The Marriott group’s W Union Square hotel reveals its transformation, more than 20 years after its construction in the heart of this district of southern Manhattan. A facelift that we owe to interior designer David Rockwell
Also read: In New York, David Rockwell sublimates the bistro spirit
An emblematic district
Le loby du W Union Square. Courtesy of W Hotels
Hard to find more familiar from the Union Square neighborhood as David Rockwell. The architect at the head of the Rockwell Group (330 employees, more than 125 hotels and 500 restaurants to his credit, a very significant proportion of which in New York) set up his agency there in 1984. Overwhelmed with books, models sets of Broadway shows and samples of materials, the offices, occupying three floors of the former premises of Spy magazine, almost resemble the library of an Ivy League university (establishments of excellence in the United States) – a more than inspiring environment to develop the scenarios that underlie each of the projects. Union Square displays a very American melting pot, which makes it interesting. Not really fashionable – although the reopening of the W could well give a boost in this direction – but urban and vibrant.
In one of the corridors of W Union Square. Courtesy of W Hotels
How also not to remember that between 1967 and 1973, Andy Warhol’s Factory was bustling at No. 33 Union Square West, before moving a few meters to 860 Broadway? Enough to experience underground thrills – like a little reminder of the rock group formed in the mid-60s with the legendary album cover designed by the artist – when you come to take the metro there. Union Square Station is indeed a necessary connection for anyone wanting to go from Downtown or Midtown Manhattan to the High Line in the Meatpacking District or to Brooklyn.
« Located south of Broadway – the only diagonal artery in the rigorously gridded plan of New York – Union Square is also a place in perpetual transition: farmers’ market one day (an institution since 1976, Editor’s note), demonstration and concert the next. People come to draw, play chess, skateboard, etc., explains David Rockwell. The way we approached the new design of the W is to bring inside the hotel what I call the “tapestry” of the city, that energy and organized chaos, so New York. And we of course chose to favor works by local artists, like Shantell Martin. »
W Union Square, immersive hotel
One of the rooms at W Union Square. Courtesy of W Hotels
And to continue: “In the rooms [l’établissement en compte 230, dont quelques Extreme Wow Suites sous le haut toit mansardé à la française, NDLR], the curved wall which goes from green to orange reflects the changes of season which can be observed through the windows overlooking the park. On the second floor of the historic building [datant de 1911], the large ballroom – listed – is now returned to the public since it has been transformed into a large lounge. »
The hotel thus opens more onto the park, the city, life and brings its founding “glam” up to date. In the immediate vicinity of the W are concentrated the addresses where David Rockwell has his habits, which have even become for some of the projects. Like the Union Square Cafe, on the corner of 19th Street and Park Avenue, and the Daily Provisions cafe, which adjoins it. Both source their supplies from market producers.
Vue du bar du W Union Square. Courtesy of W Hotels
« I used to frequent the old Union Square Cafe, opened around the corner thirty years ago by my friend Danny Meyer. My biggest concern when the latter wanted to enlarge it by moving it a few blocks was not to reproduce it identically, but to create a version without altering the memories of the original address, because it is a restaurant where the clientele is very local. However, attracting and retaining residents can only succeed if the design is not synonymous with visual “noise”, the architect analyzes with finesse. Likewise, people who travel today not only want to feel welcomed in a city, but by a city, and this is what we wanted to achieve through our rehabilitation of the W.”
A reopening announced for the start of the yearwhich is likely to provide an additional reason to type “Union Square” into a search engine bar.
Also read: New York: David Rockwell stages a new art center
2024-02-10 05:50:34
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