Head of the Class: Harvard Grades Marquee

The Harvard Business School case study of Marquee nightclub came out as reported yesterday on DBTH. The study was forwarded to me by a bevy of friends -- Facebook and real -- because my name was in there on page 3. I thank the boys for crediting me as the designer, but I also redid it with Chris Sheffield a couple years later, and then again with my current partner Marc Dizon. Although Marquee isn't what it used to be, it still is one of the premier clubs of its type. I'll take credit for being a big part of the design team, but I must acknowledge that Noah, Jason Strauss, Andrew Sasson, Mark Packer, Colleen Weinstein, and many others contributed to designing a club that functions as well as any I've ever seen.

In the middle of designing, I was approached by my friend Michael McKenzie about having his good friend Philip Johnson get involved with the design. In the end Johnson (in his mid-nineties) contributed to the facade and the design of the central staircase. Although my original staircase was in that location and in the bridge-type configuration, Johnson and his associates at PJAR , including Pietro Filardo, came up with the famous arc. I heard a story that the aging architect was shown my work for the space and gave only a brief comment: “I see.” I took that as a positive response, since no changes were asked for. PJAR did elaborate studies on how the marquee of Marquee would look in relationship to the surrounding buildings, trees, and street signs. After all this work, a gigantic green sign was erected about a week before the opening which directed people to the Lincoln Tunnel—not the most glamorous development. It broke the pre-opening construction stress as the irony of a bridge and tunnel sign on what was scheduled to be the next fabulous club was not lost on anyone. The five-plus-year run recognized in this Harvard review underscores the hard and brilliant work of the Marquee team.

Also, as reported on Monday, the Club World Awards winners were recently announced, and you can check out the results on their site.