space, light and trendy spaces

the hotel sierra at short pump offers a bit of luxury and city chic to richmond.  it is a chain hotel that has taken the elements of boutique properties and formularized it.  

my visit to hotel sierra was mid morning on a sunny day.  light was streaming in the large windows surrounding the large loft-like lobby space giving the entire space a diffused glow.  the floor material is polished painted concrete which allows the light to reflect and illuminate the space.  various dropped ceilings throughout the space allow for light to reflect off, combined with the light reflecting off the floor gives the space a very well lit feel.  there are also lots of pendant lamps which hang from the dropped ceilings to give more direct light in certain areas.  the small bar area pictured to the right has a mirrored wall which reflects the light from the windows into the space.


   

the lobby seating areas like the conversation pit pictured to the left, are open and have lower seating elements to give it a loft-like feel.  there are exposed elements along the ceiling, including metal pipes, which add to the nyc loft feeling but also allow the light to be reflected into the space and a long the pipes.  the walls are light colored paint which help give a warm colored glow to the space.

 the restaurant is located on the eastern side of the building and sees daylight during most of the day.  the large windows allow ample daylight to enter the space.  as you can see from the photograph to the left, there is a lot of glare from the light.  there are large draperies which hang from the ceiling, these can provide relief from the sun if need be and also serve to separate the dining area from the lobby during meal times.