Glistening 16 stories above the Manhattan cityscape, the Highlight Room debuts as a stylish new nightlife concept atop the newly opened Moxy Lower East Side. The 2,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor rooftop garden—a concept from Tao Group Hospitality—draws inspiration from the German Winter Garden that once flourished along the Bowery in the mid-18th century. London- and New York-based Michaelis Boyd spearheaded the design of the Highlight Room, reinterpreting—or “Moxifying”—historic themes through a vibrant lens.
“We started by researching the history of the neighborhood around the Bowery, and realized it had so many layers to it,” says Michaelis Boyd director Rina Kukaj. “It’s truly eclectic—what was once a bucolic retreat full of tea gardens frequented by society ladies from the city, became known for its traveling circuses, vaudeville theaters, and menageries. And we realized that the pleasure gardens found here often replicated the style of their European counterparts—leafy oases in the city. With the Highlight Room, we wanted to recreate this sense of a hidden garden amidst the rooftops, a place for guests to disconnect from the outside world.”
Layers of premium materials like plaster, brass, terrazzo tiles, velvet upholstery, and caramel drapery channel the glitz of today’s Lower Manhattan. Meanwhile, wooden arches, antique mirrors, and candelabra-style chandeliers evoke a bygone grandeur reminiscent of the German gardens. Intricate green and blue geometric tiles delineate seating and bar areas, and complement dark wooden finishes.
Foliage aptly animates the Highlight Room, most notably in the form of a majestic palm tree with branches that sprawl across the room and greenery that sways from the ceiling. A wraparound glass wall also frames showstopping skyline vistas, embracing the city as a glittery backdrop.
“We imagined what it must have been like for people back then to leave behind the dust of the street and enter these lush, luxurious oases, such as the Vauxhall Gardens and German Winter Garden,” adds Michaelis Boyd partner and cofounder Alex Michaelis. “We thought about how to evolve the concept into the present day and ‘Moxify’ it.”
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