When we started Club Monaco. Joe, the founder was inspired by Muji, which at the time was also a young brand from Japan focused on creating basics. I remember our first meeting: he took a square piece of brown kraft paper and said, ‘This is the concept basic.’ We were all thinking, Okay… what exactly do you mean by that? But from the beginning it really was about materiality and about collaborating with artists, which is something we still do today. We did these big murals of the Monaco Casino as storefronts and stuff, and it had humor to it and a lightness to it. And there was an area called The Beaches in Toronto. We did a store there and it was the Monaco Casino but with sand around and stuff. But there was humor to it. It was a different. It was a sand castle iteration of the palace in Monaco."

"There is a humbleness in the imperfect perfectness of things. The humble materials and how they were worked with in a way transformed it into something of ultimate perfection. Make the most out of it, solving problems. I think high humble came from the moment we became a company. From the start, it was all about space, mood, and emotion. We refined that over time, focusing more on scale, proportion, and the emotional resonance we want users to feel in our spaces, rather than the artifice of what they see. That’s our point of difference as a company."

The Award winning design won the endurance test with design durability that continues today with their continued success, and design concept, 25+ years later.

Air Canada's lounge project brought about their first collaboration with Nienkämper that led into a series production of the Carlisle Club Chair.

"Anyway, so they were freaking out. They asked us, Glenn wasn’t there, I was going regularly, I had a little office upstairs and they wanted to keep me there as long as possible days if they could. So I’d commute. So I had to do three days and in New York every week, and I was ensconced in the offices in the executive levels at Bergdorf."

Our insight was to recognize that by over-indexing on what is uniquely local and pairing that with the comfort and efficiency of global scale our clients could appeal to people from both near and far.

“We have never gone into a project thinking 'let’s create the feeling of home away from home' What is the point of that? Our job as designers is to pay tribute to culture and context, the attitude and posture of a place. I think that this is why we have been able to work around the world, because we aren’t projecting an idea or a feeling onto a place. Instead, we lean in, listen, and think about its possibilities.”

A core team of industrial designers developed the practice with custom furniture for projects and slowly got the attention of makers.

“We have never gone into a project thinking “let’s create the feeling of home away from home.” What is the point of that? Our job as designers is to pay tribute to culture and context, the attitude and posture of a place. I think that this is why we have been able to work around the world, because we aren’t projecting an idea or a feeling onto a place. Instead, we lean in, listen, and think about its possibilities.”

The talent in pulling all design levers to create tangible value and emotional impact led to briefs that steadily increased scope from interior architecture, lighting and product design, to wayfinding, styling and art advisory.

“This project is a milestone moment for Aman, Mori Buildings, and for us. My parents were born and raised in Japan. To be back in the country where they grew up, designing a property in one of the tallest buildings in the country feels full circle. From here [the residence] I can see every pore of Tokyo and beyond. It makes me reflect on my roots and my upbringing. I know they would be proud.”

“Avoiding cliches. Our job as designers is to pay tribute to culture and context, the attitude and posture of a place. I think that this is why we have been able to work around the world, because we aren’t projecting an idea or a feeling onto a place. Instead, we lean in, listen, and think about its sensibilities.”

A desire to create a downtown LA convention destination led us to suggest two banners under one roof. Pairing Moxy with AC hotels helped double the appeal to different demographics and lower build costs.

A forthcoming design brings together longtime partner, and Michelin adorned chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten with a developer to create a distinct experience for the mixed use skyscraper that fuses the best of fine dining experience throughout the property experience.