Dawson Design Associates, Inc. has recently unveiled the intended design for the popular Topaz Hotel in Washington, D.C., owned by LaSalle Hotel Properties and managed by Kimpton Hotels. Located just off Dupont Circle in Washington DC, the Topaz Hotel was the first Kimpton Hotel property on the east coast and is a popular boutique-style hotel catering to locals, dignitaries, and tourists since its open in 2001. Dawson Design Associates, Inc., a long-standing strategic design partner with LaSalle Hotels, and the original designer of the hotel, was contacted in February to help evolve the Topaz by updating its identity and attitude. For firm President, Andrea Dawson Sheehan, it was nice to revisit the old design and enhance its look for today’s fashion-savvy guest. “When it opened, the design was so extreme for the market at that time and was highly published on an international level. Quickly, it became the place to be seen in Washington,” remarks Sheehan, going on to say that, “it also opened 3 weeks after 9/11 and people still felt under siege. It was a great diversion as well as an opportunity for guests to escape all the fear in the news. It was a huge success.”
The goal for this new renovation is to respect the original design intent and character. “The hotel’s current personality and appeal still works,” says Sheehan, “and the new design is a representation of a very familiar friend who has matured over the years, gaining another layer of sophistication. It’s still the same body with the same quirky personality, just a bit more refined and worldly.” The new look is a subtle representation of motifs inspired from Maghreb bazaars and le cirque, drawing on French influences of the exotic, playfully executed.
Sheehan notes that many of DDA’s clients are now strategically following through on multiple renovations that were put on hold due to the recession. “Their goal is to evolve their current hotels’ personalities, rather than completely repositioning. They want to capture another seven to eight years of life, economically, while still achieving a fresh new look. The designs have to be both smart and strategic to meet these goals.”
