Ritz Carlton Captures Soul of South Beach With Pioneering Design
April 8, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C.- The geometric pattern on a China cup and saucer inspired the theme of ''durable elegance'' powerfully palpable to guests at the new Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, confided its visionary, Christoph Zbinden.
Senior corporate director of food and beverage at the hotel, Zbinden has been granted unusually hefty latitude to furnish the Ritz so long as his ideas enhance its food and beverage business. His avant-garde, practical proposals and commitment to the bright, minimalist Miami Modern (MiMo) style of the 1950s has quickly earned Zbinden widespread acclaim since the property opened New Years Eve.
To stay on budget for the $200 million renovation of the landmark DiLido Hotel - the Ritz is in fact a reincarnation of a 1953 Morris Lapidus creation - Zbinden furnished the 375-room luxury hotel with durable, economical products from local suppliers.
''With Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, we took the classic design and heritage of architect Morris Lapidus, an icon of design in Miami Beach who designed Lincoln Road and the Fontainebleau Hotel,'' Zbinden said in an exclusive interview with F&FI Contract/Hospitality News. ''We carried through his original ideas into all that we did.''
Zbinden's team matched the original black terrazzo flooring in the lobby and mezzanine floors of the DiLido Hotel, and carried the geometric pattern of Mikasa's ''Satinique'' China into the hotel's napery and interior architecture.
''We wanted a sense of adventure,'' he said. ''We used 50s aluminum in our carts, platters, trays and handrails. We got rid of brass including the nameplates on the uniforms. We found high-quality resin fixtures from Lawrence Essentials in New York that fit what we wanted in the bathrooms, including large hurricane candle holders.''
Zbinden broke with Ritz's cookie-cutter style of hotel design, opting to revive the old-world charm of South Beach with custom-made art and furnishings. Lawrence Essentials President Barbara Kling designed a special amenities line for the Ritz-Carlton, including a soap dish, wastepaper basket and condiment dish. Rob Berman of Impulse developed 10 glassware designs, including water chalices, champagne flutes and tall piccolos in pastel green, rose and yellow, and martini glasses sporting a quirky ball design.
''We celebrated the uniqueness of every piece,'' Zbinden said. ''We always want to push the envelope a little further by what products we bring in. We want new vendors with new ideas wherever possible.''
Ginger Dearmas, Howard Design Group's lead designer for Ritz-Carlton, South Beach guestrooms and public spaces requested American of Martinsville custom case goods, Charter Furniture upholstery, P. Kaufmann fabrics, Spanish desk chairs imported by Astoria and Merit carpet.
By far the most stir has centered on the private beach lounges fashioned by Lee Goodman, chief designer at Miami's Pavilion Furniture Inc. The spacious, bedlike lounges feature privacy curtains, pillows, blankets and a Roman shade in the roof to protect against the sun. Pavilion also supplied stackable hammock sling chaise lounges, smaller canopy chaises for the pool decks and beach areas, and double cabana beds, all boasting white Sunbrella(r) solution-dyed acrylic by Glen Raven Mills.
''We don't have the space to store such furniture so it must be easily moved and stacked so that we can generate additional revenues out of nontraditional areas like the pool area,'' Zbinden said. ''At night, we do a good liquor business poolside using the cabanas as a platform.''
Zbinden credited his maintenance staff with helping him discover durable and economical furnishings. ''I have found there is never any integration between the interior designer and operations, so the design and product selection can become expensive to maintain and operate,'' he said. ''Operations, including maintenance and food and beverage, should be involved in interior decisions at the early stages.''
''What use is fine silk brocade on a bar sofa if it gets stained with red wine the first day of use and can't be easily cleaned? We need furniture that is versatile, can be moved without falling apart and that resists stains. What's the point of designing something that looks great for the first six months and then falls apart? We're interested in maintaining the look based on our housekeeping and maintenance capabilities.''
Zbinden replaced Frette, the Italian napery supplier traditionally used by Ritz-Carlton Hotels with Filadora, an Italian brand of 60/40 poly/cotton fabric with special yarn. ''We had 90x90 inch table linens come back from the laundry totally wrinkled. If we laundered the linen right, it would have cost us significantly more money,'' he said. ''Filadora was more expensive than cotton but softer and washed better.''
