Above: The Roof features views over Manhattan and a scheme of steel, bronze and wood elements drawn from the environments below
Bathrooms meanwhile, feature custom Hansgrohe rain showers and mixing valves in champagne finish, alongside Laufen toilets. “We wanted the rooms to be cool, interesting and smart all at the same time, like a cabin on a yacht providing everything you need and nothing you don’t,” Schrager notes. “It’s all incredibly efficient.” A restrained collection of furnishings including an American black walnut stool that doubles as nightstand, and fluted blanched oak bench, may seem sparse, but what these spaces subtract in physical fittings they make up for in technological presence. An Evolve in-room control system, with precise switches for lighting, drapery and temperature, allows guests to customise their environment, whilst 12 subtly integrated USB ports mean there’s no lack of universal power. “It feels like we in the hotel world have been the last to respond to new technology,” Schrager laments. “I’m not talking about an iPad in your room, I’m talking about technology that makes your stay much less expensive and much more convenient. But it can’t be contrived – it can’t be technology for technology’s sake – it has to be meaningful.”
Higher still, and topping the project is The Roof, Public’s crowning jewel. Accessed by an elevator lit with kinetic neon blues at night in a call-back to Schrager’s nightclub days, the bar appears to float in the sky thanks to unobstructed views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Punctuating a steel, bronze and wooden scheme are pieces including a distressed marine bronze bar with tarnished gold finish, and details such as walls panelled in fluted black and woven horsehair. “When you create a hotel, you’re supposed to manifest the place and time you’re in,” Schrager concludes. “I view New York as a very energised place, communal and always socialising. Unlikely people of all different ages sit and eat next to each other, dancing and talking, and that eclectic mix is what I really tried to capture.” With plans to roll-out “a bunch” more Public properties in the coming years, the concept itself may still be relatively young, but one suspects that Schrager’s vision for it stretches back long before the launch. Building on the visual provocation of his early work with service and accessibility to match, Schrager’s latest is a hotel where the city that never sleeps can rest its weary head.
EXPRESS CHECK-OUT: 367 guestrooms | 2 restaurants | 3 bars | Event spaces | Gym | www.publichotels.com Owner/Operator/Developer: Ian Schrager Company | Architecture: Herzon & de Meuron | Interior Design: ISC Design Studio; Bonetti/Kozerski Landscaping: Madison Cox | Graphic Design: Baron & Baron | Lighting Design: Arnold Chan; Core; Fisher Marantz Stone
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