Accessible luxury with inimitable style, Public Hotel, New York

Landing in its creator’s hometown, Ian Schrager’s Public – his first truly independent hotel concept – underscores affordable, accessible luxury with inimitable style. Words: Kristofer Thomas | Photography: © Nicholas Koenig. Accessible luxury with inimitable style, Public Hotel, New York

Ian Scharger is part of New York, woven into the illustrious tapestry, a near character in its folklore. As co-founder of Studio 54 he redefined the city’s club scene – creating a storied hub at the heart of Seventies hedonism – then, as hotelier, introduced the world to the boutique sector with Morgans on Madison Avenue. His Royalton and Paramount hotels followed, becoming destinations in their own right and providing a then fresh-faced Philippe Starck with his first hotel canvases. But Paramount would mark his last New York hotel until the opening of The Hudson at the turn of the millennium, with a return to nightclubs, and ventures into the residential sector, as well as the conceiving of Edition with Marriott International, filling the gaps between. In 2005 Schrager sold the Morgans Hotel Group he founded with late partner Steve Rubell in favour of a more personal enterprise, owning, developing and managing hotels as Ian Schrager Company. And so, thirty years since the opening of Paramount, New York’s prodigal son returns to the city’s hospitality scene with his first truly independent hotel concept, Public.

Debuting in 2011 with Public Chicago, the brand endured something of a false start. After the property’s hushed sale and subsequent rebrand in 2016, some believed the hotelier’s independent dream to be over, and Public an underwhelming footnote in an otherwise celebrated career. However, what could have been the difficult second project has instead spent a six-year gestation period refining and clarifying its offer and values. “Public is probably my most important idea in the hotel business to-date,” Schrager explains. “There’s something very attractive to me about making sophisticated, upscale luxury available to anybody and everybody who wants it. I’ve always loved the idea of bringing really cool and refined details to people of all different ages and strata of wealth. This kind of experience isn’t just for the rich.”

Initially shrouded in mystery, the enigmatically titled 215 Chrystie Street was originally intended as a new brand, but landed instead as the second coming of Public, blending urban oasis with a vibrant nightclub spirit. Positioned on the Lower East Side, just a short walk from the Williamsburg Bridge and Schrager’s old Brooklyn stomping ground, the mixed-use project – also containing 11 John Pawsondesigned residences – has been designed by Herzog & de Meuron together with Ian Schrager Company’s in-house design studio to channel inimitable cool whilst remaining roundly accessible. Guests are greeted by a Tuileries-inspired, Madison Cox-designed landscaped garden – separated from the bustling street by an English Ivy-covered privacy fence and lined with ten-foot-tall Taxus hedges – then guided through an oversized revolving glass door. Dramatic escalators up to the lobby, enclosed in reflective custom coppershaded stainless steel, capture guests within an infinity effect on ascent, refracting custom incandescent LED lighting strips as a neonlit tunnel. Steel then gives way to concrete, and a more industrial tone to introduce the lobby. From here, the scheme splits off into several distinct moods: the warm, rustic charms of dining venues Louis and Public Kitchen; the smoky members’ club vibe of intimate bar Diego; the light-bathed public areas; and a dark, seductively lit hallway leading to guestrooms above.

“We wanted to do something that was young-at-heart and didn’t rely on traditional luxury finishes,” Schrager continues. “We used a lot of plywood and concrete, but tried something new in their use and treatment that would elevate them and make for a more refined feel.” Subtly illuminated by the Philippe Starck-designed Rosy Angelis lamps from Flos, the public spaces and lobby bar feature bespoke pieces including a billiards table in solid, hand-rubbed bronze, and Herzog & de Meuron-designed tiered seating that spans the entire length of the space against a wall of backlit louvers in richly toned Douglas Fir plywood. A curated collection of antique furnishings includes a full-sized Bison rug, whilst an Ivan Navarro light sculpture provides modernist juxtaposition at the heart, as do aluminium and steel Drop chairs by Japanese firm Sanaa.

The dining experience meanwhile, is characterised by a blend of homeliness and industrial charm. Against a backdrop of exposed brick, Public Kitchen features rustic textures in the form of stained Beachwood and American black walnut, whilst three custom-designed hearths clad in honed Statutorio brick contain a smoker, wood-burning oven and grill. Situated adjacent, the hotel’s coffee shop, luncheonette and markethybrid Louis contains Arebescato marble tables with blackened steel bases paired with caned Thonet armchairs. Housed a floor below, the hotel’s artistic, cultural and social space Public Arts channels a condensed resumption of the Studio 54 spirit. Set amidst built-in banquettes upholstered in Brazilian leather, vintage Persian area rugs and a theatrically lit baroque curtain from the Paris Opera House, the avant-garde space hosts a year-round programme of screenings, live performances and musical guests.

Upstairs, 367 guestrooms channel lighter, softer aesthetics, though remain most notable for their intelligent use of space. Inspired by the layout of cruise ship cabins, these environments feel minimal yet miss none of the essentials. With 11 configurations available, from compact Queen to expansive Penthouse, each features salvaged and reclaimed sunken oak flooring and exposed concrete ceilings with the imprints of structural framework, as well as a bespoke bed constructed from wire brushed oak and illuminated by a halo of warm incandescent light. The considered approach to layout means that, even in the smallest configurations, guestrooms feel substantial, and in some cases larger than they should. The Laufen-designed sink – an engineering feat manufactured in the brand’s innovative Sentec material – is separated from the gold-amber glass mirror bathroom enclosure, sitting instead within the main guestroom and custom-designed cabinetry in blanched oak. With this shift, the designers toy with the room’s width in order to extend its length.

Bathrooms meanwhile, feature custom Hansgrohe rain showers and mixing valves in champagne finish, alongside Laufen toilets. “We wanted the rooms to be cool, interesting and smart all at the same time, like a cabin on a yacht providing everything you need and nothing you don’t,” Schrager notes. “It’s all incredibly efficient.” A restrained collection of furnishings including an American black walnut stool that doubles as nightstand, and fluted blanched oak bench, may seem sparse, but what these spaces subtract in physical fittings they make up for in technological presence. An Evolve in-room control system, with precise switches for lighting, drapery and temperature, allows guests to customise their environment, whilst 12 subtly integrated USB ports mean there’s no lack of universal power.

“It feels like we in the hotel world have been the last to respond to new technology,” Schrager laments. “I’m not talking about an iPad in your room, I’m talking about technology that makes your stay much less expensive and much more convenient. But it can’t be contrived – it can’t be technology for technology’s sake – it has to be meaningful.” Higher still, and topping the project is The Roof, Public’s crowning jewel. Accessed by an elevator lit with kinetic neon blues at night in a call-back to Schrager’s nightclub days, the bar appears to float in the sky thanks to unobstructed views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Punctuating a steel, bronze and wooden scheme are pieces including a distressed marine bronze bar with tarnished gold finish, and details such as walls panelled in fluted black and woven horsehair. “When you create a hotel, you’re supposed to manifest the place and time you’re in,” Schrager concludes. “I view New York as a very energised place, communal and always socialising. Unlikely people of all different ages sit and eat next to each other, dancing and talking, and that eclectic mix is what I really tried to capture.” With plans to roll-out “a bunch” more Public properties in the coming years, the concept itself may still be relatively young, but one suspects that Schrager’s vision for it stretches back long before the launch. Building on the visual provocation of his early work with service and accessibility to match, Schrager’s latest is a hotel where the city that never sleeps can rest its weary head.

sources: Sleeper, 01-02, 2018

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