March/April 2026 Focus Section: Hospitality

Spaces in Flux

Hospitality projects across a range of programs are embracing flexibility and multiuse.

Elements of play are key parts of creative workflow for a new crop of members clubs and co-working spaces. From terrazzo-tiled bars to communal meeting rooms framed in geometric cutouts, these amenities are providing the laptop set with something new to talk about. This infusion of cool considers the need for flexibility, incorporating interstitial “chill” spaces for gathering that accommodate all that’s in a day’s work—whether it’s a brainstorming session or a shared meal with a co-worker. The following highlights projects from designers who are reimagining how we think of spaces for work and study.

Crusoe Headquarters by Office of Tangible Space

When AN Interior Top 50 firm Office of Tangible Space was commissioned to design a workplace of a rapidly growing technology company, it was tasked with creating spaces that would make the office feel essential. With the company’s emphasis on in-person work in mind, the firm carved out different zones across a sprawling 26,000-square-foot office using portable, textile-lined partitions, glass walls, and gridded, oak-enclosed banquettes. Through flexible programming—like a lounge that could be used for informal coffees and also doubles as a game room—the firm prioritized moments for employee connection. At the heart of the office lies an all-hands space where employees can partake in cafe-style dining, lounge on ottomans, or meet at communal tables. Here, the employees are encouraged to choose their own adventure, reshaping the space to fit their workflow routines.

Atlas Hotel lobby

by INC Architecture and Design

The Atlas Hotel’s lobby was envisioned as a bridge between Harvard University’s nearby Enterprise Research Center and Business School campuses and the surrounding Allston neighborhood. For the interior, set within architecture designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, INC Architecture and Design sought to create a “civic living room,” where guests and locals alike could work, engage, and play. (Both offices appeared on AN Interior ’s Top 50 list last year.)

To create a welcoming, multifunctional atmosphere, the designers layered wood, stone, and rich textiles. Areas with recessed seating are outfitted with organically shaped furniture whose soft edges and various seating options invite gathering. Warm, diffuse lighting fills the space via backlit fixtures that shine from behind the ceiling’s wooden paneling, as well as sconces and table lamps. Drawing from sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s concept of the “third space,” this lobby aims to serve as a vibrant hub for community activity.

Antiwork by Float Studio

For Antiwork’s offices, Float Studio tailored the design to reflect the AI company’s ethos of working smarter, not harder. This meant creating different points for collaboration throughout the office’s footprint, including a central meeting space framed with whimsical, angular archways. The firm also drew inspiration from 1970s design, and a U -shaped bank of desks serve as the outer perimeter for low, plush conversation pit–style seating. Drenched in deep burgundy hues—from the walls to furnishings and the low-pile carpet—the space balances the playful with the unexpected to create a space friendly to end-of-day happy hours as well as deep work.

Bard College’s North Campus Residence by

CIVILIAN

Set within architecture by KPF, AN Interior Top 50 firm CIVILIAN has delivered a modern reinterpretation of student living with its interior design for Bard College’s North Campus Residence. With communal living at the project’s center, CIVILIAN created an elevated yet durable design language that flows across common space, study lounges, and 92 dorm rooms. Soft lounge spaces abut long communal worktables, facilitating an environment for group projects, while alcoves with single-person workspaces wrapped in warm timber paneling allow privacy for more intensive studying. Meanwhile, a social stair connects the ground floor to the rest of the building and offers a sense of levity. It functions as an airy community corridor and gathering space that lends itself to coffee chats and student organization meetings.

Communal gathering spaces in Bard College’s North Campus Residence are outfitted with soft lounge spaces and long communal worktables to carve out different environments for studying.

Branch Park Terrace by Holloway Li

For this members club located in the Park Terrace Hotel, inside David Chipperfield Architects–designed The Bryant, London-based firm Holloway Li crafted a verdant retreat for New York City’s creative scene, outfitted in a refined, distinctly British design sensibility. With the prompt of creating a dynamic, hybrid space, the designers incorporated atmospheric design elements that could slip easily between day and night. The club is anchored by a long, pale-green counter, a reference to the space’s architectural finishes— both are terrazzo. Its staff serves up espresso during cafe hours and cocktails after dark. Basic workplace necessities like a conference table and an abundance of outlets meld seamlessly into the space, complemented by emerald velvet banquettes, brass lighting fixtures by Thomas O’Brien, and fluted timber finishings that inject the space with a sense of warmth and serenity. IL

A long terrazzo bar draws reference from the space’s architectural

Lighting

The following architectural lighting emphasizes the architecture and design of projects in minimal and compact forms. KP

Astoria Collection | Kuzco Lighting kuzcolighting.com

Designed by Peyton Fox, Astoria features clean geometry, punched-metal detailing, and opal-glass diffusers in semiflush mounts, flush mounts, and sconces.

