Surfjack

BDNY Gold Key Award - 2016

ILC Indie Hospitality Award - 2016 

As the lead designer of the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club’s public areas, including the lobby, swim club, retail, and restaurant spaces, The Vanguard Theory assembled a team of more than two dozen artists from in and outside of Hawaii to create a breezy, retro vibe that nods to 1960s surf culture while also reflecting a more authentic, contemporary experience of the islands. Drawing from an extensive collection of vintage photographs, postcards, and stories of the former Ho‘okele Suites—a budget hotel built in 1959 that later became a punk rock club—the team worked closely with Wall to Wall to craft a cohesive narrative and aesthetic for the reimagined 112-room property. From the entrance, a rolling, wave-like mural by Brendan “The Blob” Monroe draws the eye to the built-in cabanas in the back of the swim club. In the restaurant, Mahina & Sun’s, created by renowned local chef Ed Kenney, art deco-inspired shaka print wallpaper designed by Andrew Mau is illuminated by mod-inspired pendant lamps designed by local artist Mark Chai. Throughout, soft curves and organic shapes play against the clean, modern architecture of the hotel. The artistic centerpiece is Matthew Tapia’s eminently Instagrammable mural on the bottom of the pool, which, inspired by the iconic midcentury signs found throughout Waikiki, proclaims “Wish You Were Here!”