From the library-like feel of its ground floor to the retro-inspired rooftop bar, Panorama Room (featuring a design from New York firm Parts and Labor Design), every space inside Graduate Roosevelt Island is a place for discovery. The 224-room hotel, with striking views of the Queensboro Bridge, is the result of the combined vision between AJ Capital Partners, Stonehill Taylor, and Snøhetta. “We want people to enter a true community-like space with wonder and awe and excitement,” says AJ Capital Partners senior designer, Abby Christian.
Towering over the lobby’s front desk is a 12 feet tall version of artist Hebru Brantley’s iconic Flyboy. “In [Brantley’s] own words, the sculpture is kind of like the inquisitive nature of childhood wonder,” explains Christian. “We wanted to continue that, bringing that concept [of being a lifelong learner] with you into adulthood.”
Graduate’s homage to curiosity is evident throughout the hotel. On the ground floor, bookshelves holding 5,000 yards of recycled textbooks wind through the space from check-in to its New American restaurant and bar, Anything At All.
“We always start a project with a comprehensive look at the space we’re creating and fun stories or interesting moments throughout history that we can tie through our design,” says Christian. Roosevelt Island’s extensive history and many iterations of use over the years—from Dutch settlement to its current home of Cornell Tech—provided ample inspiration for referential furnishings and décor.
In most of the guestrooms, the design team reinterpreted historic Dutch tapestries, using the pattern reproduction on benches. Portraits of public figures who have connections to the island, including Mae West and Franklin D. Roosevelt, are displayed here as well. More subtle details include the print on the desk lamps, which is a morse code version of the Cornell fight song. “We always want to add a little whimsy. Everything doesn’t need to be so serious,” says Christian. “It is fun to play with different colors and textures and add a little excitement to the design.”
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