ART DECO STYLE & RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE
“With curious culture seekers in mind, global art installations curated by renowned local artists provide thought-provoking conversations and unique cultural experiences throughout the property.”
Delivering a distinct, multi-functional event destination and four-star hotel experience befitting the sophisticated urban traveller, Le Meridien Pasadena Arcadia’s design combines modernist features with Art Deco elements inspired by the nearby race track. Arcadia’s first four-star hotel features modern and sophisticated Art Deco style and pays homage to the city’s rich cultural heritage.
Located opposite the Santa Anita Racetrack the hotel celebrates the glamorous halcyon days of travel and the rich heritage of the area through illuminating textures and layers of sophisticated equestrian design, brought to life by Linda Snyder Associates and AO Architects.
The hotel features 234 thoughtfully designed rooms and suites, a fine dining restaurant, bar lounge, an outdoor heated pool and impressive 14,000 square feet of stylish event space in Los Angeles. Guest rooms and suites all have plush cottonrich linens and soft pillow top mattresses. The generous size rooms offer floor-toceiling glass windows and a colour palate that includes relaxing white, cream and grey.
With curious culture seekers in mind, global art installations curated by renowned local artists provide thoughtprovoking conversations and unique cultural experiences throughout the property. Various local artists were engaged and commissioned to create an iconic wall feature which comprises a multi-layered art piece involving multiple tradesman and artisans, working together, to create a large-scale, sophisticated layered landmark for the hotel and the city.
These two custom art installations – one facing the main street and one
flanking the onsite boulevard, were key to the design, inspired by the swish of a horse’s tail and the colourful peacock representing the city of Arcadia. The main street art wall installation features silver inlays coated in iridescent paint on an opaque charcoal background, while a bright accent piece replicating the peacock tail pattern provides a pop of colour and brightness to this wall. The other installation recreates the same horse tail pattern over a transparent golden wall with internally illuminated curvaceous forms protruding in front of the golden glass. From the exterior the glass glows with a sophisticated semitransparent gold tone. From inside the lobby, the glazing provides a tinted bronze look, which ties to the metal work of the interior design. The horsetail pattern is created using curved U channel pieces, bent to match the architect’s curves and graphic design, fitted with a lens, and internally illuminated to pronounce the pattern at night. The accent piece of the peacock’s tail feather was carefully built by Old California Lighting in the city of Orange. It is made up of a support framework which holds together multiple pieces of metal, and installed over the glazing, mounting to the curtain wall with custom stanchions. The final layer of the art feature wall is the lighting that was carefully designed and focused by First Circle design to provide the overall glow to the golden glazing, and to highlight the peacock feather accent pieces to reflect the light at different angles, and to sparkle as the accent piece.
The design works well as an authentic representation of the city and community, while providing the form, function, and sophistication of an elevated hospitality experience. The architecture draws inspiration from the adjacent 1934 artdeco Santa Anita Park, with its façade incorporating colour and decorative
schemes that nod to the racetracks, such as fascia elements adorned with scallop patterns emblematic of the Art Deco movement. Residents and visitors alike can connect to the location and history of the place.
The design integrates well into the existing fabric of the city while also establishing a unique identity for the new destination. The six-story hotel provides sweeping views of the San Gabriel Mountains, and great vantage points of the Santa Anita racetracks, the oldest thoroughbred horse racetrack in Southern California, and the Arcadia County Park located across the street.
AO Architects have been shortlisted for the Hotel Over 200 Rooms – Global Award in The International Hotel and Property Awards. When asked about the Awards, Vickie Oshima, Director of Marketing at AO Architects stated “The International Hotel & Property Awards provides a global stage to showcase our capabilities as a firm. It would be a tremendous accomplishment being voted as one of the best in our industry by fellow hotel and design industry professionals”.
The new hotel brings Le Méridien’s distinctive European heritage to the Southern California destination. Both the architecture and interior design take cues from the brand’s mid-century modern design aesthetic combined with a myriad of sophisticated touches and art installations that pay homage to the rich equestrian heritage of the city of Arcadia.
