In describing The Manner, architect Hannes Peer invokes Aldo Rossi and his 1966 book, L’architettura della città. ‘Rossi talks about how cities carry layered memories, and that was key for me in this project,’ Peer explains. ‘That idea of layering was crucial.’
Check into The Manner, New York
The new Manhattan hotel – also the flagship of a new concept from Standard International – is set on a relatively quiet street in SoHo, its sea foamy-green tiled facade the latest addition to a block of neighbourhood restaurants, coffee shops and wine bars, boutiques and barbers, and paint and furniture stores. The hotel’s surroundings ‘became an essential reference point,’ Peer says: ‘It's a neighbourhood that has always been defined by its convergence of textures, colours, and styles,’ a milieu he hoped to emulate with his design.
At The Manner, this looks like a lobby dense with materials – marble, metal, leather, wood, ceramic, cement – with a hand-glazed terracotta frieze by Giovanni De Francesco on the wall and a pillar-like piece from sculptor Nicholas Shurey. In a second-floor space called the Apartment, the ceiling is covered in glossy cork; the columns framing the fireplace are covered in a roughly textured ceramic relief by sculptor Ben Medansky, and the elevator wall, in more than 5,000 bubble-like tiles (a touch Peer says was a nod to Giò Ponti’s Parco dei Principi in Sorrento).
Forceful jewel tones make up the palette for the 97 rooms and suites: mango walls, glossy lipstick-red headboards, and ultramarine closets containing mustard-velvet Lenys World slippers, and in some categories, sofas or banquettes in serpentinite green or muted chartreuse. Parts of the two-story terrace penthouse seem covered in rich red lacquer and velvet. Most furnishings are custom.
‘I wanted The Manner to feel like stepping into a series of curated, intimate environments,’ Peer explains, ‘each with its own distinct character and history, much like the residences I design.’ Moving through the hotel, a guest is meant to feel ‘like a world traveller surrounding themselves with their most cherished memories.’
The Manner is Peer’s first hotel project, which proved to be an asset. ‘Knowing what we wanted to create, I had to choose somebody with a purely residential background,’ explains Verena Haller, Standard International’s chief design officer, who collaborated with Peer on the project, along with the company’s in-house design team. Haller describes The Manner brand as ‘cinematic’ and ‘less playful than The Standard,’ with more privacy and a stronger sense of intimacy. The vision was for ‘interiors that prioritize warmth and human connection,’ she says.
There are no televisions in the rooms or big check-in desk by the entrance. The Apartment space is open to guests and their friends to linger and mingle during aperitivo hour. A rooftop lounge with skyline views is set to open in the spring. ‘Every detail is designed to create a sense of specialness as you enter,’ Haller says. ‘It’s an architectural interpretation of how a hotel should feel – welcoming and inclusive.’
The Manner also beckons to its New York City neighbours with a series of venues from chef Alex Stupak. The Otter, the ground-floor all-day restaurant, is wrapped in an epic piece by Spanish muralist and architect Elvira Solana. Focused on international seafood, the menu includes buttery lobster rolls, cocktails flavoured with kombu or sea buckthorn, and a striking bicolour scallop crudo.
And Haller’s ‘absolutely favourite space’ is Sloane’s, the moody second-floor bar featuring ‘a collection of art, lighting, furniture, [and] fabrics picked up from travels around the world,’ plus an eye-catching alcove hand-laid with gold leaf. It’s the perfect pit stop for an order of chicken nuggets and a dirty martini with a spoonful of caviar on the side – The Manner’s own twist on a New York classic.
The Manner is located at 58 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012, United States, themanner.com
