Yabu Pushelberg

HAZELTON HOTEL, TORONTO

Annie Block -- Interior Design, 12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

With the Hazelton, principals George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg give Toronto its first five-star boutique hotel. The designers were responsible for the 77 plush guest suites and all public spaces, including the lobby, One restaurant, the spa, the theater, and the lobby for the Hazelton's 18 private residences—165,000 square feet of muted elegance in total. Quiet drama and luxury reign throughout: Walls are paneled in charcoal-gray cowhide or leather; flooring is veined green marble slabs; decorative bronze screens stand floor-to-ceiling; accents of mother-of-pearl and mirror sparkle. "We design interiors for the emotional response," Pushelberg says. "The Hazelton captures a romantic glamour," adds Yabu. It's playful, too: At the entry to One, the designers echo Dennis Lin's cedar cube sculpture with wall paneling of beveled squares covered in sumptuous earth-toned suede.

Andrée Putman

project Morgans, New York.

standout In Putman's third design for the 25-year-old boutique hotel, she reinterprets her original palette with gradations of gray, white, and black.

Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz Designs

project Mondrian Los Angeles.

standout The renovation of this 1996 hotel includes updating the 237 guest rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, sunset-orange accents, and bamboo flooring.

Champalimaud

project Liberty Hotel, Boston.

standout The aptly named 300-room hotel, formerly the 1851 Charles Street Jail, has a café called Clink and reconstructed catwalks surrounding the soaring lobby atrium.

Studio IntraMuros

project aka Central Park, New York.

standout The renovation of this 1930's building, formerly the Wyndham Hotel, includes a double-height lobby with custom gray-stained wood paneling and a focal wall of backlit orange glass.