High Design: 7 Rooftop Escapes
Shake equal parts design expertise and hospitality know-how to yield these seven rooftop escapes:
1. Firm: Alejandro Barrios Carrero Arquitectura/Diseño de Interiores.
Project: Juvia, Miami.
Standout: Winner of the 2013 James Beard Foundation Award for Restaurant Design and Graphics, the South Beach eatery garnishes a Herzog & de Meuron building with a 22-foot-tall plant wall by botanist Patrick Blanc and handwoven seating by Patricia Urquiola.
Photography: Michael Stavaridis.
2. Designers: Ken Friedman and Vanessa Guilford.
Project: Pod 39 Rooftop Lounge & Bar, New York.
Standout: Brick archways and terra-cotta columns of the 1918 Allerton House by Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon infuse a sense of history into a new Mexican cantina.
Photography: Annie Schlechter.
3. Firm: Stonehill & Taylor Architects.
Project: Refinery Hotel Rooftop, New York.
Standout: The interior of the space features a reclaimed wood ceiling from the building’s original water tower, a perfect balance with the exterior’s modern retractable glass roof and steel armature.
Photography: Courtesy of Refinery Hotel.
4. Firm: BraytonHughes Design Studios
Project: The Dec, The Ritz-Carlton Chicago.
Standout: A color-changing LED wave wall and a polished stainless steel sculpture by artist David Sorenson add a dash of glitz to this bar, perched 12 stories above the Magnificent Mile.
Photography: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Chicago.
5. Firm: Gulla Jonsdottir Design
Project: Stratus, Philadelphia.
Standout: Several parts of the lounge, from the 30-foot-long stainless steel fireplace to the poured concrete bar, draw inspiration from birds, feathers, and flying.
Photography: Cris Molina/Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group.
6. Firm: BBG-BBGM
Project: The Observatory, The Graham Georgetown, Washington.
Standout: A textured stainless steel bar topped with granite countertops rivals stunning views of Washington’s Kennedy Center and Watergate Hotel.
Photography: Daniel Swartz.
7. Firm: BBG-BBGM
Project: Rooftop at Revere, Boston.
Standout: Reclaimed wood monkeys by !nd!v!duals, an artist collective, guard Red Balau cabanas and oversized planters, filled to the brim with native New England foliage.
Photography: Courtesy of Revere Hotel Boston Common.
