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By Jana Schiowitz
Photography by David Phelps (guestrooms, guest corridors, and lobby) and John Clark (public spaces)
After working with Provenance Hotels on art hotel Hotel Max, Portland-based design firm CorsoStaicoff pitched a big idea to the hotel company—to design the world’s first hotel dedicated to glass art. Provenance loved the concept, and the aptly named Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington, was created.
Principals Denise Corso and James Staicoff mixed influences from the local community (Tacoma loves its glass; there's a pedestrian bridge made of glass and even a museum dedicated to it) and the global community (a 100-foot-high steel-and-plate glass feature by Greek sculptor Costas Varotsos graces the hotel's facade), bringing in work from more than 40 glass artists to "humanize the glass art experience," says Corso. And since the hotel was such a massive space (formerly the Tacoma Sheraton), the firm collaborated with Tessa Papas, an art curator whom they had worked with before, to select the artists for the 321 guestrooms, 16 suites, and public areas.
Each of the 21 guestroom floors showcases a different artist's work. Stepping off the elevator, guests enter a gallery-style space where the artist's name and commentary are etched on a glass wall in front of the final sculptural piece; photographs in the corridor show the artist at work; and guestrooms showcase the creative process through sketches and drawings. The modern rooms also feel gallery-like with white bedding, white tufted headboards, off-white walls, gray carpeting, and dark wenge wood furniture, which allow bright lavender, blue, orange, and red hues found on custom glass bedside lamps, chaises, throw pillows, desk chairs, and doors to pop.
In the lobby, exposed concrete, expansive glass, high ceilings, and terrazzo floors made with chips of glass provide a perfect backdrop for large glass sculptural installations: a glass chandelier by Venetian artist Massimo Micheluzzi; backlit front desk glass panels by Orfeo Quagliata; and drawings of Tacoma's own Dale Chihuly's famed Macchia series found around the reception area.
"[We] were all committed to making the Hotel Murano a reality," says Staicoff. "It's as if all the disciplines working together created a soul." Similarly, Corso likens the project to a quote by Maya Angelou: "Not everything you create will be a masterpiece, but you get out there and you try and sometimes, it really happens." "This time it really happened," she says.
For more information, visit www.corsostaicoff.com or www.hotelmuranotacoma.com.
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Touch of Glass
May 6, 2008By Jana Schiowitz
Photography by David Phelps (guestrooms, guest corridors, and lobby) and John Clark (public spaces)
After working with Provenance Hotels on art hotel Hotel Max, Portland-based design firm CorsoStaicoff pitched a big idea to the hotel company—to design the world’s first hotel dedicated to glass art. Provenance loved the concept, and the aptly named Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington, was created.Principals Denise Corso and James Staicoff mixed influences from the local community (Tacoma loves its glass; there's a pedestrian bridge made of glass and even a museum dedicated to it) and the global community (a 100-foot-high steel-and-plate glass feature by Greek sculptor Costas Varotsos graces the hotel's facade), bringing in work from more than 40 glass artists to "humanize the glass art experience," says Corso. And since the hotel was such a massive space (formerly the Tacoma Sheraton), the firm collaborated with Tessa Papas, an art curator whom they had worked with before, to select the artists for the 321 guestrooms, 16 suites, and public areas.
Each of the 21 guestroom floors showcases a different artist's work. Stepping off the elevator, guests enter a gallery-style space where the artist's name and commentary are etched on a glass wall in front of the final sculptural piece; photographs in the corridor show the artist at work; and guestrooms showcase the creative process through sketches and drawings. The modern rooms also feel gallery-like with white bedding, white tufted headboards, off-white walls, gray carpeting, and dark wenge wood furniture, which allow bright lavender, blue, orange, and red hues found on custom glass bedside lamps, chaises, throw pillows, desk chairs, and doors to pop.
In the lobby, exposed concrete, expansive glass, high ceilings, and terrazzo floors made with chips of glass provide a perfect backdrop for large glass sculptural installations: a glass chandelier by Venetian artist Massimo Micheluzzi; backlit front desk glass panels by Orfeo Quagliata; and drawings of Tacoma's own Dale Chihuly's famed Macchia series found around the reception area. "[We] were all committed to making the Hotel Murano a reality," says Staicoff. "It's as if all the disciplines working together created a soul." Similarly, Corso likens the project to a quote by Maya Angelou: "Not everything you create will be a masterpiece, but you get out there and you try and sometimes, it really happens." "This time it really happened," she says. For more information, visit www.corsostaicoff.com or www.hotelmuranotacoma.com.
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