Since she was a child growing up in Detroit, Kimberly Dowdell, the former president of NOMA and principal in the Chicago office at HOK, saw how the built environment can improve the quality of urban life, leading her to pursue degrees in both public policy and architecture. This summer, amid Black Lives Matter protests and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, NOMA—with Kimberly at the helm—addressed these twin crises by emphasizing the importance of mentorship, representation, inclusivity, and equity. This shift to advocacy and empowering communities has been a big part of Dowdell's journey, allowing her to tap into a reservoir of resilience, she says, that keeps her fighting for another day to do the work that’s so important.

Hospitality Design: What I've Learned

Episode 58: Kimberly Dowdell, HOK

Prolific designer and architect Jeffrey Beers grew up traveling the world with his parents, which instilled in him a love of hospitality and design—a skill he honed under a who’s who of mentors, including Dale Chihuly, Oscar Niemeyer, and I.M. Pei. For the self-described rebel entrepreneur, his passion for the industry is as present today as it was more than three decades ago, cementing his legacy as one of the forefathers of hospitality design today.

Episode 57: Jeffrey Beers

On this week’s What I’ve Learned podcast, hoteliers Alex and Carrie Vik of Vik Retreats discuss their properties, primarily found in South America, and sustainably immersing guests into their natural surroundings. In this illuminating conversation, the couple details how they first fell in love with Uruguay on family vacations and holidays before building properties there. They also speak to their passions for wine, art, agriculture, and the little things that make a design work.

Episode 56: Vik Retreats

Long-time friends and partners at Toronto-based studio DesignAgency, Allen Chan, Matt Davis, and Anwar Mekhayech, discuss their beginnings working in restaurants and designing hotel branding before taking on sizable projects such as The Generator and Momofuku. Our extensive conversation puts their energy and kinship on display as they detail how they came together, their studio’s ethos, and what’s next for hospitality design.

Episode 55: Allen Chan, Matt Davis, Anwar Mekhayech, DesignAgency

Among her many accomplishments, the tennis superstar has found time to launch her own design firm, V Starr Interiors, as well as start her own fashion brand, EleVen. Unsurprisingly, Williams is driven by a competitive spirit that has made her a noteworthy contender on and off the court.  This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Episode 8: Venus Williams, founder, V Starr Interiors

London born and raised designer Tara Bernerd’s sprawling career spans leaving school at age 16, a stint at Vogue magazine, and invaluable industry experience at London firm YOO before setting off to build her own firm. She credits her greatest inspirations and mentors as journalist Jane Mulvagh, design legends John Hitchcox and Philippe Starck, as well as her father, who she says taught her her greatest lesson to date. In our conversation, she details her work with Equinox Hotels, her favorite travel destinations, and dealing with COVID-19.

Episode 54: Tara Bernerd, Tara Bernerd & Partners

Though born in Ohio, award winning chef and restauranteur Andrew Carmellini’s Italian roots have pervaded much of his storied career, which includes New York City mainstays new and old, from Locanda Verde, The Dutch, and Bar Primi to across the East River with Leuca and Westlight in the new William Vale. The James Beard and Michelin star honoree talks through his foundational trips through Italy and France’s respective wine countries, cooking for the Cuomos, the cities that entice him outside the Big Apple, and much, much more.

Episode 53: Andrew Carmellini

Sheldon Scott is an artist of many disciplines based in Washington, DC who is bringing attention to the crucial issues of racial inequality and systemic racism through his work. In fact, he was among the inaugural finalists in performance art for the Smithsonian’s 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, for which he kneeled on a burlap sack and hulled rice for six days straight as a tribute to his ancestors. Scott started his career in psychology, finding Boys & Girls Club of America before diving into the art world. Today, he is also the director of culture at Eaton DC, entering the hospitality fray with a brand committed to activism and inclusivity. In our fascinating interview, Scott clued us in on what makes his artistic and entrepreneurial mind tick.

Episode 52: Sheldon Scott, Sheldon Scott Studios

Industry legend Roger Thomas, the designer behind such iconic Las Vegas mainstays as the Wynn and the Bellagio, details his entire career from first meeting Steve Wynn to taking his work across the globe and starting his own product line. Full of anecdotes from his stories history on the Vegas strip and beyond, the endlessly charming Thomas reflects on his career while offering sage advice for the creatives dreaming up tomorrow's future.

Episode 51: Roger Thomas, The Roger Thomas Collection

Inspiring architect Danish Kurani is not only rethinking the design of our educational institutions, but innovating the entire concept as well. A true disruptor, Danish has a simple mission to build projects with empathy and humanity by abashedly challenging the status quo. Whether he’s spearheading and enriching designs for Google’s Code Next Stem Lab in Oakland, California, Black Girls Code in New York, or the upcoming Riverbend school in India, Danish says he wants to solve society’s greatest problems with socially aware, inclusive, and democratic design solutions. They are using design for good, he says, to build things that make people’s lives better.

Episode 50: Danish Kurani

In a previously recorded episode, the iconic Ian Schrager joined editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen for a fireside chat during HD's Elevate conference held in October in New York. During the hourlong discussion, Schrager was candid about his Studio 54 days and his friendship with longtime business partner Steve Rubell. No matter the role, he says he's always striving to push experience over the edge. This episode was brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com

Episode 29: Ian Schrager

Chef Daniel Boulud is known for his career-defining time at Le Cirque and the award-winning Daniel. The success of the fine dining institution led to his growing food empire, but Boulud's influence reaches outside of the kitchen. Beyond Michelin Stars and James Beard Awards, he considers cultivating young talent one of his greatest accomplishments. While the industry may have to be reimagined in this new reality, he says, the one thing it won’t lose is its talent, passion, and commitment.

Episode 49: Chef Daniel Boulud

Hong Kong-based designer and architect Joyce Wang made a name for herself with the career-defining Ammo and Mott 32 restaurants in Hong Kong. She continues to impress with notable launches like the spa and wellness component of the inaugural Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards New York. The space embodies her skills as a designer: She takes time to understand the context of the project and then, she says, she chips away at it until it reveals something beautiful.

Episode 48: Joyce Wang, Joyce Wang Studio

Richmond International's Fiona Thompson started her career at the London-based firm in the 1980s and returned once again in 1992 as Richmond was entering a new chapter. In the last 30 years, Thompson has been integral in helping the firm grow its hospitality practice, designing notable projects like the Langham Chicago and the Four Seasons Budapest. In her tenure, she has taken a design-first perspective in running the company, cultivating young talent and encouraging designers to be open to what’s next.

Episode 47: Fiona Thompson, Richmond International

Not only a prolific chef and restaurateur, Marcus Samuelsson is the author of a number of cookbooks, including The Rise, which celebrates contemporary Black cooking through the lens of the most influential Black chefs in the field. It embodies his mission to reclaim Black culinary traditions while energizing a new generation of chefs. 

Episode 46: Chef Marcus Samuelsson

In this new series, Hospitality Design magazine's editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen will talk with influential hotel and design leaders on how they got to where they are today, what drives them, and their biggest lessons learned navigating an ever-changing industry. 

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Hospitality Design: What I've Learned

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