Blast Powercore gen5 | Color Kinetics colorkinetics.com

The Blast Powercore gen5 offers white and colored lighting in customizable beam angles. Used in the Wortham Center in Houston, the Blast emphasizes the niches in the arched ceiling.

and

AX3 Series | Aculux aculux.acuitybrands.com

These precision-recessed luminaires offer a compact design to work with ceiling constraints while still delivering 800 to 3,000 lumens.

COB | Häfele hafele.com

COB’s lighting solutions conveniently integrate illumination into designs, offering slim profiles and a complete system without the need for diffusers or lenses.

Lumaris | Lutron Electronics lutron.com

These recessed downlights offer warm dimming to mimic the glow of an incandescent lamp and bring more natural light into a space.

Thread | Axis Lighting axislighting.com

Thread is a minimalist track-lighting system that supports recessed, pendant, and surface mounting options, as well custom curves and tubelike inserts.

Aether Atomic LED Downlight Series | WAC Lighting waclighting.com

Available in square, round, and trimless, Aether Atomic features robust lumens within a compact aperture with

glare for visual comfort.

Cylinder One Spectrum

. Selectable CCT (1800K- 8000K)

. Dynamic white (full range)

. Dim to warm (3000K-1880K)

. Any imaginable static color with broad spectrum technology

The new evolution of the award-winning Cylinder One HO offering the first 4-in-1 pendant with flicker-free, 0-100% dimming.

Indoor Furniture

| Sandler sandlerseating.com

Maja is an upholstered chair that rests on aluminum or wooden legs. Its generous backrest features a padded design, enveloping guests in a nest of upholstery.

Ojai Barstool | Lawson-Fenning lawsonfenning.com

Barstools get a touch cozier with this sculptural wood base, perimetered by a metal footrest and topped with a plush swivel seat.

Topanga Dining Chair | Croft House crofthouse.com

Topanga’s walnut frame, modulated by turned dowels, provides a rhythmic base for a thick cushion in this craft-forward chair.

Rhine | HBF hbf.com

This modular petite club collection, designed by Ken Reinhard, integrates companion tables for a seating solution that adapts to hospitality’s evolving needs.

Turnabout Low Stool | Phase Design phasedesignonline.com

A stainless steel base, featuring a U -shaped leg, creates a striking contrast with the plush upholstered cushion in this subtle elevation of a humble stool.

The Peaks Sofa by Yves Béhar is a modular sofa composed of dual-foam triangles that turn up or down and are connected by hidden hinges and invisible zippers. For swanky, cozy interiors, these designs bring loungelevel chill to the bar, dining, and other types of seating. KP

CHR01 Linen-Blend Upholstered Chair | Restart/Milano restartmilano.com A steel-rod chair, available in North America through online marketplace Artemest, gets a warm update through a padded backrest, offering a cozy contrast to its strikingly thin frame.

Peaks Sofa | Moooi moooi.com

Outdoor Furniture

Reel Good

Warkentin Associates and Bench Architecture turn a former pencil factory in Greenpoint into a campus for content creators.

You’ll never stumble into bad lighting at The Lighthouse Brooklyn. The members club, designed as a hub for the influencer economy, is crafted so that every corner is photo-op ready. Warkentin Associates and Bench Architecture converted the former Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory in New York City’s Greenpoint neighborhood into a hub for content creators. The 30,000-square-foot space is more than a place to co-work: The Lighthouse also houses recording studios, photo studios, and podcast space, as well as a cafe, bar, theater, and DJ booth.

“When we first got the building, it was a wide-open space, cold, cavernous, with just a row of desks,” said Nathan Warkentin, founder of Warkentin Associates, which also designed the first Los Angeles branch of The Lighthouse. The first order of business was stripping the building of its outdated surface treatments and warming up its industrial bones.

Bench Architecture, which acted as project manager, inserted mezzanines and new levels throughout the space to break up the soaring ceiling heights, which are accentuated by the preexisting glass atrium that runs through the cellar, main level, and penthouse floor.

