Metropolis Digital Optimism Talks logo

Join us every second Tuesday of the month for a dose of optimism with thought-provoking guests who are revolutionizing their fields. Innovators will lead virtual workshops for an hour of discovery, inspiration, and community. Led by editor in chief, Avinash Rajagopal, these workshops will be guided by our audience, where questions are not only welcome but encouraged.

Register Now
natural habitat cold spring home exterior

Metropolis Editors, Natural Habitat, sustainability, sustainable architecture

METROPOLIS Introduces Natural Habitat, a Sustainable Homes Video Series

The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles.

Read more

April 23, 2021

Future100: Interior Design Students Imagine the New Wave of Hospitality

From jewelry displays to super-yachts, these six Future100 students are prioritizing the guest experience.

By: Ethan Tucker

future100
An elevation view of Conor Daly’s Nesting Rooms restaurant (below) imagined for San Francisco’s Mission District depicts an array of dining spaces organized in terms of privacy. As visitors move through the establishment, they pass areas to see and be seen before making their way to private dining spots in the rear. Courtesy Conor Daly

Keeping in mind that the key to a successful hospitality project is creating an environment that is both relaxing and stimulating, these students investigated material textures, lighting design, and biophilic elements in a range of interiors, which run the gamut from ultra-luxurious to handcrafted. In concepts for a wide range of speculative clients—from restaurant patrons and super-yacht guests to San Francisco’s homeless population—these young designers experimented with an equally broad array of approaches. For one student, the way fabric folds inspired architectural forms and surfaces, while another developed jewelry displays informed by the organic forms of gemstones.

future100
Bifeng Lin’s design for TEIEN Restaurant and Bar in Osaka, Japan, shows a meticulous attention to every detail of the guest experience. Lin combines a brash concrete structure with wooden accents that hark back to the region’s traditional architecture, to create a modern space with programming across three floors. Courtesy Bifeng Lin

Visit metropolismag.com/future100 to see more groundbreaking student work.

CAROLINA CARDONA

Florida International University

Graduate Interior Architecture

NOMINATOR: Janine King, Associate Professor

Chic collages and elegant material palettes lend Cardona’s projects a sense of serene luxury befitting designs for high-end spas and yacht interiors.

CONOR DALY

California College of the Arts

Undergraduate Interior Design

NOMINATOR: Katherine Lambert, Professor of Architecture and Interior Design

A curiosity about pattern and geometric form is present throughout Daly’s portfolio, from a community hub imagined for San Francisco’s Civic Center to light fixtures and 3D-printed textiles.

BETHANY JOHNSON

Auburn University

Undergraduate Interior Design

NOMINATOR: Anna Ruth Gatlin, Assistant Professor

Johnson’s designs are rendered in careful detail showing an attention to materiality and atmosphere.

BIFENG LIN

Algonquin College

Graduate Interior Design

NOMINATOR: Tamara Phillips, Program Professor

Stylish renderings in Lin’s portfolio show the handiwork of a thoughtful designer whose work ranges from jewelry cases and custom lighting to interventions at the building scale.

MADELYN ORCUTT

Kent State University

Undergraduate Interior Design

NOMINATOR: Ronn Daniel, Associate Professor

In addition to designs for food halls and museums, Orcutt demonstrates an interest in the roots of interior design with an investigation into the legacy of Elsie de Wolfe.

NICOLAS SWANER

Marymount University

Graduate Interior Design

NOMINATOR: Jihyun Song, Associate Professor

Swaner’s careful designs and conscious material choices for a day spa, medical clinic, and coworking space show appreciation for design’s potential to enhance wellness in everyday life.

You may also enjoy “Future100: Soundscapes Combat the ‘Tyranny of the Visual’”
Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]

Register here for Metropolis’s Think Tank Thursdays and hear what leading firms across North America are thinking and working on today.

Recent Profiles