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Every hour, the McDonalds in Hong Kongs crowded Admiralty Station sees more than 1,200 people bustle through its golden arches to grab a coffee or a burger. Thats one customer every three seconds. Its the second-busiest McDonalds in the world and the most-frequented restaurant in Asiaand now, its getting a makeover.To celebrate 50 years of McDonalds in Hong Kong, the Admiralty Station has been renovated for the first time in 10 years. The design takes inspiration from the subway station itself, using a clever new installation to set a mood, evoke the excitement of travel, and, crucially, keep foot traffic moving through the bustling restaurant. It also takes a tentative step away from the millennial gray branding thats dominated new McDonalds locations over the past several years, embracing a slightly more nostalgia-powered look.[Photo: Andrew Meredith/courtesy Landini Associates]The Millennial gray-ification of McDonaldsThe new Admiralty Station McDonalds design was led by the Sydney-based design agency Landini Associates. Back in 2015, Landini Associates also spearheaded Project Ray, an all-encompassing McDonalds rebrand named for Ray Kroc, the businessman widely credited with turning McDonalds from a small hamburger stand into a fast-food corporation. Project Ray included rethinking the chains interiors, modernizing its graphic design, and even changing employees uniforms, all in a bid to make McDonalds cool again and re-attract millennials to the brand. The first Project Ray redesign originally debuted at Admiralty Station, introducing a sleeker, more minimalist McDonalds model accented with concrete, glass, and stainless steelquite the contrast to the bright red-and-yellow stores customers might remember from the 80s and 90s. Landini Associates idea of a modern McDonalds quickly caught on at other locations in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, and more.[Photo: Andrew Meredith/courtesy Landini Associates]The energetic environments that have been the signature for McDonalds are now replaced with a simpler, calmer, and more classic feel, Mark Landini, creative director of Landini Associates, told Architectural Products of Project Ray in 2023. Ten years on, Project Ray is still expanding to new McDonalds restaurants. Still, the concepts millennial gray-ification of McDonalds has perhaps become a bit of a relic of the mid-2010s, when many fast-food restaurants began stepping back from expressive design for a more standardized fast-casual look. In contrast, over the past several months, McDonalds has been more broadly embracing its fans nostalgia for its 80s and 90s marketing, bringing back brand characters like Grimace, CosMc, and Uncle OGrimacey. Landini Associates updated Admiralty Station, which its calling a Ray-Naissance, seems to lean into this new tack by incorporating a bit more color, energy, and a few classic callbacks into its design.[Photos: Andrew Meredith/courtesy Landini Associates]McDonalds of the futureWhen visitors enter the new Admiralty Station McDonalds, theyll first be greeted with a gigantic, modernized version of the original golden arches, complete with a few subtle nods to the iconic branding of the very first McDonalds restaurants. As customers rise from the station below, theyre welcomed by a reflective double-canopy entrancea contemporary homage to McDonalds original roofline and a nod to Ray Krocs classic design, a press release on the redesign reads. Now framed by glowing feature walls in McDonalds signature yellow, aimed at creating an unmissable beaconjust like the earliest restaurants once were.[Photo: Andrew Meredith/courtesy Landini Associates]Past this bright yellow entryway is the new restaurants defining feature: a 70-foot-long curving digital screen called the Mood Engine. Shape-wise, its a bit reminiscent of the subway trains themselves, and its moving images also build on the idea that its a fantastical continuation of the stations transit. According to the press release, it pulses with curated animations, dynamic color transitions, and playful bursts of McDonaldland characters, bringing in a bit of the classic McDonalds character that mightve been missing in the previous design.To be clear, the new Admiralty Station McDonalds is a far cry from the fast-food restaurants of the 80s, when McDonaldland characters abounded. The concept is clearly intended for customers of the future, including a fast-service lobby filled with digital kiosks that can serve those 1,200 customers per hour; a first-of-its-kind McCafé Bar space made entirely from recycled plastic; tabletops made with 100% recycled laminate pulp and coffee grounds; and a fully LED lighting system intended for energy efficiency (that includes the Mood Engine wall.) Still, the design provides a sneak peek into what McDonalds might look like several years from now: slightly brighter, more personalized, and tied to the companys roots.Our original design for Ray has proven its intent, to be a classically neutral and long-lasting space, Landini said in the press release. This Ray-Naissance can now shift from calm to energetic, playfully branded to locally nuanced. . . . Like a chameleon, it responds to its environment.
