Learning Curve

Learning Curve

April 14, 2009

By Stacy Shoemaker Rauen
Photography by James Steinkamp

Hotel Arista, on track to be Illinois' first LEED certified hotel, was a learning experience right from the start for architect Dirk Lohan. "When we first started working on the design there was only one other hotel in the U.S. that had received LEED certification, and that was in San Francisco," explains Lohan, principal of Chicago-based Lohan Anderson. "So we were inventing a new hospitality product with new sustainable features."

Part of CityGate Centre, a large, mixed-use, urban lifestyle development in the Chicago suburb of Naperville (Lohan Anderson was also the master planning and architecture firm for the development, also going for LEED Silver), the hotel proves that luxury and sustainability can go hand in hand. "The aesthetic [is] classic modernism," says Lohan, adding that he landed the job after successfully designing the corporate headquarters of owner John Calamos' namesake investment company. "We saw this design as an opportunity to create a sophisticated experience for the business traveler, while also allowing the weekend visitor to stay in an environment that has a luxurious feeling that is modern, timeless, and relaxing." And the design is appropriate for the hotel's name—Arista means "best" in Greek. Even though the name was selected late in the game, "It was Calamos' intent from the beginning to build a hotel that would offer a higher level of quality than what was currently available in the western suburbs of Chicago," Lohan says.

Throughout the public spaces, restaurant SugarToad, and the 144 residential guestrooms, Lohan paired glass and reflective and matte finished metal surfaces with a masculine color palette and rich accents like travertine, leather, and wood paneling. "These materials, when detailed in a way that allows them to be seen in their natural beauty, create an environment of high visual quality, warmth, and comfort," he says. In the lobby, the front desk is clad in backlit slabs of onyx and backed by purple glass, floors are covered in travertine, the ceiling features a gold-plated square motif, and feature walls are clad in uplit stained oak "slats" separated by a stainless steel mirrored finished substrate.

"The stainless steel reflects the surroundings which in turn creates a floating visual effect of the horizontal sections," explains Lohan. And in the guestrooms, wood paneling stretches behind the bed; orange accents pop against the predominant brown and tan hues; an organic wallcovering covers one wall; and the bedroom and bathroom (done in all white with stone countertops and an accent wall of green tiles) are separated by a translucent partition.

Up next: the hotel's 12,000-square-foot Club Arista wellness center, slated to open later this spring.

www.lohananderson.com; www.hotelarista.com

Hotel Arista, Naperville, Illinois
Owner: Calamos Real Estate LLC
Architecture Firm: Lohan Anderson, Chicago
Architecture Project Team: Dirk Lohan, Basil W.C. Souder, Michael Heider, James Schubert, Andy Meyer, and Edgar Wong
Interior Design Firm: L/A Studio, Chicago
Interior Design Project Team: Michelle Liebling, Mark Fischer, Basil W.C. Souder, Andy Meyer, and Becky Li
Contractor: Power Construction Company, LLC
Purchasing Firm: Locke Hospitality Procurement LLC

Lobby and Lobby Lounge
Fabrics: Carnegie, Osbourne and Little, and Pollack
Seating: Cassina/Manifesto Inc. and Decca
Tables: Decca and Knoll
Ottomans: Mitchell Gold
Lighting: Holly Hunt and Robert Abbey

Restaurant
Tables: CF Group/Shelby Williams
Barstools: Aceray
Drapery Fabric Designtex
Dining Chair Fabric and Barstool Vinyl: CF Stinson
Counter Stools: Zum

Guestrooms
Pillow and Window Treatments: Miceli
Lighting: Coronet, Artemide, Robery Abbey, and Hera
Bed Boxes/Upholstered Headboards/Tables/Desks/Closet Storage/Television Tables: International Furnishings
Fabric: Duralee, Knoll, Carnegie, Gergamo, Holly Hung, Calvin, and Valley Forge Fabrics
Bathroom Television Mirrors: Electric Mirror

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