Lauren Rottet was one of the inaugural winners of the Elevate ICON award this December. Elevate, an event in Miami Beach powered by Livabl, ARCHITECT, and Multifamily Executive magazines, gathered the best and brightest names in the luxury high-rise space for two days of insightful discussions on the industry.
Rottet is a highly accomplished architect, interior designer, furniture designer and art curator with an extraordinary record of awards, publications, lectures, juries and honors. She is the Founding Principal of Rottet Studio, an international architecture and interior design firm, and is the only woman in history to be elevated to Fellow status by both the American Institute of Architects and International Interior Design Association.
Her panel, on the alchemy of innovation and elegance in high-rise architecture and interiors, was moderated by Paul Makovsky, the editor-in-chief of ARCHITECT magazine.
Rottet started off by explaining a bit about her philosophy when beginning a project.
“When you’re going into something like a 1950’s modernist building, you can’t destroy that architecture and character,” Rottet said. “Or when you’re going into an outdoor building that’s from the early 1900’s, you shouldn’t destroy that character, either. For me, it’s all about doing the right thing.”
Rottet then described the second philosophy that’s critical to success in her field.
“You have to really know your audience,” she said. Rottet went on to describe an approach where she finds it helpful to assign characters in her creative process and pictures her work as set design. It’s beneficial for her to picture the buyer in her head and envision their wants and needs in advance. Rottet’s design work is tied into the city where it resides – New York is more linear and urban, whereas a building in Miami would feature softer lines to reflect the low-key lifestyle.
Makovsky went on to discuss Rottet’s furniture line, Rottet Collection, which was introduced in 2017. Rottet’s pieces are meant to be viewed as expression of art and function inspired by the light and space movement, as well as Rottet’s art and architecture background.
Given her creative mind, Rottet clearly wants to continue as an innovator in her field.
“I get bored,” Rottet said. “I know have the furniture company but who knows what’s next? Being here [at Elevate] has given me quite a few ideas — I’ll let you know.”