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E-Commerce
Once upon a time, back in 1995, BYD was a little-known battery maker. Today, it is the worlds largest electric vehicle producer after surpassing Tesla in global sales in 2024. This rise reflects a relentless focus on automation and vertical integration. It controls every part of its supply chain. It makes its own batteries, with features unmatched in the industry, even mining raw materials like lithium. Its factories are robotic wonders that run about 97% on their own, building a never-ending stream of cars better than Western equivalents at lower price points. And it also transports its own cars across the world with its own fleet of ships specially designed to carry automobiles. The latest is also the biggest ship of its kind on the planet: The BYD Shenzhen, which just sailed to Brazil on its first assignment. This colossal ship was designed to carry just wheeled cargo, what is technically called a roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel. Unlike typical container ships, where vehicles are packed into boxes and containers, Ro-Ro ships allow cars to be driven directly onto decks via ramps, making loading and unloading faster. They are way more efficient to operate than regular transport ships because each minute shaved from loading and unloading translates into big financial savings for the company. As BYDs general manager, Wang Junbao, pointed out at the Shenzhens delivery ceremony, Its efficient loading system and advanced protective technologies for stable and low-carbon logistics will be pivotal to [the companys] globalization strategy. What’s so special about BYD’s ship? At 721-feet longnearly twice the length of a soccer fieldthe Shenzhen is the largest car carrier by capacity, holding 9,200 vehicles across 16 decks. According to the company, the ships design prioritizes efficiency and sustainability. It uses liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel engines, which burn LNG, a cleaner alternative to traditional marine diesel. LNG cuts sulfur oxide emissions by 99% and nitrogen oxides by 85%, aligning with stricter environmental regulations in markets like Europe. The Shenzhen also features anti-fouling paint, a coating that reduces drag by preventing marine organisms from sticking to the hull, improving fuel efficiency by up to 8%. It also employs shaft generators, devices that convert excess engine power into electricity, reducing reliance on polluting diesel generators. While BYD hasnt fully detailed its proprietary box-type battery packs onboard, their inclusion hints at efforts to electrify auxiliary systems, further lowering emissions. Vehicles wait to be loaded onto BYD’s third 7,000-car carrier, the BYD Hefei, at the Taicang Port in Suzhou, China, in January 2025. [Photo: Ji Haixin/VCG/Getty Images] Why BYD built this giant BYDs decision to invest in ships stems from its explosive growth. The company sold about 455,000 vehicles in 2019, surging to approximately 740,000 units in 2021 and more than doubling in 2022 to 1.9 million. This growth strained existing logistics networks. Knowing where its heading, BYD announced it would invest $687 million to build its own seven-ship Ro-Ro fleet. Third-party shipping costs were skyrocketing, with daily charter rates hitting $150,000 per vessel in 2024. For context, leasing a single ship for a month could cost $4.5 million. The company estimates that per-vehicle shipping expenses drop 30% to 40% with its own fleet, saving up to $1.4 billion annually. BYD plans to deploy seven car carriers over the next two years to address the shortage of shipping capacity for automobile exports, Wang Chuanfu, the companys founder and chairman, said last year. It has three more to go, including Shenzhen‘s twin, the BYD Changsha, which will be launched soon. No doubt the company will need it. Overseas shipments surged 124% year over year to 133,361 vehicles in Q1 2025, and the company is set to export 800,000 vehicles across the world this year. Such exponential growthwhich analysts believe will continue in the double digits for years to comeis why the company plans to make even more vessels. By 2026, BYDs seven-ship fleet aims to move more than one million vehicles yearly (or 83,300 per month, equivalent to nine Shenzhen trips). Thats one car shipped every 30 seconds, if you want an even more impressive figure. BYD is not the only company that does this, even while it has the biggest ship for now. Its strategy mirrors a broader shift among Chinese automakers. SAIC Motor, Chinas second-largest automaker, operates 31 ships through its logistics arm, Anji Logistics, including the 7,600-vehicle SAIC Anji Sincerity. Unlike BYD, SAIC transports cars for multiple brands, including its rivals. But BYDs fleet will be reserved mainly for its own vehicles, out of pure necessity. Globally, Hyundai GlovisHyundais logistics subsidiarymanages 60 ships and has just ordered a dozen 10,800-vehicle LNG-powered carriers. While larger, Glovis serves third parties like Toyota and Volkswagen. Legacy automakers rely on partnerships with shipping firms, a model BYD avoids, seeking instead to control every aspect of the production chain (the technology, the level of automation, the quality, and the price) to crush the competition. Its hard to imagine the beleaguered Tesla or any other Western manufacturer matching this kind of vertical integration. The massive BYD Shenzhen is yet another reminder that the race for EV supremacy may already have a winner.