Ritz-Carlton, South Beach is owned jointly by Lionstone Group, Flag Finance and Investments Inc. and the McCann Group. They hired Miami architects and designers from Nichols Borsch Sandal & Associates, Inc. and Howard Design Group for the renovation.
Senior corporate director of food and beverage at the hotel, Zbinden has been granted unusually hefty latitude to furnish the Ritz so long as his ideas enhance its food and beverage business. His avant-garde, practical proposals and commitment to the bright, minimalist Miami Modern (MiMo) style of the 1950s has quickly earned Zbinden widespread acclaim since the property opened New Years Eve.
To stay on budget for the $200 million renovation of the landmark DiLido Hotel - the Ritz is in fact a reincarnation of a 1953 Morris Lapidus creation - Zbinden furnished the 375-room luxury hotel with durable, economical products from local suppliers.
''With Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, we took the classic design and heritage of architect Morris Lapidus, an icon of design in Miami Beach who designed Lincoln Road and the Fontainebleau Hotel,'' Zbinden said in an exclusive interview with F&FI Contract/Hospitality News. ''We carried through his original ideas into all that we did.''
Zbinden's team matched the original black terrazzo flooring in the lobby and mezzanine floors of the DiLido Hotel, and carried the geometric pattern of Mikasa's ''Satinique'' China into the hotel's napery and interior architecture.
''We wanted a sense of adventure,'' he said. ''We used 50s aluminum in our carts, platters, trays and handrails. We got rid of brass including the nameplates on the uniforms. We found high-quality resin fixtures from Lawrence Essentials in New York that fit what we wanted in the bathrooms, including large hurricane candle holders.''
Zbinden broke with Ritz's cookie-cutter style of hotel design, opting to revive the old-world charm of South Beach with custom-made art and furnishings. Lawrence Essentials President Barbara Kling designed a special amenities line for the Ritz-Carlton, including a soap dish, wastepaper basket and condiment dish. Rob Berman of Impulse developed 10 glassware designs, including water chalices, champagne flutes and tall piccolos in pastel green, rose and yellow, and martini glasses sporting a quirky ball design.
''We celebrated the uniqueness of every piece,'' Zbinden said. ''We always want to push the envelope a little further by what products we bring in. We want new vendors with new ideas wherever possible.''
Ginger Dearmas, Howard Design Group's lead designer for Ritz-Carlton, South Beach guestrooms and public spaces requested American of Martinsville custom case goods, Charter Furniture upholstery, P. Kaufmann fabrics, Spanish desk chairs imported by Astoria and Merit carpet.
By far the most stir has centered on the private beach lounges fashioned by Lee Goodman, chief designer at Miami's Pavilion Furniture Inc. The spacious, bedlike lounges feature privacy curtains, pillows, blankets and a Roman shade in the roof to protect against the sun. Pavilion also supplied stackable hammock sling chaise lounges, smaller canopy chaises for the pool decks and beach areas, and double cabana beds, all boasting white Sunbrella(r) solution-dyed acrylic by Glen Raven Mills.
''We don't have the space to store such furniture so it must be easily moved and stacked so that we can generate additional revenues out of nontraditional areas like the pool area,'' Zbinden said. ''At night, we do a good liquor business poolside using the cabanas as a platform.''
Zbinden credited his maintenance staff with helping him discover durable and economical furnishings. ''I have found there is never any integration between the interior designer and operations, so the design and product selection can become expensive to maintain and operate,'' he said. ''Operations, including maintenance and food and beverage, should be involved in interior decisions at the early stages.''
''What use is fine silk brocade on a bar sofa if it gets stained with red wine the first day of use and can't be easily cleaned? We need furniture that is versatile, can be moved without falling apart and that resists stains. What's the point of designing something that looks great for the first six months and then falls apart? We're interested in maintaining the look based on our housekeeping and maintenance capabilities.''
Zbinden replaced Frette, the Italian napery supplier traditionally used by Ritz-Carlton Hotels with Filadora, an Italian brand of 60/40 poly/cotton fabric with special yarn. ''We had 90x90 inch table linens come back from the laundry totally wrinkled. If we laundered the linen right, it would have cost us significantly more money,'' he said. ''Filadora was more expensive than cotton but softer and washed better.''
Ritz-Carlton, South Beach is owned jointly by Lionstone Group, Flag Finance and Investments Inc. and the McCann Group. They hired Miami architects and designers from Nichols Borsch Sandal & Associates, Inc. and Howard Design Group for the renovation.
