Brussels Furniture Fair
anna-casotti 24/06/2019

The delicacy of forms

Architecture, interior, graphic and product design: the creative expressions of Gulla Jónsdóttir and her Los Angeles-based studio embody a vision of the project driven by fluid, sinuous geometry in constant dialogue with nature

Every element shaped by the Icelandic architect is transformed into an artifact immersed in an imaginative universe: residential spaces, restaurants like the Red O in Los Angeles, striking temples of wellness like the Paz Spa at the Cabo Azul Resort, deluxe hotels like the Roxbury in Hollywood, The Mayfair in Los Angeles, Hotel G in San Francisco, The Macau Roosevelt… Delicate volumes that reinvent organicism.

The Macau Roosevelt, Macau

La Peer Hotel, West Hollywood

From mathematics studies to design. When did your passion for architecture start?
I fell in love with Architecture at the age of 12 when I was visiting Firenze with my mother. The Art and Architecture of the city affected me in such a way that years later I realized that Architecture was the passion of my life.

What was your first design?
I worked on the Getty Center Museum for Richard Meier & partners after graduation from SCI-ARC, and my first design under my own company name was the RED O restaurant in Los Angeles.

Who are your favorite architects?
Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava, Herzog & De Meuron, Renzo Piano & Frank Gehry.

The most important element in your creative process is…?
How to respond to nature and the surrounding site of the project, always echoing the integration of organic beauty, and I’m a true believer in the first concepts that come to mind once I’m on that location.

How would you define your design vision in hospitality?
I’m interested in creating a defined luxury escape in my hospitaliy projects. I want the guests to experience the textures, the flow and movement of forms inside the hotels.
I want the spaces to feel as good as they look, and the guests and staff should feel swept away in every sense of the word. I tend to think out of the box, and I like to use natural unique materials that most connect with nature so the combination of spatial design with comfort and special touches throughout is what I mostly focus on in hospitality projects.

Cuff Chair 02


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