How did you come to start your own firm?
Barbara Parker: We worked in Boston for different design firms for almost 20 years and never met. Eventually, a mutual friend introduced us and we ended up collaborating on the Bentley, a luxury hotel project in London. Miriam worked directly for the owner and I worked for a consulting design firm.
Miriam Torres: After talking for the entire six-hour flight [back from London] and a few glasses of champagne, we realized we shared the same vision and values. We each thought this talented woman could be my better half in business. In 2004, I got a call from Barbara, which changed our careers for good. She wanted to open a design firm as partners in Boston. Without hesitation, I said yes. We waited two months, so I could finish the Waldorf Astoria New York, and in that year, we opened Parker-Torres Design and haven’t looked back.
Big break?
MT: The Willard InterContinental [in Washington, DC] opened the doors for incredible opportunities. We were relatively unknown at the time, and it was directly a result of our work for the Willard that led to our designing the incredible Fairmont Copley Plaza [in Boston].
Tell us about your design process.
MT: Our desks are next to each other and open to the rest of the office. On the right, Barbara’s desk is perfection. Papers are neatly organized, labeled, and filed. On the left, my desk is overflowing with fabric and carpet samples, with designs flying everywhere. Barbara designs in black and white, I design in color. She cuts through the chaos, and I thrive in it. Our yin and yang come together to work seamlessly, and it is truly what sets our firm apart.
What are each other’s strengths and weaknesses?
MT: My Puerto Rican upbringing means I am always on the lookout for social events. I love working with my clients and often see them as friends.
BP: I am the logical, calm one. The more chaotic things get, the more still I get. I am happy overseeing the business management and keeping things running at the office.
A favorite project in your portfolio?
MT: We took the lobby of the Phoenician Resort and Spa [in Scottsdale] that was stuck in the past and could have been anywhere in the world and transformed it completely. We eliminated the enormous central fountain and made the lobby bar the centerpiece with amazing views of Paradise Valley. The interiors are truly indigenous. You’ll never mistake where you are even if you turn your back to the view.
BP: We expanded the subterranean spa space to three levels, including a rooftop pooldeck planned for social events. Also, it had a pie-shaped footprint and competing entrances—a 35,000-square-foot space-planning challenge if there ever was one. At some point over almost three years, just about everyone in the office has worked on this project.
What’s on the boards?
BP: The San Francisco Marriott Marquis. It’s 1,500 guestrooms, 130,000 square feet of meeting space, and a lobby that sees 10,000 people pass through daily. We are tasked with making it design-forward for both [owner] Host Hotels & Resorts and Marriott.
MT: The Whitley [in Atlanta] is a rebranding project, taking one of the original Ritz-Carlton hotels and reimagining it as a boutique that exudes friendly southern hospitality.
Biggest obstacle of owning your own firm?
BP: Producing excellent work under tight deadlines without burning out our designers.
How has your firm changed over the years?
BP: We started out with suites at a local Marriott for a client that had known me for a while. We only had our home computers and our cell phones, but he still wanted us to do it. We gradually worked up to full-service and luxury properties all over the country for the biggest hotel REITs [real estate investment trusts]. Our firm has grown in size along with our portfolio, and now we have 27 employees.
What’s one thing you know now that you wish you knew in the beginning?
MT: Things always seem to have a way of working themselves out.
BP: Helen Jorgensen [vice president of design and procurement at Host Hotels & Resorts] taught us that ‘bad news never gets better with age.’ It has become my favorite quote.
Why is two better than one?
BP: There’s always someone to bounce things off of, learn from, and share the good times and the bad.
MT: Barbara has the architectural knowledge, and I have the interior design knowledge. This unique combination allows us to go further than most design firms.
