Hospitality Design
I joined Pierre- Yves Rochon as an Intern and was assigned various tasks that required a wide range of skills & knowledge. As I grew into the position of Designer III my responsibilities increased. A 12 level 7-star hotel with Public Space and Private Suites was designed to accommodate over 150 keys. The space was to be designed with a modern and contemporary look and using subtle cultural elements throughout the hotel spaces.
Key Responsibilities
I was initially handed over the job to work on the mock-up room of this project where I performed responsibilities like verifying the issued specifications and drawings against the site constructions, verifying the finishes and fabric palette, selecting new material in case of discontinuation. I was also involved in verifying the drawings from AOR in relation to the FF&E pieces. Although I was not included during the issue of specifications, working on it during execution helped me develop my critical thinking abilities by coming up with ideas and solutions to on-site issues.
Continuous communication with the director and teamwork taught me the process of design. I gained the trust and was moved to handling the public spaces of this project.
The Public Spaces were on two levels- the first level is the main lobby including spaces like Coffee Bar and Guest Relations and the Main Entrance, and the ground level with spaces like Meeting Areas, Business Lounge, Conference Room, Library, Ballroom. Every space was designed with common elements like Nero Marquina stone, Calacatta Oro Flooring, Vinyl wallcoverings, Dark Mahogany and accents of Bronze and Chrome.
Public Areas: Main Lobby
The process after the mock-up review moved on to the main works for the final submission of the specifications for the entire hotel including the Suites. We started with selecting the FF&E pieces and contacting the vendors for any modifications that were needed and also selected a few new FF&E pieces. The colour palette was further developed based on the comments on the mock-up and was reviewed and finalized by the directors.
Working directly with the directors gave my way of work a whole new approach. My design process was improvised and I began taking a new approach towards design. The whole process of being able to manage the design, handle the selections and drawings and get the team running gave me excitement and kept me motivated!
The main lobby (pictures above) were essentially separated visually into three different spaces- a Coffee Bar, the Clock Lounge and Guest Relations. The coffee bar had a beautiful backdrop with vinyl wall covering of shell from Maya Romanoff, Dark Emperador stone as the coffee bar with an artificial stone top for maintenance. It had comfort seating with a designed carpet inspired from Ocean. The Clock Lounge in the center was the focus point of the main lobby with the peacock designed ceiling expanding the massive look of the space. The Clock Lounge had an inset carpet inspired with traditional motifs and a signature clock in the center surrounded by tea tables, chairs and sofa lounges custom designed. The Guest Relations had its own onset rug inspired by showing the hotels location on the globe.
Public Areas: Bridal Suite
The Grand Staircase was also connected to the Bridal Suite on the First Floor. Designing this space was a special experience for me where I could imagine what a bride would specifically need on her special day. The space was designed considering psychological factors like her comfort and her nervousness or extreme happiness or even anxiety. The space was covered with hand-tufted carpet in the living room with silken texture to make the living room stand out and have an elevated experience. The dressing room was designed with a poll in the office whether a bride would want to stand on a podium to look at her beautiful dress or will it be difficult for her to take a step in her dress. More bronze material was incorporated into the space to give it a flashy yet elegant look. The space also had a hair washing station which was a requirement by brand standards.
Design is understanding the user's psychology. My studies focused on Interiors and Psychology have always been helpful in designing such special spaces. A few challenges I faced during this process were: choosing design aesthetics over practical applications, however this experience has imbibed the urge to think both ways and combine practicality and design aesthetics.
Public Areas: Ground Floor Lobby
As the Grand Staircase led to the ground floor of the lobby it opened access to functional areas like Meeting Rooms, Library connected to a larger conference room with a kitchen, Business Center, Coffee Breakout Area & Ballroom. These areas had access to two restrooms on either side. The one next to the ballroom was designed differently than all other restrooms. The meeting rooms were designed with light blue-toned wallpaper and niches for the display of artefacts with meeting tables that could be arranged in different layouts based on the event requirements. The business centre was a small space specifically for the person who would manage the events and was given with office space including a printer area. Here, the library was an interesting part. It had dark-toned wall paneling with a fire place and exclusive artwork outsourced from a third party art consultant. The interiors of the library were cozy with sofa lounge seating in the center, space for tea or drink at four corners and also a small meeting table with a linear pendant light. The blue and dark mahogany gave this space an elite and modern look and feel of comfort.
Learnings
My graduation in Furniture Manufacturing and Engineering has expanded my career opportunities and opened doors to my future. My niche was never focused on only interiors or furniture. I pursued furniture design to understand and learn the use and ergonomics in depth by building full-scale products. I learned different ways of using materials and blending them together using various tools and machinery offered by my institute SCAD. This helped me in becoming a good leader in the FF&E team.
It refined my skills of developing detailed drawings and understanding furniture in a better way. As I grew in PYR I was responsible to make most of the complicated drawings under the guidance of my supervisor and gradually moved over to helping the team and sharing my knowledge.
