Daroff Design thrives by playing it smart

By diversifying its expertise and anticipating the next hot spot, Philadelphia-based Daroff Design Inc. says, it has managed to weather the recent economic storms.

The firm, which now also has offices in New York and Shanghai, has put its imprint on many of this city's most notable buildings: Comcast's corporate headquarters; Center Square; Philadelphia International Airport; and the cluster around Rittenhouse Square that includes Rittenhouse Hotel, Parc Rittenhouse Hotel, and 1706 Condominiums.

"It's nice to be a part of the fabric of the city and having played a role in its design plans," said founder and president Karen Daroff, 64, whose enterprise marked its 40th anniversary Monday.

Also part of its design portfolio: the Historic Philadelphia Lights of Liberty exhibit and retail space at Sixth and Chestnut Streets and the central atrium space at the Franklin Institute. Currently, the firm is working on a hotel in Orlando that will be operated by Loews at Universal Studios, as well as three five-star Marriott hotels in China that are part of the company's global expansion into Asia.

"All of our worlds are converging," said Daroff, who will be leaving for Asia on Friday to meet with luxury-hotel clients in Macao, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, with a stop in London, where her son is studying, to celebrate his 22d birthday. "I feel we are in an enviable and strategic position."

With a staff of just under 50 that's equally split between architects and interior designers (many of whom have been there 20 or more years), Daroff Design is known mostly for four- and five-star hotels here and nationally for Loews, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Ritz Carlton, and Shangri-La. Its hospitality practice ranks in the Top 10 nationally, according to Interior Design magazine.

"It's all about relationships," Karen Daroff said. She is married to architect and urban planner James Rappoport and has worked for more than 20 years with Philadelphia International Airport and Comcast.

The firm designed Comcast's three homes, most recently the one million square feet of office and amenity space at its corporate headquarters at 17th Street and JFK Boulevard. (Daroff also designed the offices of NBCUniversal, which is now owned by Comcast, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York.)

Daroff worked with Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Gensler Architects, and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts to get the vision right - including the design of Ralph's Cafe, the employee cafeteria.

"We were hoping to have the wonderful views shared by all the employees by having all glass - not just a glass building," Roberts said. "We wanted the cafe to be the heart and soul, where everyone could enjoy the views.

"They really captured where the company is trying to go and [were] respectful of where we've been," he said. "The attention and care was second to none."

Daroff said the Comcast project was special.

"What Comcast has ... become is the must-see attraction for tourists - it's the Rockefeller Center of Philadelphia," she said, alluding to the multimedia presentation in the Comcast lobby.

Daroff Design has had nearly as long a relationship with New York-based Loews Hotels, one that spans 15 years. It converted the former PSFS Building into the Loews Philadelphia at 1200 Market St.

The hotel "is very consistent with the history of the building and offers a sense of place," said Valerie Ferguson, Atlanta-based vice president of brand management for Loews Hotels. "They really understand the corporate palette for our hotels. They have been able to merge comfort with a very keen and clean contemporary design sense."

Though every project is different, Daroff said, the firm's approach is consistent: "We are in the business to create and deliver environments that are compelling and that entertain, inform, and shape the lives of our clients, their guests, and their visitors. I call it experiential design, how the person responds to that space and how they function in it."

Daroff's team includes three top design principals: Stephen Beacham, Rick Marencic, and D.B. Kim.

Beacham heads the corporate and public sector, which includes airports, theaters, schools, and hospitals. Marencic's expertise is casinos and gaming. Kim leads the hospitality division.

"What's helped sustain the firm is the diversity of the work," Beacham said. "When corporate is slow, hospitality might be up, or public sector might be up. Even though all three of us have a specialty, we cross over and bring that sensibility into that discipline."

"What attracted me about Karen's work is it's very collaborative and team-oriented," Kim said. "There is no egocentric."

Said Marencic: "She has always been a champion of a creative culture, and that kind of focus has gone a long way to keeping a lot of talent in the city as opposed to migrating. She has contributed to keeping the creative class in Philadelphia."