INTERVIEW: YABU PUSHELBERG
He’s got a big personality, but he’s also self deprecating. He’ll make you work hard to make sure things are right; you’ve got to have respect for someone like that.
Tokyo. They wanted to create a contemporary Four Seasons hotel, and they weren’t sure what to do, because they’d always built what I describe as our grandmothers’ bedrooms. They hired us, a young firm from Toronto, to create something different. We made a very beautiful, timeless Japanese hotel. Four Seasons has a lot of rules and guidelines regarding the design of their hotels, to ensure they are of a similar consistent quality. The challenge lies in convincing them to move forwards. On the back of that first project in Japan, we built a relationship with Four Seasons, and they’ve allowed us to break some of their rules along the way. The Four Seasons New York Downtown is the counterpoint to Four Seasons’ existing hotel in Midtown Manhattan, which is a big, grand hotel done in a modern way. The Four Seasons Downtown is an intimate, asymmetrical, younger, more modern but tasteful and stylish hotel. I’m proud that we are moving their style forwards with them, because they need to do that as a company.
What do you think he respects about you? GY: I think he likes the fact that we challenge him. We can have a heated debate with him. GP: When we did the London Edition he had this idea in his head that the public spaces should be very grand, and that the furniture and furnishings should be modern. Upstairs, in the guest rooms, he thought we should do the opposite, make the rooms modern and the furniture very ornate. George and I said, ‘We don’t think this is a good way to go, Ian, it’s going to look like the Sanderson, it doesn’t feel right.’ He got mad, and so we built the room, his way, much to our chagrin. Once it was done, he asked us what we thought. We said, ‘Ian, we hate the room’. Ian listened and said, ‘You know what? You’re right. Let’s start over.’ I admire him because he has strong opinions, but when he’s wrong he’ll admit it.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PARK HYATT
You designed the interiors for the recently opened Four Seasons Downtown New York. How was that experience? We’ve had a wonderful relationship with Four Seasons for a long time. They first hired us in 2000 to create the interiors for the Four Seasons Tokyo, Marunouchi, a tiny hotel in downtown
The Cipher lighting collection features etched crystal joined by polished champagne-gold connections
You recently worked with Lasvit to create the Cipher lighting collection. What was the inspiration for that range? GP: We previously worked with Lasvit on huge diamond-like chandeliers at the Four Seasons Kuwait,. The inspiration for the collection came when we visited Lasvit in Prague. George held a piece of etched crystal up to a light and it emitted beautiful lines of light through the etchings. We said, gosh, this would make an incredible fixture, and the idea was born.
The Park Hyatt Bangkok (below). YP also designed the Park Hyatt New York
CLAD mag 2017 ISSUE 3
CLADGLOBAL.COM 89