80 DIGS.NET
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9.20.2019
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P R O F I L E | P O W E R S T R I P S T U D I O
A BOL D PROPOSITION
Designed in the spirit of its artistically evolving terrior, the
interiors of a new London hotel express the creative inclinations
of narrative-driven Powerstrip Studio.
W R I T T E N B Y J E N N T H O R N T O N
T
hat the interiors of the Bankside Hotel, a new high-rise on the banks of the ames
in London, would offer cinematic scope was always assured: Dayna Lee, who co-
founded Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary design practice Powerstrip Studio with
her husband Ted Berner, helmed its exuberant interiors. Former Emmy Award-nominated
art directors, Lee and Berner bring their background to bear on projects across the world.
But just across the pond, Lee served as principal designer for the gleaming, glass-walled
Bankside Hotel. Showing a focused, considered verve, Lee approached the project like
an auteur, conceptualizing a mise en scene on a large scale: one with cosmopolitan drama,
an extravagance of character and a plotline that dates back to the 1700s, when the hotel's
Blackfriars enclave was at its most fashionable. Recent times have given rise to a resurgent
interest in the area so that it was not necessary for Lee to look far for inspiration. She walked
three minutes down the street and there it was: the Tate Modern. e lauded repository
for international contemporary art influenced Lee's style direction, a kind of art-school
aesthetic that has shaken off the dust to reveal a modern polish characterized by mid-century
furnishings, black line drawings, and graphic punch.
