutique Design - April 2016 - 12

tHE Buzz

BREE DAHL
CLASS OF 2008
THEN: Starwood Hotels & Resorts, senior director of

design, St. Regis and The Luxury Collection, North
America Division, New York
NOW: ForrestPerkins, principal, San Francisco
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU CHANGE JOBS?

In 2010, I had the exciting opportunity to return to my
home country, Australia, as director of design for Crown
Resorts, Australia's leading gaming and entertainment
group. While there, I was part of an expert international
team under the direction of Todd Nisbet [now executive vice president-strategy &
development] that worked on the renovation of Crown Melbourne, the renovation
and expansion of Crown Perth, planning and design for the new City of Dreams
Crown Towers in Manila and other new initiatives in Asia for the company.
As exciting as that was, I wanted to get back to the design-firm side of the
business. I had collaborated with ForrestPerkins on many hotel projects while at
Starwood, including the St. Regis Houston, The Nines in Portland, Oregon, and
The Joule in Dallas, and enjoyed working with both the firm's president, Deborah
Lloyd Forrest, and senior vice president, Cliff Tuttle. It was ultimately these two
key relationships that drew me to the company. In 2013, I returned to the U.S.
and was based in the Dallas office of ForrestPerkins. Sadly, about 12 months
later, Cliff Tuttle fell ill and passed away. After that, I moved to the firm's San
Francisco boutique studio, where Cliff had been based, to continue his legacy.

BOutIQuE 18 uPDAtE

BEING NAMED TO THE B18?

The Great Recession dramatically changed hospitality design. Many talented
designers lost their jobs and left the industry; I believe that we are still feeling this
talent loss today. The recession forced me to reach outside of my comfort zone. Had
it not happened, I doubt I would've considered moving out of the U.S. Designers
who survive and thrive in the hospitality design world today have to be not only

HOW DID BECOMING PART OF THE B18 IMPACT YOUR CAREER?

It was a game changer for me, as it was the first recognition I received within
the hospitality design industry. The competition is intense in our field, and
every year the list of honorees' accomplishments is extremely impressive.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?

At the start of this year, ForrestPerkins and international planning/design/
consulting firm Perkins Eastman joined forces. As a result, I've been working
closely with Shawn Basler, executive director of Perkins Eastman, and our
firm's president Deborah Lloyd Forrest, to ensure that our marketing materials paint a clear picture of the future partnership of these two companies.
Recent projects my studio has been involved with include the InterContinental Mark Hopkins and Villa Florence (shown) hotels, both in San Francisco, and the JW Marriott Washington DC. Our studio is also working on
several other exciting projects, including a boutique hotel in Chicago, some
luxury multi-family projects in Los Angeles, as well as the renovation of The
Nines, which was originally designed by ForrestPerkins eight years ago.

EDITION HOTELS HEADS TO BARCELONA
Sounds like a sure-fire recipe for a property with an intriguing look: boutique
hotel pioneer Ian Schrager is teaming with famed Spanish designer Lázaro
Rosa-Violán-whose work on the Hotel Praktik Bakery Barcelona was featured
in the November 2014 edition of Boutique Design-to create interiors for
Marriott Intl.'s new EDITION hotel in Barcelona. The two famed design forces
will be working within the confines of a former office building that's being
converted into a 100-key boutique hotel by OAB's (Office of Architecture in
Barcelona) Carlos Ferrater Studio.
Plans for the Barcelona EDITION, which is slated to open next year in the
city's Ciutat Vella district, include three restaurant concepts, as well as a club and
a rooftop bar area. The project's owner/developer is locally based KKH Property
Investors, and Marriott will manage the property under a long-term agreement.
"Barcelona represents a great, cultural epicenter of Europe, making it an
ideal location for the region's newest EDITION," says Schrager, chairman and
ceo of the hotel company bearing his name.
The Barcelona property adds to the brand's European presence, notes Dan
Flannery, EDITION's global managing director. "EDITION continues to thrive
following the recent openings of London, Miami Beach and New York, and we
12

boutiquedesign.com april 2016

couldn't be more excited about the potential for the brand throughout
Europe," Flannery says.
The flag's portfolio includes four properties in operation, in New York,
London, Miami and Istanbul. Future EDITION hotels are planned for
Sanya, China (later this year), Bangkok (2017), Abu Dhabi (2017), Shanghai
(2017), Times Square (2018), West Hollywood (2018), Reykjavik, Iceland
(2018), Bali, Indonesia (2018) and Dubai (2019).

J E F F Z A R U B A ( V I L L A F L O R E N C E ) ; G R AC E I M AG E , C O U R T E S Y O F P E R K I N S E A S T M A N ( DA H L ) ;
COUR TE S Y OF MARRIOT T INTL . (EDITION BARCELONA)

WHAT MAJOR CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN THE DESIGN FIELD SINCE

good designers, but know how to design to any budget and timeline. The landscape
of the hospitality design community has also changed, with small boutique firms
emerging and big firms becoming even larger and more diversified.

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - April 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - April 2016