PEACE BROKER
Luxury hotel design veteran JEAN-MICHEL GATHY has completed his 11th Aman property at Manhattan’s iconic Crown Building. He tells ZANETA CHENG about the similarities between hotels and cars, the beauty of geometry and how Aman New York is an oasis of calm
JEAN-MICHEL GATHY knows a thing or two about luxury hospitality because he’s been designing resorts and hotels that most only dream of for four decades. A Belgian national whose design firm Denniston is based in Kuala Lumpur, Gathy had designed 10 Aman resorts before adding the newly opened Aman New York to his list. Gutting and redesigning the hotel across the fourth to 26th floors of the city’s storied Crown Building, Gathy applied the geometric lines and proportions he is known for, giving the vertical space the same feeling as the more horizontal resorts that Aman has within its portfolio.
At Aman New York, you’ve designed many areas that allow guests to experience a one- of-a-kind Asian-inspired retreat in the heart of Manhattan. How did you conceive the design for these spaces and give them a common design identity while making sure each one was unique?
This is very simple. Let me share the example of BMW: the M2, M3, M4, M5, the 7 Series and the 8 Series. They are all BMWs and look alike, but they have different engines, different stability systems, different interiors, different seats, some of them are coupes and some are not. This is the same for design. You keep within the same line, same proportion and same philosophy, but you give different facilities – whether it’s the swimming pool or treatment room, they are both equipped with a fireplace. The travellers can still experience the peacefulness and have an exceptionally good level of acoustics.