The Edition Hotel in West Hollywood, California is one of four unique luxury boutique locations in the United States. The design team’s focus for this west coast hotel was to create not only an unassuming yet breathtaking structure but also a memorable visitor experience. As guests approach the main entry doors, they begin to feel the bass from upbeat music pulsating from the building’s main lobby as they are met with the smell of jasmine as it pushes its way through the building’s HVAC system. Within the main lobby, decorative luminaires with strategically placed dimmable recessed ceiling downlights and adjustable ellipsoidal fixtures that help provide a warm, enchanting atmosphere.

As the engineer of record, WSP provided the developers with professional services for the project, including mechanical-electrical-plumbing (MEP) systems, fire protection, architectural lighting and commissioning services. For WSP USA’s lighting design team, it was no small undertaking to carefully coordinate the project’s 75+ individual luminaire mounting details with a design team that spanned the globe from California to London. Attention to detail can be found in every view throughout the roughly 300,000 square feet property, which includes 247 guest rooms, 20 high-end luxury condominiums, a Michelin- starred restaurant, gymnasium, spa, night club, ballroom and two roof top pool decks.

Our team’s lighting concepts reinforced the architect’s ultra-minimalist design aesthetic by leveraging color temperatures, lighting textures and carefully placed dimmable LED ingrade uplights throughout each space in the hotel.

PHOTOS ©EDITION HOTELS/NIKOLAS KOENIG

Remaining true to the team’s desire for visual elegance was not limited to luminaire selection and placement. Our team worked closely and collaboratively with ownership and design teams to define a series of creative ways to conceal system components and to hide code required sensors associated with the building’s digitally addressable lighting control system. In guestroom locations dual technology vacancy sensors can be found beneath floating vanities in restrooms while remote drivers for the headboard and drape lights integrated into the headboard design. Given the project’s cast concrete construction, we implemented an additional layer of wireless control solutions in various locations. To maintain budgets and schedules, we performed multiple submittal reviews via alternate procurement strategies.

Everyone involved in the project was tasked to not only design various systems but also hide them within the structure to create a seamless design that elevates the guest experience. This objective extended to the WSP team that worked to design and install the building’s electrical systems, including normal and emergency power service/distribution, lighting/lighting controls, equipment connections, grounding and fire alarms. This attention to detail helped bring the elegance of the design to life. 

One of the main challenges was meeting every environmental and energy objective without sacrificing the comfort of the guests or the aesthetic beauty of the building. Placing light only where needed, adding layers of light to increase perceptions of brightness, and using the latest LED and controls technology allowed this exquisite hotel to beat California’s stringent Title 24 Energy requirements by an impressive 38 percent. Additionally, WSP worked with HKS on the design of the building’s exterior to achieve those goals. As part of the design, all guest rooms have deep overhangs that provide shading and movable screening to help shade the building when needed or let natural light into the room to reduce the need for artificial lighting. Additionally, the air cooled variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system was chosen for its super-high efficiency. This low-profile VRF system it consumes no water, an important feature in Southern California, an area susceptible to prolonged droughts, and doesn't impede the view for any of the guests. 

Our team’s attention to detail at every step of the process contributed to the creation of this one-of-a-kind hotel with a lighting design that balances the functional illumination of space with the artistic application of light to enhance the guest’s experience.

To learn more about this project, read this Insights article.

HKS, Architect of Record | John Pawson, Design Architect