JLF WORKSITE NEW YORK: Traveling Architects Find Inspiration In Nolitan Hotel

Place frames our design philosophy. Discoveries make destinations memorable. Notes taken on work trips inspire future itineraries.

A current project finds us frequenting lower Manhattan, soaking up the infinite inspiration found below Union Square. Tucked on a trapezoidal lot, the Nolitan Hotel is our basecamp of choice. The boutique hotel—designed by NY-based firm Grzywinski Pons, who also did the Hotel on Rivington grids 55 rooms into a Tetris-like tower on the corner of Elizabeth and Kenmare streets in Nolita. Style-conscious yet accessible, the Nolitan makes guests feel like artsy locals bustling between SoHo, the Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy and the East Village. Mid-century modern furnishings and industrial fixtures define the decor, and an abundance of complementary amenities—from bicycles and skateboards to in-room video game systems – makes play possible amid assignments. Guestrooms are airy with panoramic views and small balconies, and Bread, the buzzy Italian restaurant downstairs, serves heart-warming fare all day long. In aesthetic terms, the Nolitan sets a striking tone on its residential block; the architects bifurcated the building into eastern and western volumes, with each section clad in concrete and glass. Atop it all, a spacious roof deck beckons in warm months with its 360 degree views of the city—a rarity in neighborhoody Nolita, which lives up to its moniker (North of Little Italy) by harboring boutiques and a European feel. Every time we land at the Nolitan, we find something else to love about its location.

Stay tuned for New York—Act Two, our top restaurant finds in Manhattan.