Now rising in the Big Apple, the 70-story Central Park Marriott will be the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere when completed by CNY Group. The $200 million project, with structural engineering by WSP, reflects the generally upbeat mood in the hospitality market.
“Globally, hotel operating fundamentals are poised to remain strong in 2013,” says Mark Wynne-Smith, Global CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels and Hospitality Group. Despite some economic stressors, JLL believes supply and demand, availability of investment capital (especially from private equity funds), and REIT stock prices all point to “an attractive environment” for hotel business worldwide.
TOP HOTEL ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
2012 Hospitality Revenue ($)1 Gensler $69,090,0002 WATG / Wimberly Interiors $54,713,0003 HKS $32,000,0004 Leo A Daly $19,999,6215 RTKL Associates $19,730,0006 Hnedak Bobo Group $17,425,0007 Perkins Eastman $11,600,0008 Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates $11,251,8009 Cuningham Group Architecture $10,019,86510 HOK $10,011,000
TOP HOTEL ENGINEERING FIRMS
2012 Hospitality Revenue ($)1 AECOM Technology Corp. $100,190,0002 Parsons Brinckerhoff $28,900,0003 Buro Happold Consulting Engineers $16,165,0004 Rolf Jensen & Associates $7,600,0005 Thornton Tomasetti $7,218,7316 KPFF Consulting Engineers $6,000,0007 Arup $5,527,3718 Michael Baker Jr. $4,340,0009 Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates $2,880,00010 WSP USA $2,696,642
TOP HOTEL CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
2012 Hospitality Revenue ($)1 Manhattan Construction $290,769,0002 Structure Tone $250,908,0003 Lend Lease $234,975,0004 Swinerton Builders $227,431,9505 Mortenson Construction $209,550,0006 Tutor Perini Corporation $209,216,1267 Brasfield & Gorrie $163,774,5588 Flintco $155,600,0009 Messer Construction $147,695,12810 Yates Cos., The $144,700,000
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York City, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C., are pinpointed as strong markets in the Americas (http://bit.ly/JLLHotels).
Adaptive reuse for hospitality is producing some particularly interesting remakes of historic properties. The strategy dovetails with travelers’ growing taste for local authenticity—a particular interest of Millennials, according to Tom Ito, Principal and leader for Gensler’s global hospitality practice. “For this generation, avoiding the norm is all about being true to yourself,” says Ito. “As this consumer group grows in spending power, hoteliers will need to provide personalized experiences that reflect the spirit of this demographic.”
Related Stories
| May 10, 2011
Solar installations on multifamily rooftops aid social change
The Los Angeles Business Council's study on the feasibility of installing solar panels on the city’s multifamily buildings shows there's tremendous rooftop capacity, and that a significant portion of that rooftop capacity comes from buildings in economically depressed neighborhoods. Solar installations could therefore be used to create jobs, lower utility costs, and improve conditions for residents in these neighborhood.
| May 10, 2011
Dinner is now served…atop the Lincoln Memorial?
Take a look at the temporary restaurant sitting atop Brussels’ historic Arc de Triomphe-Triomfboog. The Cube, by Electrolux, offers 18 diners a spectacular view of the Parc du Cinquantenair, and is one of two structures traveling across Europe, making stops at famous landmarks in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, and Russia. What do you think about one of these 60-tonne structures being placed on a U.S. memorial?
| May 6, 2011
Ellerbe Becket now operating as AECOM
*/ The architecture, interiors and engineering firm Ellerbe Becket, which joined AECOM in 2009, has fully transitioned to operating as AECOM as of May 2, 2011.
| May 2, 2011
URS acquires Apptis Holdings, a federal IT service provider
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and CHANTILLY, VA– April 28, 2011 – URS Corporation and Apptis Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of information technology and communications services to the federal government, announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which URS will acquire Apptis.
| May 2, 2011
Perkins+Will merges with Vermeulen Hind Architects, offically launches Perkins+Will Canada
Ottawa and Hamilton-based Vermeulen Hind Architects, one of Canada’s leading healthcare architectural firms, has merged with Perkins+Will. Vermeulen Hind joins Toronto-based Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will and Vancouver-based Busby Perkins+Will to create Perkins+Will Canada. The combination marks the official launch of Perkins+Will Canada, a merge that will establish the firm as among the pre-eminent interdisciplinary design practices in Canada.
| Apr 26, 2011
Ed Mazria on how NYC can achieve carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030
The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects invited Mr. Mazria to present a keynote lecture to launch its 2030 training program. In advance of that lecture, Jacob Slevin, co-founder of DesignerPages.com and a contributor to The Huffington Post, interviewed Mazria about creating a sustainable vision for the future and how New York City's architects and designers can rise to the occasion.
| Apr 26, 2011
Video: Are China's ghost cities a bubble waiting to burst?
It's estimated that 10 new cities are being built in China every year, but many are virtually deserted. Retail space remains empty and hundreds of apartments are vacant, but the Chinese government is more concerned with maintaining economic growth—and building cities is one way of achieving that goal.
| Apr 25, 2011
Earn $300 million by NOT hiring Frank Gehry
An Iowa philanthropist and architecture aficionado—who wishes to remain anonymous—is offering a $300 million “reward” to any city anywhere in the world that’s brave enough to hire someone other than Frank Gehry to design its new art museum.
| Apr 20, 2011
Marketing firm Funtion: to host “Construct. Build. Evolve.”
Function:, an integrated marketing agency that specializes in reaching the architecture, building and design community, is hosting an interactive art event, “Construct. Build. Evolve.” in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park on Thursday April 21, 2011 at 11:00AM EDT. During the event attendees will be asked to answer the question, “how would you build the future?” to rouse dialogue and discover fresh ideas for the future of the built environment.
