George and Glenn‘s partneship is peerless, and their innate creative abilities have made them thought leaders in the design world. Dedicated to delivering the unexpected, they constantly shift visual paradigms with each completed project, the end result eliciting an emotional resonance in the user.
Biography: the man before the myth
In, 1972, two Ontario natives were brought to Ryerson University in Toronto for reasons that can be loosely linked to kismet. The same stroke of fate brought them together a few years later, and would mark the start of an abiding partnership in business and in life.
More than three decades later, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg oversee one of the recognized design firms in the world. The Yabu pushelber studios redefine how the world sees and experiences the built environment. The work is designed collectively; it is imaginative, thoughtful, and honest, while continuously moving between the rational and the intuitive. It is this interchangeability of their individual roles, that in unison, is distinctive.
See also – TOP INTERIOR DESIGNERS | IPPOLITO FLEITZ GROUP
Raised in Toronto, Canada, Yabu received his Bachelor of Applied Arts (Interior Design) from Ryerson Polytechnic Institute. Professional Accreditation includes the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). George Yabu oversees the creation and development of all design components for all projects in the studio. He provides conceptual leadership, as well as, reviewing and refining details of each project with the design teams.
Raised in Kitchener, Ontario, Glenn Pushelberg received his Bachelor of Applied Arts (Interior Design) from Ryerson Polytechnic Institute. Professional Accreditation includes the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). G. Pushelberg is Yabu Pushelberg’s managing partner, the initial contact between new clients and the design team. Throughout each project, he is the communications link between the client and the studio for strategic and business programming information.
Backgroung & Realizations: the projects
Hotels
Four seasons
Las Alcobas
Retail
Avenue Road
Barneys New York
Restaurants
Clement at Peninsula Hotel
Dalloyau
Residence
Brickell House
Studios
Toronto studio
Productos
Avenue Road Furniture
The Most Iconic Projects:
The London Edition Hotel
Yabu Pushelberg first major project in the UK — the new hotel from Ian Schrager: the London edition. as with all edition hotels, each is a cultural epicenter and a microcosm of the best each city has to offer. Located in central London’s Fitzrovia, lodging preserves the finest aspects of the historic building — formerly the Berners hotel — yet reinvents the spaces within to create a dynamic fusion of old and new, past and present. Combining the traditional character of the landmark with a simple, sophisticated design sensibility creates a seamless blend of charisma and ease, resulting in a feeling that cannot be pigeonholed into a specific time period or style. The hotel offers a social hub where guests and visitors can work, relax, socialize and dine all under one roof; behind the refined Georgian exterior and majestic public spaces, there are two bars, a restaurant, meeting rooms, a 24-hour fitness facility and 173 secluded, intimate and luxurious wood panelled rooms and a buzzing lobby.
The public spaces embody Schrager’s ‘new kind of gathering place’ and set out to astonish and seduce with an electric energy pulsating throughout: the hotel lobby is an atrium arabesqued with variegated marbles across walls, floors and corner bar, all original to the hotel and painstakingly restored, glittering below stucco ceilings. the lobby is a juxtaposition between the existing traditional spaces and modern insertions. american minimal artist, donald judd serves as the inspiration in both roms. in the lobby, judd-inspired green velvet sofas, tufted khaki leather sofas, and modern wingback chairs help create the ambiance. the clean, rectangular blackened steel bar sits in front of four back-lit antique mirrors, and hosts communal tables made with black walnut. ingo maurer, the German-based lighting artist, created the mirrored egg installation in the main atrium — an oversized polished silver sphere light.
The hotel reflects the grand traditions of Great Britain: the traditional, aristocratic English country manor and the quintessential London private gentleman’s club with a modern, edgy, urban feel. when these diametrically opposed aesthetics come together, they create an alchemy that takes the hotel and the experience to an entirely new level. Although, these are two aesthetics that do not usually co-exist, the presence of one will serve to showcase the other. originally built in 1835 as five luxurious townhouses, the architecture still showing characterizes London’s finest residences at the height of the grandeur of the Edwardian era. the sumptuous interiors, lavishly decorated with marble and intricate carved ceilings, are superb grade II-listed examples of belle époque extravagance at its finest.
