Meet the man that makes you want to actually get up and go out to a club. Commercial interior designer and starchitect Josh Held has made a career of creating cool venues around the globe.
Held was just awarded Hospitality Design's 2013 "Wave of the Future" award and was responsible for the design of the multi-million dollar 38,000 square foot nightclub, LIGHT, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas (a first time collaboration between Cirque du Soleil and The LIGHT Group).
Held's team also redesigned the decade-old legendary Chelsea hotspot, Marquee, this year. Some of the new detailed designs include scratch and sniff wallpaper, chandeliers made completely of microphones and wall coverings made of upcycled leather belts. This is in addition to his work this year alone on the Dream Downtown's lobby, The W Downtown, the Flatiron Texican eatery Tres Carnes and Ground Central Coffee Company, which just opened last month.
Held is currently at work on The Sanctuary Hotel's new lounge, Foxhole in Midtown Manhattan, that's slated to open for Fashion Week. We got a chance to talk with this busy man about his great work.
Tell us about desigining LIGHT? What was it like to collaborate with Cirque du Soleil?
Working with Cirque du Soleil was amazing. It was an opportunity to collaborate with so many talented people. The highlight was spending time in Montreal at the Cirque campus. There were performers and designers everywhere. It is a magical place.
Did you feel a lot of pressure with redesigning Marquee, such a famous club?
Absolutely. There was not only pressure because of its history, but also because it had grown from a single moderately sized club, to an international mega brand. We were fortunate to be working with extraordinary clients who allowed us to really push the envelope of nightlife design.
Can you tell us what was the thought process behind some of your choices at Marquee such as the scratch and sniff wallpaper, chandeliers made of microphones, etc.?
We wanted to create a multi-layered experience with moments of discovery. With a lot of clubs you get the entire picture the minute you enter the space. With Marquee we wanted there to be something unique and new at every turn and every time the guest returns. It is a very textured and tactile design for a nightclub.
What do you look for when you select a project?
I search for projects that allow us to transport, transform and entertain. We want to create a story and pull the guest into it.
What is your work process?
The projects dictate the process. I want to create the right solution for a specific project and that means listening to a project's needs. We always start with a narrative that directs the story we are going to tell. Then everything grows from that.
What inspires you as a designer?
I am inspired by life. The things I see walking around, traveling, playing, the people I meet, different cultures, all give me the fuel that drives me.
How is work going on The Sanctuary Hotel's new lounge? That is a pretty tight deadline to be ready for Fashion Week.
Sanctuary is a great project. The owners Hank Freid and Brandon Freid are very involved and willing to act on design decisions quickly. I can sketch something on Monday and come back the next Monday and it is built. It makes for a very live process.
