Q&A: Mega-Modernist Graham Downes

by Mary Scoviak, Contributing Editor -- HOTELS Magazine, 10/1/2007

Graham Downes, founder and principal, Graham Downes Architecture, San Diego

HOTELS: People refer to you as a “mega modernist.” What does that mean and how you applying to hotels?

GD: I am very ‘forward.’ I am obsessed with the future (what can be), not the past (what was). The past has limited referential value and deserves the odd ‘nod’ at most, whereas the future defines how we will live. The real challenge is defining environments that address prospective lifestyle trends. This is true modernism: being ahead of what is and to provide what will be. My absolute objective is to deliver simple design solutions—something that is essential, with powerful moves and clarity, yet not without the essence of some art and whimsy.

HOTELS: Modernism is also expected in hotel interiors. Are owners equally willing to let modernism define hotel architecture?

GD: Hotel owners in the main are less adventurous than they could be. They need to realize that mandatory good service and value can be enhanced by an extraordinary environmental experience. People are not looking to replicate their homes in their lodging choices. The whole notion of providing a ‘comfortable residential’ product is too safe and predictable.

HOTELS: What are the new trends for public spaces?

GD: The check-in, reception desk and concierge areas are fast transforming through technological advances and changes in human habits and behavior. Modern guests no longer seek the extrapolated check-in and orientation procedure. Now, guests are driven by efficiency and easy systems integration through familiarity. We strive to minimize wasted space and try to make any area transformable and adaptable for events, promotions and other dual functions.

HOTELS: What makes a lobby passé?

GD: Overly pretentious lobbies and circulation waste the guest’s time, put out too much visual stimuli (we are limited to how much we can absorb) and serve only to magnify instances where value is enhanced artificially. This is to say, the contemporary guest translates such excesses into less integrity and, hence, devaluation.

HOTELS: What should change to make the guestroom a better value for money guest experience?

GD: Oversized guestrooms with furniture that will never be used, unnecessary artwork, double sinks, telephones in bathrooms, bathtubs and more clothes space than anyone ever needs are amenities and facilities that reek of ostentatious marketing trickery. Modern guests will not find value here; they will find it in convenience and efficiency—such as multiple I-Pod hook-ups and easily accessible recharging outlets.

HOTELS: Transparency is a buzzword for hotel architecture. Are guests becoming more social or does a little voyeurism help with marketing?

GD: Voyeurism has always been an aspect of communal lodging and synonymous with a facility where intimate and otherwise private activities are shared. Whether it’s with a new or familiar room guest or conducting activities closer to other anonymous strangers, the guest is in public, not at home.

In public areas, voyeurism can exist in the lobby experience, the lounge and bar and in the restrooms. In the guestrooms, I always favor clear open bathrooms that are a visual and functional extension of the bedroom or other living space. These areas benefit from the light, views and especially the sexy aspect of ‘sharing’ space and breaking down inhibitions. This is not your parents’ spare bedroom or your friends’ guest suite: This is a rocking fun hotel—somewhat precocious, with some risk involved. I look for provocation in intimate public spaces and particularly the guestrooms – read: ‘the lingerie department’ at a department store.

HOTELS: What inspires your hotel design work?

GD: Hotel design, like residential design, is intrinsic and intuitive to the observant and inquisitive designer. This especially applies to one who travels a lot and seeks out new places and studies, judges and learns from there. I have stayed at every (Ian) Schrager property (most now owned by Morgans Hotel Group), over 12 W Hotels and many Kimptons. These are the founders and former definers of the boutique lodging concept we are extending today.

I also seek the latest, most forward experience in every city I visit – often paying exorbitant rates but always benefiting tremendously from the design exposure. It is essential to witness the bold and brazen endeavors of others and be extra critical and take away some learning experience. The first hotel we designed was Tower 23, long in the making and the one for which we are best known. It was an opportunity for much re-invention, but we weren’t the only ones heading in some of those directions.

Hotel design is so experiential and encompasses so many facets it serves as a perfect design exercise that can relate to any project. To serve, entertain, enrich and to delight are all wonderful properties from which all projects can benefit, even single family residences and research laboratories.

HOTELS: What does staff attire say about the hotel?

GD: Branding is not limited to name, logo and miscellaneous collateral. More than ever, it is a global immersion in everything the hotel represents to the consumer. The personality, demeanor and particularly the attire of the hosts (the staff) serve to add definition to a brand seeking to resonate at all levels. They leave an enduring impression on the guest.