The Conrad Washington DC hotel has a few quirks. The reception and check-in, for example, are on the third floor; the atrium is shaped like Switzerland (paying homage to the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron) and there is a permanent contemporary art collection. The result is a dynamic, memorable hotel.
Preciosa Lighting was asked by interior designers Rottet Studio to assist with some distinctive lighting for the meeting spaces and guest rooms. One of the most delightful is the Falling Flowers installation in the prefunction space. Falling Flowers features hand-blown glass plates in different sizes, carefully hung to resemble a soft downward flow of petals. At the Conrad, their installation consists of 160 ‘flowers’ ranging in size from two to six metres. Hung from a circular mirrored ceiling, this is a gorgeous lighting sculpture. In the grand and junior ballrooms, eight Preciosa installations feel like crystal icicles dangling from the ceiling. The effect is created through optical glass tubes in differing lengths and colours (clear, light smoky, light brown and iridescent).
The hotel’s signature restaurant, the Estuary features a nearly four metre long Preciosa light. Forty rhombus-shaped glass plates of hand-blown frosted glass complement the space’s bright and minimal design. Finally, Preciosa created 720 bedside lamps and 333 floor lamps for the guestrooms with white linen shades and black metal frames.