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Hotel & Conference Center

Prize(s) Honorable Mentions
Company Cooley Monato Studio
Lead Designers Emily Monato
Completion Date Spring 2017 - Winter 2017
Project Location Queens, New York
Entry Description

As part of the recent comprehensive renovation and restoration of Eero Saarinen's 1962 "Jet-Age" landmark building at a NYC airport, a new 512-room hotel and conference center were created to support the newly re-purposed iconic concrete and glass flight center. Twin hotel buildings flanking the flight center are connected via a 50,000SF subterranean conference center and lounge located 40' below a mock runway and vintage airplane refurbished as a cocktail lounge. Within the conference center, the impression of diffused daylight is created by lay lights at the meeting rooms and ballroom clerestory. Custom 6’ diameter decorative pendants were designed to provide ambient lighting to the 21' high ballroom with a smaller version designed for the landmarked junior ballroom. Throughout the new construction, the lighting recalls period 1960s geometry with 2700K LEDs dimmable to 1%. Below coves, projectors cast circular patterns onto circulation floors. To maximize ceiling heights, recessed depths were limited resulting in a design of mostly indirect illumination from various lighting details into which nearly six miles of ultra low-wattage linear LED tape are architecturally integrated.