hospitalitystyle.com

(July 2008) posted on Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:49pm EDT

By Mary Scoviak

The design world will always have its divas, but most of them won't be getting projects like MGM Mirage's $9 billion-plus CityCenter or The Peninsula Tokyo.

Monovision is losing its appeal for operators and owners alike, even when it's applied by a who's who like CityCenter's architectural team: Foster + Partners; Gensler; Helmut Jahn; Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects; Rockwell Group; RV Architecture (led by Rafael Vinoly) and Studio Daniel Libeskind. Their style, their understanding of MGM Mirage's goals and their creativity all played a role in the commission decision, says Sven Van Assche, MGM Mirage Design Group vice president. But there was another deal-maker that's not so obvious: a mandate that all the firms involved be willing to set celebrity aside and become team players.

Wasn't there tension with power players like this? "I'm not going to diss-because there's nothing to diss," says Van Assche. "One of our selection criteria was, ‘What kind of egos are we dealing with?' We knew it would be a challenge for these firms to work alongside the same people they compete with every day. So we laid out clear guidelines: Each firm would have the opportunity to make an individual statement, to work within its own scope. But its staff would have to work collaboratively to deliver the urban environment we envisioned."

Van Assche liked the resulting dynamic. The firms weren't exactly looking over their shoulders at their competitors, but they were aware of how high the aesthetic bar was being set. Not only did that push them to outperform, but it also opened the way for cross-pollination that Van Assche says benefited the overall design impact of the project. In his view, no single firm could have delivered the variety essential to a re-imagined urban core.

Another high-profile player who's dealt with the teamwork conundrum is celebrity designer Todd Oldham (who did the Fairfax, South Beach in Miami and Esquire House in Los Angeles). His view is that working within the collaborative crucible requires changes in scheduling, processes and procedures. "For example, architects are linear thinkers; interior designers are not. Finding ways to bridge that gap is one of the central issues that needs to be addressed when working on a project," he said at a recent industry event.

Growing your business opportunities also means developing better communication skills with operational stars, from chefs such as Wolfgang Puck to spa operators such as ESPA, which designed The Peninsula Tokyo's spa. "If you want to build a partnership with a celebrity chef, another designer or a specialty operator, you have to understand the vision, the direction, how the restaurant or spa fits into the market-or the project," says Jennifer Johanson, president and ceo, EDG Interior Architecture + Design, San Rafael, Calif., whose firm works frequently with Puck. "But to make it work, you have to get specific. If the chef wants a see-and-be-seen restaurant, you might use walls of glass. If he or she wants something intimate, you'd spec decorative glass."

She sees this new collaborative era as a time when designers will have to adapt quickly to different styles and project goals. "The worst thing a designer can do in this business climate is to insist on making an ego statement. If a project looks like you, you've failed. It has to look like the client. He or she owns it, and has to run it successfully. You don't," Johanson says.