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Can design itself be a destination?
When design gives meaning to an architectural building beyond its intended use, it turns a space into a destination. To be a destination spot, a place people want to visit merely to be there, a space only needs to create a feeling in its visitor-not a small task.
The Getty Museum, designed by Richard Meier in the center of Los Angeles, is a good example of design serving its function, but also being an attraction in and of itself. Many a museum-goer speak of the Getty's sprawling grounds of beige travertine and its grassy mountaintop campus that can only be reached by tram as the main reason to plan a trip to the museum in the first place. It feels like a wonder unto itself. The site offers serene views over Los Angeles and seems to flaunt its isolation from the buzzing traffic below. There may not be a more soulful place in Los Angeles.
To create a destination is to create an experience, be that spiritual or entertaining, calming or awakening. The Hotel Puerta America in Madrid, which opened in July, embodies this concept to the hilt. Nineteen architects and studios designed each of the 34,000-sq.-ft. hotel's 12 floors of 342 guest rooms, as well as bar, restaurant, lobby, and...