SH Group, the brand management arm of Starwood Capital Group, has opened 1 Hotel Central Park, designed by New York-based AvroKO in partnership with the SH Group in-house design team.
Following the opening of 1 Hotel South Beach this past spring, the new property is the brand’s second location and first in New York. Its proximity to Central Park served as inspiration for the design team led by Starwood Capital Group senior vice president of design Kemper Hyers.
“It is sometimes said that green design and luxury cannot co-exist,” says AvroKO partner Greg Bradshaw. “We were excited to take on that stereotype and attempt to disrupt the thinking about environmentally conscious venues. Our goal was to leave the space feeling somewhat unadorned so the materials and core of the space could speak for itself.”
The façade features a three-story green wall and two large steel doors clad in 16,000 fallen twigs, while original industrial architecture is paired with raw and natural materials such as wood, brick, marble, stone, glass, riveted steel beams, and concrete ceilings. Infrastructure elements and materials were selected to adhere to green building and LEED standards.
Elevators open to reveal artistic renditions of floor numbers comprised of repurposed materials, while preserved moss fills hallway niches.
All 229 guestrooms feature a warm, neutral color palette with blue and cream hues. Hemp-blend mattresses, natural cotton linens, and terrariums add a green touch. Meanwhile, marble, mushroom wood, concrete tiles, and reclaimed brick in the bathrooms juxtapose with copper fixtures and glass-enclosed showers resembling greenhouses.
Meeting space includes a second-floor communal area and five private rooms that can accommodate up to 130 people. Three of these join to form the 600-square-foot Great Lawn meeting space.
The 100-seat Jams restaurant will open later this month with Napa-style paned windows set in exposed brick walls, exposed ceilings, reclaimed oak, a quarry stone bar floor, a soap stone bartop, and a plum color palette.