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E-Commerce
Hotel art has changed. In the last few years, generic photography and reproductions of works by Old Masters have given way to remarkable pieces of artwork befitting top-notch museums and the worlds best private galleries. Though it may feel like a 180-degree shift from the boring artwork that preceded these new and imaginative displays, hotels becoming cultural destinations unto themselves, by hanging up artwork ideal for the worlds top museums and private galleries, makes sense. The standard used to be that youd put a picture in a frame and call it a daybut hotels dont cut it anymore with this, says Spencer Bailey, editor-in-chief of a multivolume book series starting with Design: The Leading Hotels of the World and cofounder of the media company The Slowdown. People expect more with the artwork, the furniture. People want to feel a sense of craftiness at every touch point at a hotel. Millennial and Gen Z travelers in particular crave authentic, upscale, and culture-based experiences, a notion that has extended into the hotels branding itself through the use of artwork. Its something that still predominantly exists in the high-end, five-star hotel market, Bailey says. The Damien Hirst Empathy Suite at the Palms, Las Vegas, 2019. [Photo: David Becker/WireImage/Getty Images] Indeed, Denvers luxury-focused Art Hotel showcases a 22,000-piece LED light installation by Leo Villareal. Theres also Damien Hirsts outstanding art suite called the Empathy Suite at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegaswhere, for a whopping $100,000 a night, you too can gaze in disbelief at one of six original full-size pieces, like the one titled Winner/Loser, in which two taxidermied sharks float suspended in formaldehyde. Some big-brand hotels are now breaking into the art hotel concept, using carefully curated art collections as a way to help define their brand identity and sharpen their claims of authenticity. Hilton recently jumped on the bandwagon with the Curio Collection, a series of 180 individually distinct and decorated hotels. Competitor Marriott has its Autograph Collection, which has grown to 154 hotels since launching in 2010. Smaller operators are now also embracing an art-forward approach. [Photo: courtesy The Lytle Park Hotel] Merging history and art at a Cincinnati boutique The Lytle Park Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohiopart of Marriott’s Autograph collectionquite literally sits at the intersection of art and hospitality. The property, opened in 2020, combines the hotels structure from 1909 and themes from the next-door Taft Museum of Art. The venues Lytle Park neighborhood is now a lovely residential area, but at the turn of the century, Cincinnatis elite dwelled here and propagated the citys cultural and artistic center. Artwork from the museum adorns some of the hotels walls, a gesture to the hotels link to this rich, storied past. To better connect guests to the areas history and culture, the hotel in 2025 debuted its Taft Suite, which pays homage to the citys illustrious Taft family, including its most famous member, William Howard Taft, the 27th president of the United States. [Photo: courtesy The Lytle Park Hotel] Museums play a crucial role in the economy of American cities, contributing over $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy, says Rebekah Beaulieu, Ph.D, president and CEO of the Taft Art Museum. Hence Cincinnati, she hopes, will benefit from the hotel/museum cross-sector approach to cultural collaboration. Todays hotel guests really want to be transported into a hotels story, says Colletta Conner, principal designer at ForrestPerkins, which designed the Taft Suite. Through its curated gallery experience, the suite offers hotel guests a glimpse into the Lytle Park of the early 20th century, when the Taft family lived there. Guests can peruse the spaces painted garden scenes and river valley motifs that feel vaguely reminiscent of the Ohio River Valley. For an added personal touch, there are even photographs of President Taft peppering the walls. [Photo: courtesy The Lytle Park Hotel] Creating a narrative is a very imprtant part of the design process, Conner explains. Sometimes you could walk onto a property and not feel a story. Sure, the hotel might be beautifulbut theres no story that pulls guests into the hotel experience. Conner says ForrestPerkins works with a lot of different hotel brandslike