Brooklyn Design at City Modern

The newly opened Wythe Hotel proved to be an apt setting for the City Modern Brooklyn Design panel. A converted warehouse turned boutique hotel, the Wythe is a fine case study in the types of decisions that seem most relevant to design in Brooklyn today—a respect for the old alongside a desire to create something new.

New York magazine's Wendy Goodman lead the panel featuring restauranteur Andrew Tarlow, architect Morris Adjmi, and hotel designer Stefanie Brechbuehler of Workstead. The group discussed the various moves that make the hotel emblematic of the borough's sensibility—the exposed brick walls and timber ceilings, and the extensive ironwork remaining from the building's past life as a factory.

The panelists, from left to right: designer Stefanie Brechbuehler, restauranteur Andrew Tarlow, moderator Wendy Goodman, and architect Morris Adjmi.

“We wanted to bring this old building into the present and future,” Tarlow explains to the crowd. “It was just a question of how to respect and love the building itself.” Hotel designer Stefanie Brechbuehler agrees, saying that a big part of her job was simply “listening to what the building was telling us.”

When deciding upon a front door for the hotel's scoop entrance, Brechbuehler found the idea of a traditional doorway appalling and so created a curved front door that integrated naturally into the brick entryway. Building architect Morris Adjmi, of Morris Adjmi Architects, points out they did make one dramatic move: they decided to slice off half the building to make way for the glass addition. That meant integrating modern windows into the new building wall, which weren't designed to blend in seamlessly with the rest of the brick exterior.

Architect Morris Adjmi explains the complexities of removing a large chunk of the Wythe Hotel building to make way for a glass addition. "We treated this building like it was precious, but we also sliced a part of the building off," he says.

The Williamsburg neighborhood in which the Wythe Hotel was built is not a protected landmark district. “You can do whatever you want here,” Tarlow says. Adjmi chimes in, saying that it was “okay to have a mix in this neighborhood,” although he points out there are more than a few new developments less than pleasing to the eye.

“Hopefully the more projects like this, the better quality we can expect for the neighborhood,” Tarlow adds. (Another boutique hotel is planned a few blocks away, so perhaps Tarlow can expect better quality and competition.)

Adjmi speaks at greater length on developing in landmarked, historic districts of Brooklyn, and how “development is in many cases frowned upon.” The goal of his firm to convince community boards that what they're pursuing is good for the neighborhood and can be contextual and different at the same time, says Adjmi.

Brechbuehler warns against the obsession many designers have to mimic the old, and the difficulty of “creating something that feels like it's already been there.” She says there are some spaces she's visited and wondered: “Is this Brooklyn or the Epcot Center?”

Dwell event at Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn New York

Andrew Tarlow spoke at length on what it took to get this hotel up and running. "No one thought people would actually come here, and stay here," he says of the hotel.

An audience member asks the panelists what they envisioned to "Brooklyn design" to be, and if the inherent grit Brooklyn has long been associated with will remain. Their answers varied but hit similar points. “We're always encountering older buildings that need to be taken apart and rebuilt, and that's unique to Brooklyn,” says Tarlow. “It's a question of keeping the existing character and repurposing it.” Brechbuehler says her firm simply tries to be “mindful of the spaces we're given.” And Adjmi sums it up: “I see honesty, authenticity, and funkiness in Brooklyn. Most importantly, it's not homogeneous.”

Audience members asked questions about the rapidly changing neighborhood of Williamsburg, the nature of Brooklyn design, and the effect of Brooklyn outside the city itself.

City Modern: Day Three
New Face of Affluence Presentation sponsored by Miele 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Avenue, New York, $20

Michela O’Connor Abrams, President, Dwell Media presents the New Face of Affluence, a study on emerging trends, shifting attitudes, and changed purchase behaviors of the “new affluents”. The results illustrate the reach and influence of the affluent design-centric consumer and the impact their purchasing power has on making or breaking brands across all industries. We learn which brands exemplify “good design” as defined by them. We put social media under the microscope in this year’s survey, looking closely at how they use social media, and what impact marketers can expect from their social media efforts. Lastly, we ask them to explore “authenticity” by defining it for us and identifying which brands they perceive as authentic. Sponsored by Miele.

Women in Design Panel sponsored by Vitra 6:30–9:00 p.m., Vitra, 29 Ninth Avenue, New York, $20
This panel will discuss the role of women in the design industry and how a female perspective helps to define modern design today. Critic Alexandra Lange will moderate a panel of award-winning female architects—including Galia Solomonoff, Claire Weisz of WXY Design, and Marion Weiss of Weiss/Manfredi—on their experiences in a male-dominated field and how the gender landscape has changed since the start of their own careers. Plus, we’ll take a barometer reading on Architect Barbie: How do pink and blue toys influence gender stereotypes for future designers? Sponsored by Vitra.

Brooklyn Design Panel Discussion with Andrew Tarlow and Friends at the Wythe Hotel 6:30–8:30 p.m., Wythe Hotel, 80 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, $20
Restaurateur Andrew Tarlow, architect Morris Adjmi and designer Stefanie Brechbuehler of Workstead discuss the changing face of Brooklyn. The minds behind the Wythe, the first boutique hotel this side of the East River, examine the gentrification of the neighborhood of Williamsburg and how it has paved the way for a new breed of design-centric high-end developments in Brooklyn. Moderated by Wendy Goodman, New York magazine.
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Workstead Lighting

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Restaurant Design Awards

For the sixth year, AIA Los Angeles's Restaurant Design Awards will be announced at Dwell on Design.