Branch, a new private members’ club inside the Park Terrace Hotel in New York, is a refined haven for busy professionals. Designed by Holloway Li and furnished by Aram Trade, it’s also a testament to transatlantic collaboration
Before the airy private members’ club Branch brightened the sixth floor of Midtown Manhattan’s Park Terrace Hotel, the double-height setting housed a lounge. But “it was lacking life and lacking purpose”, points out Alex Holloway, co-founder and creative director of London design practice Holloway Li. Having previously collaborated with real-estate developer Masterworks on two London hotels, this time around Holloway Li was tasked with transforming a lacklustre hangout into a vibrant venue that effortlessly shifts from morning laptops to breezy evening cocktails.
To encourage a productive, versatile workplace, Holloway Li reimagined the layout, replacing a smattering of loose furniture from the prior incarnation with an attractive array of tailored vignettes. There’s the central cluster of Zanotta’s William sofas, for example, as well as the bespoke curving banquette embellished with brass shelving and custom booths nestled into windows. Each one of the synergistic options beckons to guests who might be craving different moods.
Although this configuration fosters some much-needed privacy, at the same time it connects members to the people around them. “No one likes to sit in an empty room, but if you’re the first one coming in here you don’t feel exposed,” explains Holloway. “It builds up gradually over time without it ever being awkward.” Bookcases and plantings serve as effective yet organic divisions, and also help to add pockets of intimacy throughout, while sheer drapes instil comfort and relaxation.
Park Terrace Hotel is found within the Bryant, a mixed-use tower overlooking Bryant Park, completed by David Chipperfield Architects in 2021, and it directly influenced Holloway Li’s design narrative. In the United Kingdom, “our building stock is more restricted in scale, so we loved the height and the generous architecture of the Bryant. It has a grandeur to it; the existing terrazzo columns are almost monastic,” elaborates Holloway.
In response to that formality, Holloway Li wanted Branch to have “a European mid-century flavour”, as Holloway puts it, and key to eliciting this was Aram Trade, the decades-old London mainstay of furniture, lighting and homewares in Covent Garden. Holloway was serendipitously wandering through the store when he received a phone call about Branch, and as he took in the sight of the pieces on display, he knew that they were a perfect fit for his new venture.
“Holloway Li came to us with a vision for what they wanted,” says Grace Mitchell, a trade consultant at Aram Trade. Although Aram Trade had worked on international projects in the past, it was never of this scope or with such a focus on luxury.
“It was a big learning curve, heavy on the logistics,” Mitchell recalls. “Sometimes it’s easy to picture what a list of products on a specification sheet is going to look like in a space, but in this case, it was quite an eclectic mix, and we had only seen floor plans.”
When Mitchell was finally presented with images of Branch, she was impressed by how deftly the range of items sourced from Aram Trade – including Eileen Gray’s glass and chrome E1027 side table, the glossy Acerbis Sheraton sideboard and Gubi’s travertine Doric coffee table – melded with the copious amounts of foliage that are a nod to the park below. Gray’s plump Bibendum chairs, upholstered in a beguiling dark green, seamlessly converse with a Ferm Living jute rug and Ceci Thompson marble table, and these stood out to Mitchell in particular. “It’s a modern interior and it’s always nice when you can still find an old design relevant,” she points out.
The lively interplay of Aram Trade goods helps cement the idea of Branch as a third space, a refuge for hotel guests and residents of Bryant’s condominiums amid harried appointments and bedtime rituals. Even the meeting room has an inviting sheen, adorned with Ben Soleimani’s Yava rug and Vico Magistretti’s cylindrical-legged 905 chairs from Cassina.
Looking out over the New York Public Library’s monumental Stephen A Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, Branch’s prime location was also an inspiration for Holloway Li. The profusion of green hues and pops of red; the fluted timber details gracing the Fredericia Savannah lounge chairs that recall the enticing spines of stacked tomes; the warm Thomas O’Brien table lights all conspire together to conjure a vintage, collegiate ambiance.
Fashioned out of a pale green terrazzo to complement Chipperfield’s original handiwork, the bar is heightened by chandeliers that take the form of delicate petals and Marcel Breuer’s cane and steel Cesca counter stools from Knoll. The presence of a prominent coffee station makes it “feel like you’re working in a café”, says Holloway. “Then, as dusk falls and the music starts to ramp up and the lights come down, views of the skyline give it a night-time quality.”
Photography by Pion Studio and courtesy of Holloway Li
This story was originally featured in OnOffice 172, Autumn 2025. Discover similar stories by subscribing to our weekly newsletter here
