The restaurant’s chiaroscuro painting, which evokes the easy, well-lubricated sodality of Broadway in its heyday, exemplifies Despont’s use of contemporary artworks (including a double-height mural in the lobby) to locate the design in past and contemporary times. Indeed, “I have difficulty distinguishing history from today,” Despont admits. “If you do a new building, why not bring in elements from the past that resonate?” Photo 7 of 10 in The Chatwal Hotel by Marc Kristal

The Chatwal Hotel

7 of 10

The restaurant’s chiaroscuro painting, which evokes the easy, well-lubricated sodality of Broadway in its heyday, exemplifies Despont’s use of contemporary artworks (including a double-height mural in the lobby) to locate the design in past and contemporary times. Indeed, “I have difficulty distinguishing history from today,” Despont admits. “If you do a new building, why not bring in elements from the past that resonate?”