Ankrom Moisan Interiors Takes Home Two IIDA Awards
AMAA Internal Press Release – December 11, 2009
Mirabella Seattle, a senior housing project in Seattle, WA, won an Honor Award in the Residential, Single or Multi-family Housing category. Mirabella is new urban Continuing Care Retirement Community brand with a hospitality sensibility. The interior design for both private and common area spaces is based on the hospitality model, evoking the feel of a high end hotel. The public areas are designed to promote social gathering and support a healthy lifestyle. Amenities include fantastic food in the Penthouse Dining Room and Club Lounge, along with a Private Wine Tasting Room, all located on the 10th floor overlooking Seattle’s Space Needle and lake union.
The interior finishes and materials reinforce the brand concept of Mirabella (Italian for “beautiful vision”), through the use of high quality, sophisticated textures such as mahogany, travertine and granite, woven grasscloth wall covering, custom woven carpeting, and bronze accents. This concept was also carried throughout the Healthcare level of care, while maintaining the durability and code related requirements of these spaces. All furniture was custom designed to be senior friendly, while local artists were commissioned for feature art pieces located both inside and outside the building, strengthening Mirabella’s connection to the local community and creating a distinctive sense of place.
The 2009 IIDA Awards was a record setting event in terms of attendance. The judges recognized the Mirabella project as one that truly raises the bar for senior living.
The Canterbury, a hotel in San Francisco, CA, won a Merit Award in the Hospitality/Restaurant/Retail category. This remodel and conversion took the 242 room Canterbury Hotel in downtown San Francisco and turned it into a 116 room Wyndham Vacation Resorts property. The remodel utilized the existing historical and classical details of the Renaissance Revival architectural style as a rich foundation for creating an elegant, formal, yet comfortable interior reminiscent of a 1920’s English Gentleman’s club. Before the remodel the property consisted of 2 buildings: the 10 story Canterbury Hotel, built in 1923, and the 4 story Whitehall Inn, built in 1914. The Whitehall building became (14) exclusive Presidential Penthouse units complete with washers and dryers. The two buildings were adjoined on the ground floor by a connecting hallway and shared public and back-of-house spaces. A new tunnel was added at the basement level to connect the separate buildings. Improvements include new unit layouts, finishes, lighting, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and FF&E, with revisions to the existing electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems. The grand lobby and amenity spaces build on the building’s rich history, but with a modern attitude. Materials include dark wood, leather worn to a rich patina, antiqued mirrors, decorative nail-heads, over-scaled furniture and the use of luxurious fabrics and materials such as velvet, mohair and wool. The addition of decorative crown moldings and trims, historically correct paint colors, and natural stone completes the period look. Traditional decorative lighting such as chandeliers and wall sconces create a dramatic and opulent mood.