Guests of the Le Méridien Dania Beach at Fort Lauderdale Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are greeted with an unusual view of the city as soon as they step into the hotel lobby. Pentagram created a giant 8,540 sq ft map that covers the floor of the space, depicting the streets and waterways of the city in inlaid terrazzo.

The project was commissioned as part of a top-to-bottom conversion of the hotel by Marriott International and real estate developer Charles S. Cohen. The clean lines and curves of the map complement the Le Méridien brand’s mid-century design aesthetic, as does the vivid but neutral color palette of blue, silver and grey, inspired by the ocean. Typography is set in the geometric sans serif Reader (designed by Colophon Foundry). 

Pentagram also consulted on the interior design of the lobby, selecting the rugs, sofas and other furnishings that surround the map. For the center of the room, the Pentagram team designed a massive chandelier inspired by the solar system. The lights are arranged in a constellation of steel rods that set off the geometry of the map below.