Boutique Design - November 2017 - 92

Sophia Chan

Vice President-design | crescent HeigHts, new York

HEADLINE-MAKING TRENDS FOR 2018:

Mondrian South Beach, MiaMi, Florida

WHAT'S ON HER BOARDS:

HIGH TECH VS. HIGH TOUCH:

New construction, including a food hall adjacent
to a boutique hotel we're developing in Miami; an
800-ft tall, 900-unit tower on Olive and 11th that
aims to change the LA skyline; another 900-unit
project in Seattle, one tower of which will be the
tallest building in the city; as well as projects in
Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, which typically offer a mix of residential units and hotel-like
amenities such as fitness classes, workspaces, etc.
We have a lot of development up and down on the
West Coast. We're focusing more on boutique
hotel brands because they tend to be more
curated and have more flexibility to tailor to the
hotel to its location.

I like cool new functional elements in a guest
room-anything that removes everyday inconveniences. I also like fun arrival moments, like a robot
serving coffee. Person-to-person always sounds
good, but I don't want to deal with a staff member
asking me 35 questions about my preferences when
I check in. I'd rather use a key card.

WHY WELLNESS IS MORE THAN A PIECE OF
EQUIPMENT:

ADVICE FOR DESIGNERS WHO WANT TO BE ON
HER SHORT LIST:

HOW HARD IT IS FOR WOMEN TO GET TO THE TOP:

Wellness is part of our whole brand, not just an
aspect of it. Being fit and healthy are factors that are
increasingly integrated into people's lifestyles. Hotels
now have in-room fitness offers and the kinds of
room design that make working out possible, which
is important. The next steps will be more diverse
menus geared towards fitness/lifestyle goals and
delivery services-such as juice deliveries. The materials palette, lighting and layouts of F&B outlets will
have to convey that intent.

Have a team that knows the relationship between
design and cost. Make sure you have 3D presentation capabilities. Be able to describe the curated
experience the guest should have and explain how
that's different based on the geography of the
project and the lifestyle of locals and guests. Keep
in mind that it's not about you or your design team;
it's about the guest and client. Understand the
market; follow through and carefully plan each
special sequence.

boutiquedesign.com november 2017

FIVE-YEAR PLAN:

Add a zero to the 21 projects I'm currently designing.
WHAT DEFINES LEADERSHIP:

Inspire and deliver the unexpected. Motivate all teams
to achieve the impossible or at least try 10 times.

The glass ceiling is always there. But as women
continue to have new ideas and work on achieving
those goals, with the current reach of international
global communication, ceilings will either have to
move or be broken.
HER ELEVATOR PITCH FOR DESIGNERS AND
HOTELIERS:

Stay curious. If you design for the status quo, your
concept is already obsolete. Design for the next
five years.

COURTESY OF CRESCENT HEIGHTS (MONDRIAN, CHAN)

Overall, we'll see more of "what ones wants and
when one wants it," so design flexibility is a must.
Guest rooms are getting smaller but they have more
amenities. In design terms, we're looking at more
functionality within the same guest room footprint-such as a desk that converts into a bar. Wellness and creating a seamless experience continue to
be top of mind. We're studying what type of in-room
workouts people want, how that will affect the
neighboring units and what kinds of insulated slabs
or acoustics we'll need to use to deal with that.
Multifunctionality is going to the next level in public
spaces. Designers are going to have to create
concepts that enable these areas to be used around
the clock-maybe for private fitness sessions or yoga
classes in the early morning and as work areas or
conference rooms in the afternoon and then social
events late in the day. The look of restaurants will
change as more will have extended hours. Security is
a concern, so we're adding semi-private spaces on
separate floors to give guests exclusive access to a
spa, lifestyle lounge or workspaces.

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - November 2017

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