SDA 2022 Entries

• Commercial Building - Buildings that are used for commercial purposes, and include retail, hospitality, workplaces, factories and warehouses and buildings where commercial services are provided. At least 50 percent of the buildings’ floor space will be used for commercial activities. 

The Graduate Roosevelt Island opened to guests in June 2021 as the first hotel on New York’s Roosevelt Island. Integrated into Cornell Tech’s campus, the 224-key property also marks the Graduate brand’s New York City debut. With architectural design by internationally renowned firm, Snøhetta alongside New York City-based hospitality design firm Stonehill Taylor, the interiors have been completed by Graduate Hotels’ in-house team to blend Old School and New Age design. The outcome honors the history of Roosevelt Island while looking to the future of technology which the Cornell Tech campus represents.

Upon entering, guests are greeted with a custom 12-foot statement sculpture by Hebru Brantley, a reinterpretation of his “Flyboy” character who grasps an oversized lightbulb and holds it above the front desk. The reception desk is an interpretation of a vintage apothecary cabinet, with a neon “Graduate” sign hanging above that appears to be sketched across a back wall of bookcases. Also behind this unique reception desk is a corridor lined with black and white photographs of the Roosevelt family, a nod to the hotel’s location.

Five-thousand linear feet of college textbooks line the lobby with Persian-inspired rugs and pops of Cornell’s Big Red hues. Floor-to-ceiling windows and mid-century-inspired fixtures provide light, which was all designed to be indirect in a way that recalls Le Corbusier’s soaring ‘Ronchamps’ chapel. This lighting technique helps to maintain the monolithic character of the ceiling’s plaster. Also in the lobby is the hotel’s all-day restaurant, ‘Anything At All’ that includes a wraparound bar anchoring the space, inviting lounge seating, and a continuation of the textbook-filled décor.

The lobby, which Stonehill Taylor was instrumental in creating, features a 30-foot-tall ceiling constructed out of acoustical plaster. The “prow,” which accounts for the hotel’s atypical building shape, is the pointed cantilever entrance to the lobby which is seen by guests upon arrival. The acoustics within this space provided a challenge and in turn, materials that would soften the soundscape were chosen while taking into consideration the complex, three-dimensional shape of the ceiling.

The 18-story hotel is integrated into Cornell Tech, an eco-friendly technology, business, law, and design campus of Cornell University. The hotel furthers the campus’s ongoing commitment to sustainability through its LEED-rated architecture and the use of highly efficient materials and energy-saving systems throughout the property. Graduate Roosevelt Island’s many sustainability initiatives include the LEED-certified architecture, use of recyclable materials, highly efficient heating, cooling, and LED lighting systems, reduced water consumption, waste reclamation programs, healthy indoor air quality, and more. The food and beverage operators are equally committed to creating environmentally conscious restaurant operations and culinary programs including composting food scraps, recycling programs for restaurant waste, no single-use plastic products, minimizing food waste, and purchasing sustainable, locally-sourced ingredients and products. With Graduate Roosevelt Island being LEED-certified for new build construction, it usher’s in a new generation of visitors to the island, marking Roosevelt Island as a true destination in NYC.

Three-quarters of the hotel’s wall are glass windows - and when paired with hard floors, the acoustics of the space proved challenging. Therefore, Stonehill Taylor employed materials that would both soften the soundscape and accommodate the ceiling’s complex, three-dimensional shape. The wall opposite the floor-to-ceiling windows features 5,000 square feet of shelving with up-lighting built into it that bounces off the ceiling above and surfaces below.

As this was a true collaboration between Stonehill Taylor and Snøhetta, we request that the entry is credited to both Paul Taylor, Principal at Stonehill Taylor, and Samuel Brissette, Project Architect at Snøhetta.

The full team is below:
ST Design Leads: Paul Taylor, Principal
ST Design Team: Damian Cera, Associate, Project Architect; Tania Rojas, Job Captain
Design Architect: Snøhetta
Snøhetta Design Team: Craig Dykers, Founding Partner; Alan Gordon, Partner; Michael Cotton,
Project Manager; Samuel Brissette, Project Architect; Todd Ebeltoft, Designer