Begun in 2004 as a renovation of Los
Angeles’s Continental Hyatt House once a Sunset Strip hangout for
rock-and-roll royalty, this project became the American debut of Hyatt’s Andaz
concept, and an entirely new scheme—conceived as an icon for an emerging
brand—replaced the original notion. Inspired by the mid-century aesthetic of
the 1960s property, the ultimate design pays homage to such masterful L.A.
modernists as Richard Neutra and Pierre Koenig. It encloses the balconies of
the west-facing rooms in glass to reinvent the building’s Sunset Boulevard
faade, expanding those rooms into mini-suites with impressive views. A new
steeland-glass pavilion at the base of the hotel’s tower, with a site-specific
installation by artist Jacob Hashimoto, houses the hotel’s restaurant and
simultaneously serves as a new marker for the property on Sunset.