BDNY shortlists Hyatt Place/Hyatt House East Moline/Quad Cities lobby space for Gold Key Awards
Within the lobby of the new Hyatt Place/Hyatt House East Moline/Quad Cities, seating area wood walls and ceilings call to mind a circuit board, but they also resemble crop lines formed by farming combines. Rather than randomly selected décor, this is one of many examples of how the lobby’s design not only captures the hotels’ sophisticated brand, but also points to the Quad Cities’ industrial and agricultural heritage.
The lobby’s focus on the hotels’ surroundings, as well as its openness to both individual travelers and large groups, has earned it a spot as a finalist in BDNY’s Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design. The competition, sponsored by Boutique Design magazine, honors “the most influential and innovative design work in the international hospitality industry.”
“Guests and employees have applauded the lobby’s spaciousness, navigability, and modern design,” said Mike Zimmerman, President of Olympia Development. “The lobby and the entire facility set a design standard for the remainder of The Bend mixed-use development now in the works.”
The Hyatt Place/Hyatt House East Moline/Quad Cities was selected from among more than 430 entries as a Gold Key finalist. It was designed by Legat Architects and Sheedy/DeLaRosa Interiors and built by Russell. Olympia Hotel Management is the hotel operator.
Mary Scoviak, editor in chief of Boutique Design and conference director for BDNY, said, “Travelers want transformation. Hospitality owners, operators, and developers want differentiation. This year’s Gold Key finalists show how creatively designers are over-delivering for both guests and clients.”
Winners will be announced at the Gold Key Awards Gala on November 11 in New York.
From Large Groups to Individuals
The 150,000-square-foot Hyatt Place/Hyatt House East Moline/Quad Cities unites two hotel brands on the site of a former industrial facility. The lobby spaces respond to not only local residents, individual business travelers, and families, but also to larger groups from nearby manufacturing companies. Often, groups of 80 to 100 trainees stay at the hotel. During their training periods, they depart and return to the hotel by bus at the same times each day.
April Maifield, project manager with Legat, said, “The lobby is designed to welcome these larger groups and move them through the space efficiently without detracting from the experience of the individual guests.”
What helps is the lobby’s direct path between the vestibule, host desk, and elevator—though groups still have views into the more secluded areas, the layout discourages them from disrupting other guests. Designers devised other ways to accommodate diverse guest types. For instance, a decorative barn door hides a breakfast area when larger groups are gone to create a more intimate lobby experience.
Regional Reinvention
The lobby design modifies Hyatt’s brand standards to pay tribute to the facility’s immediate surroundings (i.e., the Mississippi River). It also reinvents the agricultural and industrial foundation of the entire Quad Cities region of Illinois and Iowa.
Natalie Sheedy of Sheedy/DeLaRosa Interiors said, “We used textures, patterns, and colors including earth and jewel tones to point to the facility’s heartland USA location.”
Last year, Element Moline, another partnership between Legat, Sheedy/DeLaRosa Interiors, and Russell, won the Gold Key Award in the “Best Hotel Focused Service” category.
Contact us to learn more hospitality design or comment below to share your thoughts on this post. Get the full story on the Hyatt Place/Hyatt House East Moline/Quad Cities or read April Maifield’s recent posts on hospitality design.
