ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST: The Perfect Terrazzo Tile is Here
Today, ASH NYC—the multihyphenate AD100 design, product, and real estate development group—launches the colorful Siren Terrazzo tile collection in partnership with the British firm Balineum. The assortment is an almost exact replication of the shower cladding found at ASH NYC’s Siren Hotel, which is located in Detroit. Chief creative officer Will Cooper describes the tiles to AD PRO as “multi-chipped and brightly colored—they’re an extension of the stay-over experience.” The nexus of the Siren Collection, whose tiles are available in black, blue, red, green, white, and yellow (a new addition, as yellow tiling was cut from the hotel’s final design), started with the hotel building’s original 1926 Italian Renaissance–style design.
Cooper first saw the edifice approximately six years ago. “It had been abandoned for 30 years, but elements were left here, there, and everywhere,” he says. “One was a beautiful terrazzo staircase.” He soon began thinking about Italy, and the terrazzos he’d seen in and around Milan. From there, he considered another Detroit site: a place called The Guardian Building, which has a domed ceiling rendered in hues of red, green, and blue, with ceramic tiling manufactured by the local Pewabic Pottery group. The end result? The Siren Hotel’s super-saturated bathrooms, complete with glass blocks, which clash together something of an urbane 1920s intellect with a louche 1980s nostalgia.
ASH NYC custom-makes as much product as is possible for its properties. “We try to create everything but the drywall,” says Cooper, laughing. A retail-centric expansion is a sensible move—especially considering that clients often call to ask about buying everything from vanities to tiles—but, Cooper says, it has to be done with calibration. “When we make pieces for our hotels, we’re definitely thinking about bringing those pieces forward in a retail capacity, but it’s challenging. We produce a number of items for a hotel, but then we talk about doing ‘x’ amount more for people to buy. Definitely, though, there is this phenomenon of people wanting to recreate or at least partially re-create what they are seeing at the hotels.” (ASH NYC also currently operates The Dean in Providence, Rhode Island, and Peter & Paul, in New Orleans.)
A partner like Balineum, in this instance, fortifies the decision. With their expertise in selling and distribution (globally, not just in the U.K.), the joint collection will provide ASH NYC with further insight into the market. It should be noted: Cooper and his team have also fielded inquiries from prospective product customers who have never stepped foot inside the Siren Hotel, and have, instead, only seen it on Instagram.
The phenomenon of individuals wanting to channel hospitality design at home or in their personal lives is not new, but it has been picking up steam. Recall certain examples: In 2010, the jewelry label Lulu Frost made necklaces that featured original brass numbers taken from guest-room doors at the Plaza Hotel in New York, during the location’s period of remodeling and ownership changes. Or the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, which partnered with Gucci last year to create designer editions of its laundry bag, which sold for hundreds of dollars. Or Soho House, the global members’ club, which recently launched Soho Home. Or W Hotels, which has long sold a mattress with its own branding, made by Simmons. Clearly, the list goes on.
The foreseeable future may not involve frequent travel on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the at-home emulation of travel may well thrive. Or, a customer may just want a super retro, boldly unconventional shower stall. Whichever way, the Siren Collection is an experiment that smartly melds unique decor, singular destination association, and design savvy.
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