Guest Intentions

Hotbeds of design innovation, hotels have become travel destinations in their own right. Who wouldn't make a special trip to Jean Nouvel's Hotel in Lucerne, Switzerland, just to watch the movie scenes projected on guest-room ceilings? Then there's Dubai's engineering marvel Burj al-Arab, the tallest hospitality establishment on the planet. Checking into this phenomenon, New York's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, presents "New Hotels for Global Nomads." The show features more than 35 contemporary and historic hotel concepts and built projects, from the Hollywood Standard to Frank Lloyd Wright's demolished Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. In addition, Tom Sachs, Joel Sanders, and Toland Grinnell contribute site-specific installations, and Architecture Research Office builds one in the museum's garden. October 29–March 2; 212-849-8400; si.edu/ndm.