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To make way for glamping rooms planned at the W San Francisco hotel, the bees had to move.

The luxury hotel, as part of its food program, had bee colonies occupying outdoor terraces. Then the honey-producing insects were moved to a higher floor to provide more space for guests.

鈥淭hey didn’t need that much space,鈥� Brent Grubb, Skylab Architecture managing principal, said of the bees.

The insects’ move allowed creation of five indoor-outdoor glamorous camping rooms, which extend onto an outdoor terrace that overlooks the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Hospitality has come a long way from the days of continental breakfast.

Skylab Architecture was charged with designing an update for the W, which opened in 1999. The work involved nearly all of the guest rooms, event spaces and conference rooms in the 411-room hotel 鈥� one of the most prominent in San Francisco.

鈥淗ow do we create a different hotel experience than the typical, ubiquitous hotel experiences?鈥� Grubb said. 鈥淎 lot of the differences are subtle.鈥�

Only the ground-floor lobby was not updated as part of the project. It may be renovated in a second phase.

Lighting technology, for example, has improved by 鈥渓eaps and bounds鈥� since the ’90s, Grubb said. So color-changing LEDs were installed in meeting rooms and other public spaces to provide atmosphere for events.

Gold nuggets appear as a design motif throughout the hotel, reflecting San Francisco’s history. The city’s topography is reflected in the ceilings. A dust-like material gives the walls a shimmering quality in certain light, suggesting sunlight and gold. Fractal tile in bathrooms is an abstract representation of gold mining.

Skylab made other calls in consultation with the client. A swimming pool was removed in favor of a fitness room 鈥� the first of W’s new-generation FIT brand. The circular gym looks like something out of science fiction TV, with rows of machines arranged around sweeping, curved seating in the center. The center area serves as a self-serve lounge. The room is topped by a naturally lit glass dome.

鈥淚t feels like a whole new hotel experience,鈥� Grubb said.

A new event space, Social, overlooks the museum on an outdoor terrace.

Conference room walls evoke waves with an angular form, and wood is used to remind guests of California’s redwoods.

In guest rooms, beds were lowered to provide better views through windows. Custom furnishings were added, including built-in lounge seating, window seats and counter-height desks that were designed to function as a standing workstation or cocktail bar.

TRACE, the ground-floor restaurant, features string drapes 鈥� meant to evoke San Francisco’s fog 鈥� to divide tables. The upstairs bar, in contrast, uses glass walls for noise reduction.

The project was designed before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, so no changes were made in response to it, Grubb said. However, the hotel has been closed, delaying the public debut of Skylab’s work.

Skylab has been engaged on the project for about four years (Grubb declined to release the project’s total budget). The architecture firm previously designed other W hotel renovations, including one for W Seattle in 2012.

Design Beyond Borders is a 91视频 feature offering a look at the projects outside of Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact the 91视频 newsroom at 503-802-7221 or [email protected].