{"id":194623,"date":"2022-03-23T17:11:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T21:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=194623"},"modified":"2022-11-14T12:36:29","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T17:36:29","slug":"designagency-conjures-a-spirited-and-idiosyncratic-addition-to-torontos-drake-hotel","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/designagency-conjures-a-spirited-and-idiosyncratic-addition-to-torontos-drake-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"DesignAgency Conjures a Spirited and Idiosyncratic Addition to\u00a0Toronto\u2019s Drake Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The main bedroom in the rooftop suite, where seating is Anderssen & Voll\u2019s Oslo line from Muuto, is vivified by Jazmine Cardenas\u2019s shapely painted wall sculptures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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March 23, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Georgina McWhirter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Brandon Barr\u00e9<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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DesignAgency Conjures a Spirited and Idiosyncratic Addition to Toronto\u2019s Drake Hotel<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Toronto\u2019s Drake Hotel opened 17 years ago with interiors by +tongtong and became an instant \u201cart hotel classic\u201d: playful, creative, and deeply contextual to its West Queen West neighborhood that\u2019s rife with indie galleries, graffiti murals, and vintage stores. The new Modern Wing at the Drake\u2014a five-story addition to the original nineteenth-century Classic Wing\u2014is just as rooted in place. \u201cEveryone came to the project with a deep knowledge of the brand, the fabric of the neighbourhood and the cultural momentum of the area and the city at large,\u201d says Anwar Mekhayech, a founding partner at DesignAgency, which spearheaded the new interiors. \u201cIn fact, all our team both lives and works in the neighbourhood.\u201d That stood the firm, which also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Barcelona, in good stead when ideating the hotel\u2019s new lobby lounge and bar, meeting and event spaces, rooftop penthouse suite, and standard guest suites (32 additional rooms for a total of 51 overall). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with original Drake hotel designer John Tong of +tongtong<\/a>, the Drake’s in-house design team and building architect Diamond Schmitt Architects, DesignAgency drew inspiration from Art Deco, Hollywood glam, and Mid-Century Modern. \u201cThis intentional clashing is what gives a sense of fun and a luxuriously eclectic feeling,\u201d says Mekhayech. In the lobby, which sits at the intersection of the new building with the old, a walnut tambour banquette juxtaposes the organic roughness of a white-painted brick fireplace. Vintage furniture and lighting,\u00a0contemporary art (much of it site specific),\u00a0and terrazzo flooring composed of sweeping swirls fosters a lively, curated sensibility. \u201cAn important goal for this project was to make the Modern Wing feel exciting and new yet also as though it had always been there\u2014and will always be there,\u201d the designer explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DesignAgency<\/a>\u2019s team consists of avid travelers who understand the elements of a great hotel stay, which informed the multi-year design of the guest suites. Bold colors, intriguing wallpapers ranging from traditional Arts and Crafts to geometrics, and featured artists and artisans change from floor to floor. In each guest room, a built-in bed-bench-desk plays tribute to the original railcar-inspired rooms in the Drake Classic Wing. Topping it all off, quite literally, is the two-bedroom 1,000-square-foot rooftop suite, with wall-to-wall glass doors overlooking a large terrace and sartorial finishes, like a silver-gray wallcovering, that recall classic men\u2019s suiting fabrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lobby\u2019s wood tambour paneling and painted brick fireplace are paired with vintage furniture and lighting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Reception\u2019s Corian desk by Odami is surveyed by a sculptural brass light fixture by Concord; the lobby seating area\u2019s colorful wool rug is by Studio Watson and Kathy Grant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A long, narrow worktable allow for ad hoc hot desking within the communal buzz of the lobby; on the wall behind it is a biophilic paint on mylar artwork, Untitled (Wasteland) by Melanie Luna.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Guest room headboards integrate bench seating and storage; the canvas on the squiggle wallpaper is by Luke Van H.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wall-hung desks in canary yellow add vintage flair. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The kitchen in the rooftop suite features a terrazzo countertop and backsplash, stools from the Nerd series by Muuto, and a pendant light from Rich Brilliant Willing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The main bedroom in the rooftop suite, where seating is Anderssen & Voll\u2019s Oslo line from Muuto, is vivified by Jazmine Cardenas\u2019s shapely painted wall sculptures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The suite\u2019s bathroom, with multicolor marble wall tile laid in an Art Nouveau\u2013inspired pattern.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n