In New York City, the design for Hotel Lafayette creates a dialogue between necessary architectural solutions and the urban context of the NoHo district the hotel is situated in. This 5-star boutique hotel, located on the iconic Lafayette Street, is not just a structure; it's a narrative of regular and irregular formal strategies that anchor the project both at street level and in the skyline.

The neighborhood, pulsating with architectural activity, boasts landmarks such as the Cooper Union Engineering building by Morphosis and Herzog & De Meuron’s 20 Bond Street luxury apartments. At the time of the hotel's conceptualization, the absence of a major hotel in this area presented an opportunity, a blank canvas for the developers to craft an experience that would resonate with the discerning urban traveler.

The site, characterized by its elongated corner lot, offered a unique challenge and an opportunity. It allowed for the creation of two distinct elevations, bestowing the hotel with a sense of urban scale and gravitas. The ground floor, with its regular rhythmic columns, emphasizes the interior design of the retail spaces and the hotel's lobby, restaurant, and bar. This traditional street-level elevation is a nod to the architectural heritage of the city, a bridge between the past and the present.

It is the hotel's second zone that creates an identifiable architecture. Conceived as a series of rectilinear gold ribbons, this zone sculpturally defines the hotel rooms. Clad in gold, these ribbons contrast the steady rhythm of the ground floor, creating an undulating façade that mirrors the dynamism of New York City. This design choice, where the tension between the stable and the dynamic is palpable, infuses the hotel with a sense of movement, a reflection of a city that never sleeps. The interior design journey of Hotel Lafayette was marked by a commitment to creating bold spaces reduced to essential materials infused with strong colour and material contrasts.


TEAM
Lukasz Kos
Edyta Krawczyk​
Mateusz Dlugowski
Art In Public Space
Ronis Vision