Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu, founders of design firm Yabu Pushelberg, tell us about designing for boutique hotel Moxy Times Square in New York City, and what really makes their partnership work
What are some considerations that you have when designing a hotel?
Glenn Pushelberg (GP) As designers, our aim is to create environments that make people pause and have a sensory experience. To achieve that, understanding the guests’ state of mind is key to designing the right space for them. The subtleties of connected details and sympathetic use of materials and motifs throughout help to connect spaces and weave a narrative.
As designers, our aim is to create environments that make people pause and have a sensory experience
George Yabu (GY) Understanding the holistic story is an important notion that informs how we build, design and decorate environments. We ask ourselves how guests would move between spaces throughout the property, interact with their surroundings, socialise and relax to create a holistic vision. The fun part is bringing this vision to life and experiencing these moments ourselves.
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What were the biggest challenges you faced while working on the Moxy properties?
GP When we started the project, it was positioned as a micro hotel for millennials, a strategy which worked for the brand in Europe. The challenge was to reinvent this concept for the North American market—it was fun to imagine a new type of hotel room designed for people with a certain nomadic mindset.
GY We took inspiration from early Puritan design—the utilitarian simplicity of this aesthetic and the notion of ‘urban camping’. We looked for ways to put a modern twist to make our design current, youthful and portable. The interesting part that came from this vision was creating a host of adaptable furnishings to make the most of the compact space, including custom-made chairs and tables designed to fold away and hang from wooden wall pegs.