Imagine a hotel whose design gives the extreme sports enthusiast an outlet to exercise his or her inner daredevil. Or a resort that caters to patients recovering from medical procedures. Or one whose graphics and murals aspire to be works of art.
These are some of 18 hot trends in hospitality design that two leading architectural firms—Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) and HKS Hospitality Group—have identified for 2017.
The firms divide their lists into two sections, each with nine trends. Hot architectural design trends include:
--Extreme Sports Retreats
--Gadget-free guest rooms
--Automation taking over some hotel staff work
--Greater use of LEDs to create decorative and mood effects
--Smaller guest rooms but larger gathering spaces
--Co-living spaces where groups can stay near each other
--Dual branding
--Curated leisure farming that allows guests to have greater input into what they eat and drink
--Wellness resorts where guests recoup from surgery, transfusions, and other medical treatments.
The interior design trends the firms call out include:
--Candy colors
--A return to 1970s-era kitsch
--The use of super graphics and murals
--An emphasis on wellness and biophilia
--Eclectic, playful, and youthful design
--Craft design
--Rooms within rooms that create intimacy
--A return to a midcentury aesthetic
--Live-work spaces
HBA and HKS use examples of their own recent work to illustrate some of these trends. For example, the HKS-designed Hyatt House/Hyatt Place project in San Francisco explores a hybrid model that blends extended stay with full-service. The 400-key hotel—which follows dual-branded Hyatts in Denver and Charlotte—includes two restaurants, a rooftop outdoor movie theater, and a bar-lounge that can accommodate 400 guests.
The budding “agritourist” might feel right at home at HKS’ Surf Beach Resort in Half Moon Bay near San Francisco, which is part of an existing farmland and a farm stand that will become a permanent part of the resort’s guest program.
Color and art are enlivening hotels, the firms contend. The recently opened HBA project, Aloft Guangzhou in China, features an engaging color palette filled with textured carpets and accented furniture. W Bellevue in Seattle, which opens in June, will include murals created by local street artists. And super graphics will come into play at the new Texas Live, the first hotel in Arlington, Texas, between the mammoth AT&T Stadium and the Texas Rangers’ stadium.
Biophilia and wellness are important vibes in HBA’s Four Seasons Kyoto in Japan, where guests are greeted by a bamboo forest that leads to a Japanese garden sanctuary. This hotel’s design was planned around the 800-year-old Ikeniwa Pond.
Authenticity is the key goal in the trend toward craft design. For the W Nashville residences, HKS’ design features layers of craft design as intricate, embroidered fabric pieces with sequins evoke the elaborate performance outfits of country legends like Patsy Cline, Elvis and Dolly Parton and are being used as art pieces that nod subtly to Nashville’s musical heritage. This hotel also features a range of jewel tones and an unusual mix of furniture that includes the midcentury reference and goes into ‘70s lounge with some industrial touches.
Related Stories
Senior Living Design | Feb 15, 2023
Passive House affordable senior housing project opens in Boston
Work on Phase Three C of The Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, a 55-apartment midrise building in Boston that stands out for its use of Passive House design principles, was recently completed. Designed by The Architectural Team (TAT), the four-story structure was informed throughout by Passive House principles and standards.
Designers | Feb 13, 2023
Hoffmann Architects + Engineers Establishes Diversity Advancement Scholarship Fund
Hoffmann Architects + Engineers, a design firm specializing in the rehabilitation of building exteriors, contributed $25,000 to fund the Hoffmann Diversity Advancement Scholarship, administered through the Connecticut Architecture Foundation. The fund provides scholarships for students from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups who are seeking degrees in architecture or engineering.
Office Buildings | Feb 12, 2023
Smyrna Ready Mix’s new office HQ mimics the patterns in the company’s onsite stone quarry
Designed by EOA Architects to showcase various concrete processes and applications, Smyrna Ready Mix's new office headquarters features vertical layering that mimics the patterns in the company’s stone quarry, located on the opposite end of the campus site. The building’s glass and concrete bands are meant to mirror the quarry’s natural contours and striations.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 10, 2023
Dallas to get a 19-story, 351-unit residential high-rise
In Dallas, work has begun on a new multifamily high-rise called The Oliver. The 19-story, 351-unit apartment building will be located within The Central, a 27-acre mixed-use development near the Knox/Henderson neighborhood north of downtown Dallas.
Sustainability | Feb 9, 2023
New guide for planning, designing, and operating onsite water reuse systems
The Pacific Institute, a global nonpartisan water think tank, has released guidance for developers to plan, design, and operate onsite water reuse systems. The Guide for Developing Onsite Water Systems to Support Regional Water Resilience advances circular, localized approaches to managing water that reduce a site’s water footprint, improve its resilience to water shortage or other disruptions, and provide benefits for local communities and regional water systems.
Office Buildings | Feb 9, 2023
Post-Covid Manhattan office market rebound gaining momentum
Office workers in Manhattan continue to return to their workplaces in sufficient numbers for many of their employers to maintain or expand their footprint in the city, according to a survey of more than 140 major Manhattan office employers conducted in January by The Partnership for New York City.
Sustainability | Feb 9, 2023
University of Southern California's sustainability guidelines emphasize embodied carbon
A Buro Happold-led team recently completed work on the USC Sustainable Design & Construction Guidelines for the University of Southern California. The document sets out sustainable strategies for the design and construction of new buildings, renovations, and asset renewal projects.
University Buildings | Feb 9, 2023
3 ways building design can elevate bold thinking and entrepreneurial cultures
Mehrdad Yazdani of CannonDesign shares how the visionary design of a University of Utah building can be applied to other building types.
Giants 400 | Feb 9, 2023
New Giants 400 download: Get the complete at-a-glance 2022 Giants 400 rankings in Excel
See how your architecture, engineering, or construction firm stacks up against the nation's AEC Giants. For more than 45 years, the editors of Building Design+Construction have surveyed the largest AEC firms in the U.S./Canada to create the annual Giants 400 report. This year, a record 519 firms participated in the Giants 400 report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
University Buildings | Feb 8, 2023
STEM-focused Kettering University opens Stantec-designed Learning Commons
In Flint, Mich., Kettering University opened its new $63 million Learning Commons, designed by Stantec. The new facility will support collaboration, ideation, and digital technology for the STEM-focused higher learning institution.