Sheraton, Four Seasons, and Ritz Carltonto craft a brand narrative for each hotel. We provide local context to these properties, creating unique narratives for each that add up to unique, one-of-a-kind hotel experiences. [Photo: courtesy The Lytle Park Hotel] The design team wanted the suite to match the tone set by the gallery, which occupies a historic home that was built in 1820. Some of these hotels that think about the gallery concept are more like white-box museum gallery types of spaces, says Conner. But our intention here was to have almost this home feeling, which is how the Taft Museum next door is set up. And yet, there might be an inherent contradiction in art hotels. Art requires taste, which can be a very controversial subject, and it requires lots of money, Bailey says. Owners of what was once considered the most valuable art collection in the west, the Tafts were obviously among Cincinnatis most privileged. Objects in the hotel, especially the Taft Suite, point to the Taft Museums Rembrandts and Turners, Italian majolica painted pottery, and Chinese porcelains, the latter a coveted collection both then and now. In many ways, art is a luxury item, and great hotels will need to understand that, Bailey says. The artand where it came fromchosen for each art hotel becomes an embodiment of that hotel as much as the architecture or furniture is. If visitors sense any air of elitism at the hotel, its quickly dispersed by the interior designs and friendly staff. An open concept layout in the main lobby, complete with a stunning skylight that lets in plenty of natural light, mirrors the welcome attitude the hotel and its staff emanate. While they didnt plan these main areas, ForrestPerkins designers emphasize how convivial the spaces are meant to feel, and they sought to reflect this ambience in the Taft Suite. The idea was to have museum quality displayed in a home environment, to be welcoming, approachable, and accessible, Conner says. 21c Louisville [Photo: courtesy 21c] A new kind of art hotel As one-off hotels tailor their art offerings to their locales, boutique chain 21c Museum Hotels is scaling that approach. A chain of seven boutique hotels in the Midwest and South, the brand sees itself as a forward-thinking contemporary art museum first and a hotel second. 21c Bentonville [Photo: courtesy 21c] When you walk into a 21c, youre walking into a hotel lobby, but youre also walking into a museum gallery, says Alice Gray Stites, chief curator for 21c Museum Hotels. Every 21c hotel lobby, hotel hallway, event space, and meeting room is treated like a museum gallery, where Stites installs a varied range of exhibitions. 21c Lexington [Photo: courtesy 21c] The brand got its start in 2006, at a time when revitalizing urban cores and building preservation werent part of many peoples lexicons. As 21c cofounders, preservationists, and contemporary art collectors, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson imagined that contemporary art could be a catalyst for revitalizing their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. In the end, the pair combined their art collection with the hotel concept because a research firm they had hired revealed that their city needed more hotel rooms to spur tourism. 21c Louisville [Photo: courtesy 21c] Laura and Steve wanted to take away the velvet rope that people sometimes perceive when walking into a museum. The result? A different kind of model for both the museum world and the hospitality industry. The hotel offers urated exhibitions that are open 24/7 and cover important topics of the day, and that cycle in and out every six months. 21c was a pioneer in thisthey were an early driver in the art hotel trend, Bailey says. 21c St. Louis [Photo: courtesy 21c] At first glance, there seems to be some tension between the 21c idea of making art more accessible and the fact that its only available in a boutique hotel, where rooms cost upward of $185 a night. Most hotels dont invite anyone who hasnt booked a room to wander their lobbies or hallways, whereas 21c allows anyone, free of charge, into the hotels to view its artwork on display. [21c has] created this idea of living with art and not being intimidated by art, breaking down the formal boundaries that feel so imposing sometimes for outsiders when they walk into an art gallery or museum,” Bailey says.
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E-Commerce
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