American designer Kelly Wearstler describes how she worked with local artisans and artists on the Santa Monica Proper Hotel in this video produced by Dezeen for the AHEAD Awards.
Wearstler is the designer of Santa Monica Proper Hotel, a 271-room boutique hotel seven blocks away from the beach in Santa Monica, California.
Santa Monica Proper Hotel was named Hotel of the Year at the AHEAD Americas awards 2020
"We wanted to design a hotel where it felt like you're in Santa Monica," she said. "The inspiration came from everything that surrounds the hotel, the palm trees, the organic nature of the architecture, everything that you would find at the beach."
Natural and heavily textured materials, neutral colours and vintage furniture are used throughout the hotel to create a sensory experience that references Santa Monica's beachside identity.
"There is a connection of materiality that speaks to the location" said Wearstler. "Organic materials, neutral colour stories, everything has a texture."
"There's a patina, there's a hand, there's something that feels very warm."
The site comprises an historic 1920s building and a new curvilinear extension
The site consists of the 1920s Santa Monica Professional Building, to which an extension by local firm Howard Laks Architects was added.
"There's an historic building that was built in 1928, in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, and then there's a new contemporary building," ex...