The Studio Museum in Harlem is one of the many institutions that have mastered the art of creating an atmosphere through layers of design. Few designers would argue that the buzz surrounding certain establishments comes down to a single element, such as a chair or light fixture. Instead, it’s the overall experience that endures.
Creating Atmosphere
Tiffany Howell, the designer behind Caviar Kaspia LA, explains that she always looks at the overall design process as creating atmosphere. “I’m basically creating conditions for people to feel something,” she says. Howell considers lighting one of the most important and underutilized layers in this process.
She asks herself, “What is this room going to feel like at 7 a.m., 4 p.m., and midnight?” and gets to know how the sunlight will pass through it. Bad lighting can completely make people feel subconsciously unwell, she notes.
Listening to the Space
Will Meyer, who has spent over two decades in hospitality design, says that the strongest destinations begin by listening to the space. “Every place has its own history, traditions, and rhythms, and those always become the starting point for our design,” he explains.
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Meyer Davis’s work on the Four Seasons Resort Red Sea is a prime example of this approach. They looked beyond the architecture to the experience of the natural surroundings, Meyer says. The dunes, coral reefs, mangrove forests, and shoreline informed every aspect of the interiors.
The goal, according to Meyer, is to create spaces that are inseparable from their setting. Rather than imposing a design language, their goal was to create one that could only belong to this place, he says.
Small Gestures, Big Impact
Sometimes, it’s the smaller rituals that make a destination immediately welcoming. Jenni Kayne, founder of the Jenni Kayne Farmhouse in New York’s Hudson Valley, thinks about the small gestures that shift a guest’s state of mind. “I love lighting the fireplace and opening the windows or doors when I’m hosting,” she says.
The combination of warmth and fresh air creates a feeling that’s difficult to replicate any other way, Kayne notes. She finds it instantly puts people at ease.
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Museums as a Unique Challenge
Museums present a different challenge when it comes to design. Instead of encouraging guests to linger, they ask visitors to slow down, observe, and move through space with intention. Setting architect Sara Zewde, whose firm Studio Zewde designed the rooftop at the Studio Museum in Harlem, says that this requires creating a different kind of environment.
Museums ask visitors to engage deeply, but also impose a certain discipline, she explains. The rooftop offers a counterpoint to this discipline, providing a setting where visitors can reconnect with their senses through elements like shade, breeze, and seasonal plantings.
Zewde notes that movement is carefully choreographed on the rooftop. How people move through the setting is part of how they experience the institution itself, she says. They designed the rooftop to support that mission by creating spaces for gathering, pause, conversation, and reflection.
Materials and Acoustics
Once the pathways have been defined, materials reinforce the experience. At il Buco, founder Donna Lennard says that every surface has a story, and together these elements build upon each other. Lennard notes that wood absorbs sound.
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At the Hotel Chelsea, Studio Sio was tasked with reimagining a New York landmark without losing the qualities that made it an institution. The Chelsea was never famous just for its architecture, says Shanta Trusewich, founder and principal designer of Studio Sio. It’s the people—the art, music, and performances created inside it.
This understanding informed everything from preserving the hotel’s remarkable art collection to layering antique and vintage furnishings with contemporary pieces. Even the hotel’s acoustics became part of that philosophy, with sound engineers ensuring that guests can have a great time downstairs while still getting a good night’s sleep upstairs.
These design decisions, though often invisible to visitors, are what make cultural icons endure. As Zewde explains, Rather than designing an image, they’re designing a relationship between people and a place. It’s this relationship that allows institutions like the Studio Museum in Harlem to create a lasting impact on their visitors.