Plane-spotting
The design takes full advantage of its site. On top of the south hotel building’s roof, an infinity pool looks out to the alley between the international terminal (T4) and JetBlue’s terminal (T5). Some hotel suites directly face the taxiway. “Aviation aficionados can watch takeoff and landing and get up close to the A-380 jumbo jets on the roof. And those in the suites come nose-to-nose with the pilots. It’s a wonderful plane-spotting location,” Southwick says.
Outside the center, a 1958 Lockheed Constellation— Howard Hughes’ plane of choice and one of the last in existence—sits on the tarmac between the two passenger circulation tubes. An interior cabin renovation turned the aircraft into a cocktail lounge, known as Connie.
“We created a painted runway with taxiway lights beneath the Constellation, so when you look out the sunken lounge windows at the plane, you see an evocative image as one would see in the 1960s looking out on the tarmac,” Southwick notes. “This space is so much more than a hotel, it’s a destination in its own right that attracts people from all over to come and experience it—whether they’re taking a flight or not.”
Retrofit Team
DEVELOPER: MCR/MORSE Development, New York
PROJECT AND PRESERVATION ARCHITECT: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, New York
DESIGN CONSULTANT AND DESIGN ARCHITECT FOR THE HOTEL BUILDINGS: Lubrano Ciavarra Architects, New York
CONFERENCE AND EVENT SPACE INTERIOR DESIGN: INC Architecture & Design, New York
INTERIOR DESIGN FOR HOTEL ROOMS, SELECT PUBLIC AREAS AND CONNIE: Stonehill Taylor, New York
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, New York
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER: Turner Construction Co., New York
CURTAINWALL FABRICATOR: Fabricca
Materials
LIGHTING UNDER CONNIE: Ground Spotlight from Color Kinetics
CURTAINWALL: Solexia from Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) with Stanlock GRM neoprene snap lock glazing gasket system from Griffith Rubber Mills
CUSTOM ILLUMINATED SIGNAGE BASED ON SAARINEN ARCHITECTS’ 1962 DESIGN: Crown Sign Systems Inc.
LIGHTING: Spectrum Lighting and Axis Lighting
LED BOARDS: Nanometer Lighting and HB Lighting
ENTRANCE DOORS: Model 20D narrow stile entrance doors in clear anodized aluminum finish from YKK AP
SLIDING FIRE DOORS: Won-Door
ROOFING: JM PVC-60mil from Johns Manville
ELASTOMERIC COATING: Ultra Spec Masonry Low Lustre (0360) from Benjamin Moore
FABRIC: Knoll
PENNY TILE: Design & Direct Source
INFORMATION SPLIT FLAP BOARDS: Solari of Udine
Photo: SPECTRUM LIGHTING