Rockwell Group

In the first episode of our latest DESIGN POD series, sponsored by Schlüter-Systems Ltd, Hotel Designs Editor Sophie Harper gets to talk to Rockwell Group Partner and Studio Leader, Greg Keffer, about injecting elements of wellbeing into different hospitality settings, and the impact wellness inclusion has for hotel projects.

Greg Keffer, AIA, LEED AP, is a Partner and Studio Leader at Rockwell Group where he leads multiple design studios and manages the firm’s Madrid office. He works on a wide range of projects including hospitality, retail, residential, and workplace, while adding new typologies to the firm’s portfolio. Greg’s combined strengths in architecture and interiors have allowed him to develop innovative and holistic design solutions for an international roster of clients including Marriott, Nobu Hospitality, Accor, Related Companies, Union Square Hospitality Group, and sbe.

Since joining Rockwell Group in 2012, Greg has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the firm through design and management excellence. In 2017, David Rockwell appointed Greg to Partner—the second partner in the firm’s history. As Partner, Greg has taken the lead in developing a firmwide structure and culture that better supports the firm’s designers in doing their best and most creative work.

As the critical link between New York and Madrid, Greg has helped accelerate the growth of the Madrid office. He established a structure for the Madrid office that enables more frequent and consistent collaboration with Rockwell Group’s New York designers and more seamlessly provides the Madrid staff with firmwide support and resources.  Under his leadership, the Madrid and New York offices have completed Nobu Hotel Barcelona, and the Madrid team is currently working on Spain’s first JW Marriott in Madrid, W Naples, the Seda Club Hotel in Granada, the Miraval Monte de Málaga, and a new SLS project in Barcelona.

With wellness tourism being the en vogue topic, I asked Greg how much of a consideration guest wellbeing is within hotel design, and he explained that it’s been a key aspect of hotel design for far longer than it being a trend.

Adding to this, we discussed the different ways in which a hotel without spa facilities can still offer wellness touchpoints, where even the subtlest additions can make all the difference, and whether sustainability counts as a measure of wellbeing.

Listen now to hear the full conversation.

DESIGN POD is brought to you by Hotel Designs. Series 6 is sponsored by Schlüter-Systems Ltd, produced by Kevin Lines and hosted by Sophie Harper.

Main image credit: Stephen K. Mack