Overseas Premier Hospitality

Moxy Times Square

Moxy
Written by Roma Publications

Moxy Times Square, New York

Moxy Times Square is situated in a 110-year old landmark building that was refurbished from top to bottom. With a nightclub like atmosphere that overflows with style and creativity, Moxy Times Square is the first Moxy in New York.

Moxy

Credit – Warren Jagger

The developer, Lightstone Group, acquired the 485 7th Avenue building in 2014 and transformed the interior into a micro-format lifestyle hotel with smartly designed and technologically advanced rooms coupled with energised public spaces. Understanding that visitors to New York looking for affordable accommodation are presented with a lacklustre choice, Lightstone President Mitchell Hochberg aimed to create a new paradigm for the modern traveller. “Today’s guests desire a high level of design and diverse food and beverage experiences,” Hochberg says. “We’re determined to prove that affordability doesn’t mean having to sacrifice style or comfort.” To bring Hochberg’s vision to life, Lightstone brought in a star team of design collaborators, including Yabu Pushelberg for interior design and Rockwell Group to create the restaurant and bar spaces.
Work on the project began in March 2014 by architectural firm Stonehill & Taylor. They were asked to reconfigure the existing office floor plates into a micro unit hotel programme, centred around lively public space offerings to accommodate the fun-hunting traveller.
Speaking to Premier Hospitality International magazine, Vince Stroop, Principal at Stonehill & Taylor said: “The 16-storey neo-Renaissance building had approximately 1,800 small dormitory room types, which were reworked into 612 well-appointed guest rooms, organised around two atriums. The building entry was reconfigured to provide a dramatic double height experience. There is also a 10,000 square-foot rooftop bar and lounge that is now one of the largest in Manhattan.”

Moxy
Yabu Pushelberg – best known for its lush designs at the top end of the hotel industry – designed the bedrooms at Moxy Times Square with Japanese ryokans as their inspirations, with the idea that ryokan evolves as its functions changes. This translated to a very simple design with completely versatile furniture. A chair, stool and table, fold up and hang on a peg wall when not in use and cubbies under the bed provide storage. Materials including leather, canvas and wood-grained flooring lend an organic sensibility and rather than traditional cable/satellite TVs guests can stream media from the internet directly to their mobile phones or tablets.
“Whether you’re designing a room that’s $150 or $1,500 a night, you have to pay the same attention to detail, to ergonomics, to how to live in the space,” says the firm’s principal Glenn Pushelberg. “Artfulness shouldn’t be dictated by room rates. The goal is the same: to create unique and interesting interiors.”
Impressive social spaces are built for co-working and play, encouraging visitors and locals to intermingle. The second-floor lobby is flooded with natural light during the day, thanks to the dramatic triple-height atrium skylight and has a magnificent copper-wrapped bar at its centre. On one side, a plug-and-play lounge offers flexible seating areas and power outlets galore for co-working. On the other side, divided from the bar area by sliding, copper-framed glass doors are three “studios” – flexible, multi-purpose spaces with state-of-the-art AV equipment that can be combined, providing 22,000 square feet of versatile event space for meetings, events or private parties. As the sun goes down, the entire area transforms seamlessly into a buzzing lounge with low seats and tables designed for versatility, adjusting easily to accommodate a single person on a laptop, a small group huddle or a larger gathering of friends.

Lightstone engaged TAO Group to oversee five new eating and drinking destinations at Moxy, including a seafood brasserie, an egg-centric all-day breakfast spot, a communal lobby bar, a twist on the traditional grab-and-go concept and the largest all-season hotel rooftop bar in New York City, open every night of the week.
Designed by Rockwell Group, the theme for Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge is ‘urban amusement park’, and a live DJ accompanied by epic views over the Empire State Building give the space a dynamic and distinctly Gotham appeal.

MunnWorks LLC specialise in the manufacture of bespoke mirrors, created to meet the unique specifications of hospitality designers worldwide. On Moxy Time Square, MunnWorks LLC manufactured a unique fun house mirror, consisting of a mix of convex and concave mirrors joined in an “L” shaped metal frame, for display in the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge. MunnWorks’ mirror is the first feature guests encounter when they step out of the elevator.

Moxy

Credit – Warren Jagger

MunnWorks LLC Marketing Manager, Brent Terry, said:

“Moxy Time Square transformed a historic building into a whimsical urban-industrial space, pushing the boundaries of a typical hotel experience that really allowed us to push the boundaries of a typical mirror. Our ‘Fun House’ mirror proves we are always open to new and exciting challenges.”

Also on the rooftop is carousel seating, an oversized topiary garden, a miniature putt-putt golf course, plus multiple bar and seating areas and light food including sausage and peppers, Maine Lobster roll, duck carnitas tacos and hamburgers.
Rockwell Group also designed two other dining destinations: seafood brasserie Legasea and breakfast spot Egghead. Work started in April 2016 and was completed in September 2017.
Shawn Sullivan, Partner at Rockwell Group said: “The client wanted each venue to feel unique. It was a chance to collaborate with the operator and invent a new collection of dining concepts that evolve throughout the hotel, from social dining and lounging to nightlife and play spaces. We thought about how the venues could appeal to hotel guests and locals alike, from day to night and offer something that the area didn’t have before. Each space has its own distinct look and feel that’s energetic and exciting. For example, Magic Hour is a modern reinterpretation of classic amusement parks. The rooftop lounge features multiple bars and seating areas, each with a distinct vibe and design sensibility. The arrival experience includes a dark and mysterious lobby with a giant custom funhouse mirror. Blown glass balloon pendants float above one bar, while another is covered by a cantilevered mirrored structure inspired by a champagne glass.”
Located just South of Times Square, Moxy sits at the electrifying epicentre of the city – where Uptown and Downtown collide, a New York minute from wherever you want to go.
For more information, visit: http://www.moxytimessquare.com

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Roma Publications