“The main idea is versatility. [Creators] don’t like to be confined to a specific program. They want a free-form, flexible space that can be used in different ways,” Warkentin told AN . The architects incorporated flexible seating options and different backdrops that evoke bars, hotel lobbies, or cafes because “those are places creative people like to be in,” said Warkentin.

On the main floor, communal desks designed by Warkentin are lined up alongside wood-framed private offices and phone booths. These desks can also be found in

The Lighthouse’s Los Angeles outpost, which opened in February 2025. But the centerpiece of the floor is the Library Bar, where custom wood shelving extends into a DJ booth with speakers and vinyl records. It’s paired with custom steel and leather barstools, three-seat sofa, and green wool rugs, and Artemide floor lamps For creators with more complex production needs, the architects integrate and crucially expose AV and tech. On the penthouse level, a wood-clad test kitchen with a custom butcher block features rigging on the ceiling to set up overhead cameras for the perfect shot. In the cellar, podcast studios are built like rooms within rooms for acoustical control. The interiors are finished in different treatments on the ceilings and walls, including the TECTUM acoustic panels. The panels’ pattern of swirling wood fiber is left exposed alongside cables and wires, creating affinity with the industrial site.

More custom furniture designed by the architects, as well as pieces by local designers (a molded-resin reception desk by Facture Studio, aluminum lighting by UBR Studio), is situated within concrete columns and uncovered mechanical elements. “It is part of the communication of the design: to tell you the space is tech-enabled. It has a raw, creative feeling,” said Warkentin. It’s an apt style for inspiring a new class of digital creatives. KP

INTERIORS: Warkentin Associates

ARCHITECTURE: Bench Architecture

CLIENT: The Lighthouse / Whalar Group

AV CONSULTANT: SPL

MEP ENGINEER: Stantec

CONTRACTOR: Cub Craft

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT: Bench Architecture

Above: The former Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is now a hub for content creators. Previously it was an office for Kickstarter.

Top Right: The centerpiece of the floor is the Library Bar, where a DJ booth is paired with custom pieces including a sofa, barstools, and green wool rugs.

Middle Right: Communal desks were designed by Warkentin Associates.

Bottom Right: For the food-inclined influencers, a wood-clad test kitchen with a custom butcher block features rigging on the ceiling for overhead cameras.

Acoustics

In hospitality spaces, acoustics do more than offer critical sound absorption—they must also contribute to the design. The following offer subtle texture for an art-forward spin on sound. KP

Dune | Qwel qweltiles.com

Part of Qwel’s new Biophilic Collection, Dune is a threedimensional ceiling tile with contours shaped by the soft rise and fall of landscapes.

LAYER | Sabin sabin.design

LAYER is a four-part planar series of different geometric modules (which can also incorporate light). Layered together, they create three-dimensional ceiling-scapes.

Mirage Textured Tiles | Autex Acoustics autexacoustics.com

Autex carbon-neutral acoustic solutions from New Zealand are now available in North America through Momentum. This includes the Mirage Textured Tiles, a collection of textured tiles ranging from wood-like grains to cloth-like finishes and mosaic patterns. Gills | Acoufelt acoufelt.com

Mathematically engineered angles and folds inform this collection of ceiling frames that play with light and shadow for a mesmerizing acoustic solution. Ecoustic

Platter | Turf turf.design

This ceiling cloud system, made from 60-percent preconsumer recycled PET, accommodates organic curves and convex edges to bring subtle depth and detail. Geometric Tile | Arturel arturel.com

A graphic interpretation of rationalist and minimalist Bauhaus and Ulm design, this series—made from ocean-bound plastic— features relief patterns for sculptural effect.

In collaboration with Paper Collective, Zilenzio’s latest features wood frames and quasi–paint strokes to disguise acoustics as art.

Wallcoverings

As interiors become increasingly moody and earthtoned, manufacturers rise to meet the moment—but with distinct visions on the trend. KP

Ambiguous Tiger | Fromental fromental.com

Translating the designs of Harris Reed’s Spring/Summer 2026 runway collection, Fromental

pattern

gilded

Custom chain installation | Kriskadecor kriskadecor.com/us/

For textured surfaces and artful transition between spaces, Kriskadecor’s customizable chain designs put a unique spin on wallcoverings, as seen in Lobby E, Das Center by Kinzo.

