Hotel EMC2 hotel - Chicago, USA

Albert Einstein’s famous relativity theorem may have inspired a great many endeavours, but it’s probably safe to say that a hotel has not, until now, been one of them.

The newest offshoot of Marriott’s Autograph brand, the 195-room EMC2 occupies a new, 21-storey pile by KOO architects in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile quarter. The interiors by Rockwell, meant to represent a convergence of art and science, are almost what you would imagine Captain Nemo’s lair to look like: a stylish science lab furnished with Montreal artist Felix Guyon’s zoetrope in the reception, oversized perforated metal lanterns in the public spaces and, in the warm cabin-like bedrooms, teardrop-shaped phonograph speakers on copper poles that are powered by smartphones.

Dominated by a copper-topped bar top, and towering bookcases lined with volumes on science and art, the Albert’s soaring dining room is the setting for chef Brandon Brumback’s mod menu of aged duck roasted with cauliflower miso and XO sauce, and charred Spanish octopus draped with a cilantro dressing.