Adaptive Reuse » Hotel

Courtyard Seattle Downtown Pioneer Square

pete — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:10:16 +0000

History
Dating back to the days of the Gold Rush, the Alaska Building originally served as a bank to the Seattle area. This 1904 building was the first steel-framed structure and the first real “skyscraper” in the Northwest. The 14-story building was designed by Eames and Young and stood as the city’s tallest building until 1911. The building was styled with Beaux Arts ornamentation which is rare in Seattle. The Alaska Building started a rush of similarly-sized buildings along the street, lending it the monicker of the Second Avenue canyon.^[1]

(Re)Developer
Marriott International is a family of wide-ranging hotel brands including: Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, EDITION Hotels, and Courtyard by Marriott. With over 800 locations in 28 countries, Courtyard caters to a wide range of travelers by offering varying accommodations.^[2]

Outcome
The historic Alaska Building once again serves travelers and visitors to the City of Seattle. Although the days of the Gold Rush are behind this northwestern city, there is still much activity and excitement happening in this growing metropolis. The bank may no longer be accepting the gold findings from prospectors, but the new Courtyard by Marriott hotel has opened its doors to provide overnight stay to tourists and business people.

Located in Pioneer Square (the original heart of Seattle), the Courtyard building is part of this well-known historic district. The hotel is within walking distance to numerous art galleries, internet companies, cafés, sports bars, nightclubs, and bookstores.^[3]

The adaptive reuse project of the building converted the numerous office floors into a 262-guest room hotel. In addition to the rooms, the hotel also boasts nine meeting rooms as well as easy mass transit connections to the rest of the city.^[4]

andel’s Hotel Lodz

pete — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:32:34 +0000

History
The weaving mill, built in 1852 by textile magnate Izrael Poznanski, is defined by its red-brick exterior and cast iron pillars. After over a century of use, the complex was abandoned in the 1990s.

(Re)Developer
The adaptive reuse project was commissioned by Warimpex Finanz-und Beteiligungs AG of Vienna, Austria. The real estate development and investment company if focused on building and operating hotels in Central and Eastern Europe. The firm operates in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, France, Germany and Russia.^[1]

The interior design was handled by Jestico + Whiles who are famous for their practical, innovative and contemporary solutions. Jestico + Whiles, based on London, have won a number of national and international architecture awards for their work, among them the 2002 FX International Design Award for the andel’s Hotel Prague. The andel’s Hotel Łódź is already the fourth joint project with Vienna International.

The executive architect for the project was OP Architekten, founded by the architects Orlinski and Poplawski. The firm has made a name for itself thanks to its relationship with contemporary, elegant and functional architecture. OP Architekten’s achievements have already been distinguished at numerous architecture competitions. The accomplishments of the firm’s founders include Poland’s tallest hotel. With the andel’s hotel projects, the two architects further prove their experience in the field of exterior architecture.^[2]

Outcome
The former factory has been transformed into the first four-star hotel in Łódź, Poland. Jestico + Whiles painstakingly followed the city’s strict codes of historic building preservation to honor the tradition of the building. The hotel is actually one piece to the larger reuse of the complex, now called Manufaktura (a retail and entertainment center). The 200,000-sq.-ft., four-level hotel includes 180 guestrooms and 80 long-stay apartments. The hotel lobby is marked by the building’s original cast iron pillars supporting the red brick vaulted roof, and three light wells that slice through the ceiling with sculptural displays of concentric circles denoting the balustrades of each floor above, each lit with changing colored LEDs. The hotel’s pool was created out of a 19th century fire water storage tank and is located in a cantilevered glass box on the top floor, overhanging the building’s brick exterior.^[3]

Ames Boston Hotel

pete — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:18:38 +0000

History
The Ames Building was built in 1893 and was considered (though incorrectly) to be the tallest building in Boston until 1915. It served as an office tower and was Boston’s first skyscraper. Designed in Richardsonian Romanesque, it is the second tallest masonry load bearing-wall structure in the world.

(Re)Developer
Normandy Real Estate Partners purchased the building in 2007 and worked with Morgans Hotel Group to convert the National Historic Building.

Outcome
Opening in 2009, the adapted building now serves as a 114-room modern hotel in the heart of Boston. Along with the hotel, the upscale Woodward restaurant was incorporated into the ground floor. After eight years of vacancy, the Ames is alive and well again.^[1]