Memphis | Arte arte-international.com/en

This collection of 3D wallcoverings brings natural motifs and architectural forms to life along a velvety finish.

CastWorks Walls | Armstrong World Industries armstrongceilings.com

Six new glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum wall profiles offer modular, scalable, and textured designs to elevate spaces.

Rest & Rejuvenation

ACOUSTICS

Acoufelt

acoufelt.com

Arturel arturel.com

Autex Acoustics

autexacoustics.com

Qwel qweltiles.com

Sabin sabin.design

Turf turf.design

Unika Vaev unikavaev.com

Zilenzio zilenzio.com

INDOOR

FURNITURE

Alias Design

alias.design

Arhaus arhaus.com

Artek artek.fi/en/ Croft House

crofthouse.com

de Sede

desede.ch/en-en

Emeco

emeco.net

Facture Studio facturestudio.com

Fredericia fredericia.com

HBF

hbf.com

Hem hem.com

Knoll knoll.com

Lawson-Fenning lawsonfenning.com

Moooi moooi.com

Phase Design phasedesignonline.com

Restart/Milano restartmilano.com

Sandler Seating sandlerseating.com

USM us.usm.com Vestak vetsak.com

Vipp vipp.com

Vitra

vitra.com/en-us/ LIGHTING

Aculux aculux.acuitybrands.com

Artemide artemide.com

Axis Lighting axislighting.com

Color Kinetics colorkinetics.com

Häfele hafele.com

Hudson Valley Lighting

hvlgroup.com

Kuzco Lighting kuzcolighting.com

Luceplan luceplan.com

Lutron Electronics lutron.com

Nemo Lighting nemolighting.com

Santa & Cole santacole.com

Stilnovo stilnovo.com/en/ UBR Studio ubrstudio.com

WAC Lighting waclighting.com

OUTDOOR FURNITURE

Arper arper.com

Cassina cassina.com

Ethnicraft ethnicraft.com

Fritz Hansen fritzhansen.com

HAY hay.com

House of Leon houseofleon.com

iSiMAR isimar.es/en/ Vaarnii us.vaarnii.com

REST & REJUVENATION

Aether Wellness

aetherwellness.com

Almost Heaven almostheaven.com

Duravit

duravit.us

Effe Perfect Wellness effe.it/en-us/ Hydro Systems hydrosystem.com

LAUFEN laufen.com

Thermasol thermasol.com

Tubpanga tubpanga.com

WALLCOVERINGS

Armstrong World Industries armstrongceilings.com

Arte arte-international.com/en Élitis elitis.fr/en/ Fromental fromental.com

Graham & Brown grahambrown.com

Kriskadecor kriskadecor.com/us/ modularArts modulararts.com

ZAK+FOX zakandfox.com

INDOOR FURNITURE

Aexis Moran alexismoran.com

Bend Goods bendgoods.com

BERMANFALK bermanfalk.com

Blu Dot bludot.com

Carl Hansen & Søn carlhansen.com

CB2 cb2.com

Delta Furniture deltafurniture.com

Design Within Reach dwr.com

Fenabel fenabel.pt

Kann Design en.kanndesign.com

Kate Greenberg kategreenberg.studio

LOOMLAN loomlan.com

Lulu and Georgia luluandgeorgia.com Made by Choice madebychoice.com

Maiden Home maidenhome.com

NMN Designs nmndesigns.com

Parla parladesign.com

Petite Friture

us.petitefriture.com

Room & Board roomandboard.com

Stahl + Band stahlandband.com

Suite 22 suite22contract.com

Swedese swedese.se/en

Verellen verellen.biz

Verpan verpan.com

West Elm westelm.com

Zanotta zanotta.com

LIGHTING

AGO agolighting.com

Aram aram.co.uk

Ashley Lighting ashleylighting.com

Bocci bocci.com

Flos flos.com/en/ Ingo Maurer ingo-maurer.com/en/ Isabel Moncada isabelmoncada.us iWORKS iworksus.com

Louis Poulsen louispoulsen.com

PureEdge Lighting pureedgelighting.com

RBW rbw.com

SIN virginiasin.com

Space Lighting + Living spacelighting.com

Visual Comfort visualcomfort.com

WALLCOVERINGS

Benjamin Moore benjaminmoore.com/en-us

Sherwin-Williams sherwin-williams.com Sydney

Wolf-Gordon wolfgordon.com