Miami Beach Edition
Yabu Pushelberg designed the interior of the Establishment, the rooms and suites especially, with refined quietude in mind. Natural fibers and neutral tones abound which speak of the sandy beaches below, and bring an overall lightness to the space. The room design is pared-down and simple with clean lines and clear surfaces, while still offering plush comfort.
Other original elements found throughout the building include gilt mosaic-tiled columns and a white and black stone floor in the lobby which Yabu Pushelberg juxtaposed against soft natural materials used in the lounge area, as well as the original radial sundeck, a staple of the beach resort, dotted with ample linen daybeds and copious arrays of pillows. The original curvilinear pool was also preserved, counter-balanced by a new rectangular pool both surrounded by lounge chairs and private cabanas in what is Miami’s largest poolside experiences. The rest of the grounds offer multitudes of games and diversions including a bowling alley, and ice rink, and of course, a night club.
Siwilai Concept Store
Recalling the vibrant and welcoming energy of a street market, SIWILAI is a multi-brand fashion and style shop anchored by a flexible central event and exhibition space. Inspired to create a dynamic environment that includes a unique brand mix to raw experiences, SIWILAI presents a counterculture to conventional Thai shopping.
Merchandise is shown surrounding the central square within nooks, crannies and corners, built to preserve a sense of discovery throughout. Everything within the store environment is bespoke, with a curated, purposeful feel; each detail was considered to reinforce the ethos of the brand. A balance of intricacy and sim- plicity was produced with careful attention to detail. Materials are authentic, honest, and not overly processed. They represent a character and rigor found in traditional Thai crafts- manship and a modern Bangkok. The main entrance captures the Thai spirit with three pairs of solid walnut doors carved with pattern devised from a scaled version of the SIWILAI logo, a portal into the ever- changing environment within.
See also – TOP INTERIOR DESIGNERS | DAVID ROCKWELL
Interesting Facts about Yabu Pushelberg
Like many of their counterparts in the fashion world, interior designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg have a specific woman in mind when conceiving a new project — although the imagined muse changes from client to client.
“We created a whole story line about this girl named Chloë. She’s from the Upper East Side and then went to NYU. She got married and went back uptown, but she still has this downtown attitude,” explains Pushelberg of the inspiration for their new restaurant in Manhattan’s Peninsula hotel, which is set to open in September. “We always come up with a script for clarity — both for ourselves and to keep clients on track.”
Partnerships
Across the Atlantic, Yabu Pushelberg is immersed in the rejuvenation of another storied retailer, the department store Printemps, on the recommendation of former Louis Vuitton chairman and ceo Yves Carcelle. Last year, the firm helped complete a revamp of three floors of the main Printemps building on Boulevard Haussmann, which housed the women’s handbags, accessories, watches and jewelry categories. This fall, they’ll begin renovations on an adjacent building, including the ground and lower levels that currently house cosmetics, fragrances and lingerie.
In China, the firm has a long relationship with Lane Crawford and last fall designed a new unit in the Yintai Centre in Beijing — largely at the behest of a single cosseted customer, according to Pushelberg.
Inspiration
As they spend much of our time traveling they find inspiration everywhere. Yabu Pushelberg say „We are inspired by other people, beautiful things; inspiration can be found in the simplest to most complex forms.“
The Creator’s Choice
The firm has been honored with the Platinum Circle Award for its exceptional achievement in the hospitality industry as well as with the James Beard Foundation Award for excellence in restaurant design. Partners George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg were voted among the “101 people you must meet in 2011” by Town & Country magazine, named among the top 25 designers by Elle Décor magazine, and have been inducted into the Interior Design magazine Hall of Fame. Condé Nast Traveler magazine named Yabu Pushelberg the “Hot Interior Design Firm” of 2011.
They received the Order of Canada – the country’s highest honour – for their contributions to design excellence internationally, in December, 2013. They were named by Town & Country magazine as two of the “101 People You Must Meet in 2011“ and by Condé Nast Traveler magazine as the “Hot Interior Design Firm” of 2011, Platinum Circle Award for their exceptional achievement in the hospitality industry, as well as the James Beard Foundation award for Excellence in Restaurant Design.[10] In 2001, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg were together named Designer of the Year by Contract Magazine,[11] and in 2002 were inducted into the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame.
Top Projects Gallery
