As part of a firm responsible for what promise to be, at least for a time, the world's three tallest buildings—the Freedom Tower in New York, the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and the Lotte Tower in Seoul, South Korea—interiors partner Stephen Apking and associate Woodson Rainey understand lofty ideas. When the Seoul tower opens in about 2010, the designers' Lotte Hotel will be nestled among the clouds on floors 79 through 102. Interiors will be derived directly from the diamond-grid curtain wall of this hospitality landmark, a structure that will taper from a square plan at the base to a circle at the crown. Myriad angles will inform everything inside, from the ground-level lobby's inlaid flooring to the ceiling panels in the 215 guest rooms. Second only to the ever present geometries, the amazing views governed the design of the guest rooms. Comforting dark veneers grace the sleeping areas. Meanwhile, two steps down, pearlescent whites and grays open up the lounges to the sky.

Clockwise from top left: The diagonal grid of the curtain wall for the Lotte Tower in Seoul, South Korea, will inform the Lotte Hotel's interiors. In the hotel lobby on level 82, this geometry will reappear in the chandelier, wall detailing, and flooring. The parquet pattern was conceived to resemble the facets of a diamond. Color, materials, and elevation will serve to separate the sleeping and lounge areas in guest rooms. Triple-height lobbies will welcome guests to the upper levels.

Opposite: Slated to begin construction in 2007, the hotel and office tower will top out at over 1,800 feet.

PROJECT TEAM: EDUARDO BENAMORE DUARTE; HYUNWOO JUNG; PHYLLIS WONG; HISAKAZU KOBAYASHI; JOANA PACHECO.