{"id":58513,"date":"2014-05-15T12:37:35","date_gmt":"2014-05-15T12:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/projects\/hotel-concept-emphasizes-common-spaces-guest-rooms\/"},"modified":"2021-08-11T01:06:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T01:06:20","slug":"hotel-concept-emphasizes-common-spaces-guest-rooms","status":"publish","type":"metro_project","link":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/projects\/hotel-concept-emphasizes-common-spaces-guest-rooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Hotel Concept Emphasizes Common Spaces Over Guest Rooms"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
The citizenM lobby has multiple areas for guests to gather, work, and relax, such as a long table with Frame stacking chairs designed by Paola Navone for Very Wood. Conversation areas are defined by a Karboxx hanging lamp and intimately grouped furniture.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Richard Powers<\/p>\n
Step into the lobby of New York\u2019s citizenM hotel<\/a>, which opened last month, and you\u2019re greeted with the busy hum of what could be\u00a0a hip new bar in a trendy neighborhood. As one of those in the know, you spend the afternoon on your laptop, later grabbing a cocktail and relaxing on the back patio. You\u2019d never guess you\u2019re in chain-store-ridden, gawking-tourist-filled Times Square.<\/p>\n Headquartered in Amsterdam, citizenM\u00a0is the brainchild of Rattan Chadha (who founded the fashion label Mexx) and his\u00a0son Robin, who sought to create a hotel that embraced the idea of affordable luxury for business travelers. The New York property\u00a0is the fifth the company has established\u00a0since its inception in 2008. The reasonably priced rooms are small but well thought out, with amenities such as custom mattresses on king-size beds, Hansgrohe power rain showers, touchscreen Moodpads, and digital screens from Sedition that allow guests to choose which art\u00a0to display on them. But the real triumph lies\u00a0in the communal area, designed to be just\u00a0as important to the guests\u2019 experience as\u00a0the rooms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The large communal space in the hotel’s lobby is subtly split up into different zones, including a reading and recreation corner (on the left).<\/p>\n \u201cHow much time are you really spending\u00a0in the room?\u201d asks Robin. \u201cEven if you spend\u00a0a lot of time there, it\u2019s a bit of a lonely thing to do. We wanted to facilitate a more engaging experience in the lobby.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on both research and personal experience, the team concluded that business travelers\u2014and nearly anyone else for that matter\u2014want all the luxuries that come with a five-star hotel, but don\u2019t want to pay\u00a0for it. \u201cBusiness travelers would rather spend that additional money on a nice dinner in these great cities of the world than pay $600 for a place to sleep,\u201d Robin says. \u201cIt\u2019s a very expensive bar of soap, we always say.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The guest rooms at citizenM are compact, but don\u2019t stint on amenities\u2014including digital displays from Sedition, a striking red DAL chair from Vitra, and a small writing surface equipped with a bespoke light and stool from Polcom.<\/p>\n A collaboration between Montroy Andersen DeMarco architects<\/a> and the Amsterdam-based architecture and interior design firm Concrete<\/a>, citizenM\u2019s New York lobby is a showcase of art and design. Under a soaring 26-foot roof, it has floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that extend from the outside through the lobby, and two commissioned artworks\u2014a Julian Opie lobby installation and a Jen\u00a0Liu exterior piece wrapping around the facade of the building. Classic furniture from\u00a0Vitra\u2014as well as works by Andy Warhol, Daido Moriyama, Florian S\u00fcssmayr, and David LaChapelle\u2014populates the space.\u00a0In a nod to the hotel\u2019s Dutch roots, the lobby also has a bookshop curated by Mendo, the Amsterdam store that is a creative book lover\u2019s paradise. A casual food-and-beverage outlet, canteenM, provides an easy place for guests to grab a drink or bite to eat at any\u00a0hour of the day or night.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like an all-suite hotel,\u201d says Robin. \u201cWe have one type of room, but we\u00a0have this communal space where our mobile citizens can gather to work, eat, drink, or even just watch TV. We\u2019re focused on their behavior and what is important to them\u2014what luxuries they do not want to compromise\u00a0on and what they can live without.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A New York hotel entices guests out of their rooms with a spectacular, welcoming communal space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":17505,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"featured_image_focal_point":[],"legacy_WP_ID":null},"tags":[163,133],"metro_tax_domain":[3],"metro_tax_topic":[14],"metro_tax_program":[],"metro_issue":[],"internal_flag":[],"class_list":["post-58513","metro_project","type-metro_project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-hotel","tag-new-york-city","metro_tax_domain-hospitality","metro_tax_topic-interior-design"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n