Located on New York’s iconic 42nd Street in
the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, THE OUT NYC is New York’s first “straight-friendly” urban resort, serving as an entertainment
destination for locals and
visitors alike.
“When I came up with the name, THE OUT NYC, even though it was a nod about being out and gay, it was more a reference to being a focal point for socializing: eating out, going out, hanging out, etc.,” recalls architect and designer Paul Dominguez, who transformed the aging 1960s motel into a ultra-hip destination recently named by Fodor’s as one of the Top 100 hotels in the world.
The horizontal, two-story complex is filled with 103 rooms (including eight luxury “shares” with four beds each) surrounding three courtyards. Along one curving corridor, inhabitants appear to float on white floors, surrounded by dark green, metallic walls.
Dominguez also created a lobby lounge, a restaurant called KTCHN, and the 14,000-square-foot XL Nightclub, Cabaret & Lounge, all of which are exposed at street level. Oversized graphics unify the spaces with a clean, modern and masculine look, all while retaining the unique identity of each area. Design elements in the building’s exterior and interiors further tie the resort in with the adjacent neighborhoods.
“The façade is an abstraction of the lit billboards from nearby Times Square,” he says. “Two black and white face chairs in the lobby window are a nod to the Theater District, and the functional sculptural elements in the building are a reference to the art galleries of Chelsea.”