25 Years Of AvroKO Upon celebrating a milestone anniversary, the Founding Partners of AvroKO discuss the past, present and future of hospitality design.
© Susan Shek
Adam Farmerie, Kristina O’Neal, William Harris and Greg Bradshaw founded AvroKO in 2001, combining their expertise in architecture, interiors, art and branding. Headquartered in New York, the multidisciplinary firm also has offices in London, Bangkok, Miami and San Francisco. Key Projects: 1 Hotel, New York; Tri Vananda, Phuket; Arlo Soho, New York; The Hoxton, Chicago (F&B); Centara Reserve, Koh Samui; The Jay, San Francisco; Perry Lane Hotel, Savannah; W Prague; Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, Dubai (F&B); Six Senses, London
B
uilt on the foundation of life-long
consistent. What has changed is our scale and
friendship,
a
expansion in such a variety of regions. Early
reputation for its richly layered interiors,
on, we were focused on high-end restaurants
holistic approach and narrative-driven process.
and cheeky bar projects: what a purely playful
Now, a quarter of a century after the studio’s
time! As the studio grew, clients began asking
inception, its Founding Partners – Adam
us to shape much more structured hotel and
Farmerie, William Harris, Kristina O’Neal and
resort experiences, which brings narrative and
Greg Bradshaw – reveal more about the journey
environmental psychology to a whole new level.
AvroKO
has
earned
so far.
ON THE INITIAL VISION
one story. Now we think more about how a place
Adam Farmerie: When we established AvroKO
lives over decades, and likely tells a lot of diverse
in 2001, we were coming from an idea-driven
stories under the master theme. Materials,
position rather than solely an interiors ‘line, form
cultural relevance and operational logic have
and space’ perspective. At the time, hospitality
always been part of our mission though.
interiors were often clean and sometimes
The studio has also become global, which has
formulaic. We also wanted to design spaces that
had a positive impact on nearly everything we do.
felt emotionally alive, rather than austere or
That forces a huge shift in cultural understanding
commercially generic. We believed hotels and
and how hospitable thinking is applied to design.
restaurants could carry narrative, history, craft
Creating in varied places such as Bangkok,
and emotional charge.
Prague, Dubai or Tokyo requires deep cultural
The four of us also came from different disciplines: architecture, interiors, art and branding. From the beginning, we treated
immersion and observation before any design process is even touched.
projects as complete conceptual worlds rather
ON MILESTONE PROJECTS
than isolated interiors. This meant concept,
Kristina O’Neal: Host on Howard is a gallery and
story, graphics, objects and spatial design all
gathering space at the intersection of food, wine,
working in synergy - when we got it perfectly
art and design. It brings people from different
spot on! It has taken a good deal of refinement
parts of the making world into the same room
over the years.
and creates a shared experience that feels both
ON ITS EVOLUTION William Harris: The core philosophy has stayed
046
Another shift is longevity. In the early years, a project might be about a single great space with
subconscious and tangibly human. It’s all about connection and belonging inside those four walls. What makes it a milestone is the way it collapses