Hospitality Design: What I've Learned

Design duo Lisa Simeone and Gina Deary met while working at a firm in Chicago in the 1990s and became fast friends. Realizing they had a similar vision and passion for design, they took a leap of faith founding their own firm Simeone Deary Design Group in 2002. Their thoughtful approach can be seen in projects such as the Detroit Foundation Hotel and Hotel Kansas City—two historic buildings transf...

From learning how to weld for practical reasons to designing the iconic S-Chair for Cappellini to founding his eponymous label, Tom Dixon took an unconventional path to becoming one of Britain's most renowned designers Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com .

Before founding Los Angeles-based Commune Design in 2004, Roman Alonso let his curiosity lead the way. Following his affinity for art and design led to experiences working for Hearst magazines, Barney's, renowned fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, and founding his own publishing company Greybull Press. Informed by his multifaceted career, Commune Design leads residential, commercial, and hospita...

Before the term "wellness" became a buzzword and grew into the trillion-dollar industry it is today, Susie Ellis was championing the cause. In 2014, she founded the non-profit organization Global Wellness Institute dedicated to research and educating both public and private sectors about preventative health measures. As Chairman and CEO, Ellis also oversees the organization's annual...

David Galullo roots himself in the idea of placemaking and how people use spaces to connect and build communities rather than the utilitarian side of architecture. It is with this lens, Galullo founded his multidisciplinary firm, Rapt Studio, where he has been pushing boundaries for clients from Goop to Google for the last ten years. When approaching projects, Galullo wants his team to question ev...

Cherishing the creative process, hotelier Jason Pomeranc continues to push it to its limits and redefine the hotel experience. First, in the early 2000s, as a cofounder of the industry-disrupting Thompson Hotels brand before following up his success with SIXTY Collective, the operating company of SIXTY Hotels. Pomeranc is also behind the recently opened, theater-centric Civilian hotel in New York—...

Libby Sims Patrick’s Southern U.S. roots are both the foundation of her upbringing and her approach to design. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Sims Patrick grew up in Decatur, Alabama and graduated from Auburn University before starting her career in Georgia. Reflecting the southern hospitality her mother, a restaurant owner, instilled in her, Sims Patrick says great relationships are as important as...

Dyonne Fashina,  founder and principal designer of Toronto-based studio Denizens of Design, takes an empathy-first approach to her work. She designs with sensitivity, compassion, and a sense of cultural awareness. This is evident in projects like the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, where she sourced everything locally, reflecting the gallery’s emphasis on Canadian artists. In 2021, Fashina was...

After graduating from Cornell with a bachelor's of architecture, Chad Oppenheim continued his education by living in Spain, Israel, Italy, and Japan. Once he returned to the United States, he spent five years working at Arquitectonica in Miami before founding Oppenheim Architecture + Design. Informed by his travels and appreciation for nature, his firm specializes in ambitious creations which...

Sweden-based, Norway-born designer Erik Nissen Johansen always felt drawn to the creative world. After studying design in Florence, Italy, he went on to found his firm Stylt Trampoli AB, which has been pushing the boundaries of hospitality design worldwide for more than 30 years. Using a film director like creative approach, he often cites, “Never do the film without doing the script first.” When...

In November, during ICFF and WantedDesign, editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen sat down with multidisciplinary design Ini Archibong for a candid one-on-one discussion. Archibong's work transcends disciplines: He’s crafted furniture for the likes of Bernhardt Design and Knoll, he’s designed a watch collection for French luxury brand Hermés, conceived the Pavilion of the African Diaspora for...

Tye Farrow is a bit of a philosopher when it comes to design, seeking out projects that inspire hope where the future is unknown. He cut his teeth with renowned German-Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler before starting Farrow Partners in Toronto in 2004. It’s here that he launched his visionary Cause Health movement, which creates places where people can thrive through an intricate co-creation pr...

Born in Taiwan, Tony Chi moved to New York when he was 9 years old, cultivating a global sense about the world that is embedded into everything he touches, including the studio’s work with Rosewood Hotel Group. The firm has had a hand in bringing the brand international recognition, from revitalizing the Carlyle in New York to reimagining a Belle Epoque building in London. Chi compares his role to...

Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu's  Shanghai-based practice is as prolific as its work is thought-provoking, thanks to the leadership provided by the husband-and-wife duo, who met while they were studying architecture as undergraduates at the University of California, Berkeley. They both cut their teeth with Michael Graves before deciding to go out on their own in 2004 after moving back to Shanghai...

EDSA principal Kona Gray says he stumbled upon landscape architecture, and for the past 25 years, he’s been a crucial voice in creating immersive environments for  resorts to senior living facilities and everything in between. One of Gray's initiatives is bringing more people of color into the field, where less than 10 percent of graduating landscape architects are BIPOC. He believes that eve...

George Gottl is the chief creative officer and cofounder of UXUS, a strategic global design consultancy. But it’s also much more than that. When Gottl and his team are working with a client—whether that’s Sephora, H&M, or IHG—they are cultivating a one-of-a-kind experience. He honed this skill when he worked at Nike, which taught him how to craft ideas and tell a story. In fact, the former fas...

Ed Ng, along with partner Terrance Ngan, founded the Hong Kong-based design firm in 1999. He counts the W Bali, which opened in 2009, as the firm’s big break, putting them on the map of international hospitality. Fast forward to today and the recently opened Argo in the Four Seasons Hong Kong is a full circle moment for Ng, who was born and bred here, and who sees the project as a personal and fir...

We revisit our conversation with president and CEO of EDG Jennifer Johanson, who, later this year, will be inducted into HD's Platinum Circle. Johanson's illustrious career spans decades, including working at John Powers Associates s before joining Eric Engstrom’s firm in 1989 (the firm changed its name to EDG Design in 2007 when Engstrom retired). Today, she runs the company alongside h...

The former advertising executive turned real estate maven, Naomi Heaton recently launched the Other House, a members’ club-meets-longterm rental option for the next generation of travelers. Heaton set out to create a brand that focuses on flexibility and technology, thanks to a proprietary app that invites guests to create their own personalized journey all from their phone. This hospitality model...

Known for blending luxury with individuality, actress-turned-designer Anouska Hempel is a singular talent. The former Bond girl made her mark on the hotel industry in 1978 when she opened the Blakes in London—a new kind of lifestyle hotel that Hempel describes as a home away from home. From the Hempel Hotel in London and the Six Senses Duxton in Singapore, to her latest, the Monsieur George in Par...

Antionette Carroll, president and CEO of Creative Reaction Lab, founded her St. Louis-based nonprofit after the Ferguson uprisings in 2014. She describes herself as a social entrepreneur; equity designer; and diversity, equity and inclusion specialist, and her mission is more important now than ever. Carroll is building a movement dedicated to highlighting youth-centered Black and Latinx voices in...

Queens, New York-born and raised architect Deborah Berke fascination with design started as a teenager while imagining the inside of houses in her neighborhood. She later attended RISD, went back to school to learn about urban planning, and finally got involved with 21c Hotels having never designed a hotel at that point. Today, she manages Deborah Burke & Partners alongside ten other partners,...

Paula Scher's career is as wide ranging as it is inspirational. The former art student, who pivoted to graphic design, is also a children’s book author; she’s designed album covers for artists like John Prine; she launched her own magazine, Together , with Terry Koppel; and she became the first female partner at New York-based multidisciplinary firm Pentagram. Among her many clients, her inde...

For this episode, we toe the line of hospitality a bit with a chat with entrepreneur and cofounder of Airbnb Joe Gebbia. There’s no question that what he’s built with partner Brian Chesky has been among the most major paradigm shifts in the travel industry since its inception. Hatching the lucrative idea out of personal necessity in 2007, when he was just in his mid 20s, the start-up has only acce...

Hailing from northern Italy, Network of Architecture, or noa*, cofounder and architect Lukas Rungger cites Roman architecture as a major influence on his career. He started out as a professor in the region before he moved to London and cut his teeth with the likes of Softroom Architects and Matteo Thun. It’s there that he met his business partner Stefan and they started noa* in Italy in 2010. Thei...