The Joseph Nashville is a hotel driven by art and culture. Envisioned as a cultural center rather than a hotel, The Joseph is home to a rotating collection of blue-chip art. The brainchild of the father and son duo, Ron and Joel Pizzuti, The Joseph has been designed to display the family’s art collection to a broader public. The Pizzuti family has over four decades amassed a private contemporary art collection that is ranked among the top ten nationally. The collection is primarily housed in their eponymous Pizzuti Collection museum in Columbus Ohio. Its mission is to “foster cultural understanding and educational exchange by championing a diversity of voices from around the globe” in art and design. The design strategy for the interiors was to take a residential approach, intended for guests to feel like they are “living with art”. Restrained architectural spaces are rendered in a rich, warm, and natural palette to create an elevated, serene and neutral backdrop for the hotel’s rotating art collection. Understated touches like tooled saddle leather, marquetry patterns, and Nudie suit inspired floral embroidery reference local traditions subtly. Understatement was vital behind the design inspirations. Capturing Nashville spiritually and emotionally, without the use of overt tropes, but rather through the use of abstract material references was of the utmost importance. Key examples of these moments include a 16-foot custom-fabricated reception desk with leather paneling by Lucchese inspired by traditional leather boot patterns and handicraft. In the lobby bar, the material selection was informed and inspired by the copper-and-glass chandelier by artist Misha Kahn that hangs on display above. The guest rooms were fashioned to feel like the interior of a luxury caravan where everything has its place and a glamorous opulence dominates. A built-in leather sofa that gives the impression of mid-century banquette exudes an on-the-road lavishness. Copper, oak, warm marble and brown leathers complete a palette that feels at once local and sophisticated. Lastly, using the language of the formal geometry in the architecture became a driving concept behind the interiors. The 21-story, glass-and-steel building, is by Arquitectonica, known for its trademark strong diagonals. That strategy is on display in the lobby. The tri-color marble floor is a geometric pattern inspired by Italian cathedrals and intended to be a more classic foil to the otherwise modern architectural detailing, while the tapered ceiling coffers are inspired by the geometric patterns created in the building facade.