TOUGH BUILDS Wythe Hotel
Built in 1901 as a cooperage, the structure’s original brick was left exposed to add warmth to the new hotel, which was designed by Morris Adjmi and opened in Williamsburg in 2012.
Design
130
september–october 2013
“I didn’t want it to compete with the architecture of the original brick building. What really gives the hotel warmth are the brick walls.” Morris Adjmi, Morris Adjmi Architects
wood ceilings and a concrete floor, it’s the inverse of what you normally see,” he says. Cork was used in the hallways because of its acoustic properties, its ease of maintenance, and eco-friendly nature—and because the client had vetoed the use of any carpet in the hotel.
ABOVE The Wythe Hotel’s lobby area features wood floors and ceilings as well as a table and seating made from reclaimed timber, referencing the barrels that were once made there.
gbdmagazine.com
photos: Matthew Williams (lobby); Mark Mahaney
Construction on the hotel began in the first quarter of 2011 and ended in May 2012, but Adjmi admits that this stretched-out schedule offered the benefit of more time to test the brick blasting and create 3-D mock ups, which isn’t often the case. The overall aim was to reuse the building, which called for an upgrade of the building envelope. “The idea of juxtaposing something new and historic is the type of work I do, so we had to figure out the right tone of intervention,” he says. “Being able to take a building in disrepair and make it something that respects its past was really what this project was all about.” The hotel’s west façade features an enormous factory window as a reference to the building’s original purpose but is repositioned for incredible views from the guest rooms. To achieve this, Adjmi and his team shaved 20 feet of brick off the back of the building and put in a glass factory window wall that opens up to dramatic views of Manhattan. On the east side of the building, the guest rooms feature punched openings reminiscent of the original windows. For the three-floor addition on top of the building, Adjmi wanted to keep the new elements simple and rational. “I didn’t want it to compete with the architecture of the original brick building,” he says. “What really gives the hotel warmth are the brick walls. We took a lot of care to figure out what was the right amount of removal of paint and mortar and blasted the ceilings to expose the wood.” Like many buildings of yesteryear, the hotel structure has tall ceilings with windows placed too high up on the wall for anyone to catch a view. Adjmi solved this by building the floor up 20 inches, so guests can enjoy the view even while lying in bed. The addition allowed Adjmi to pour a new concrete slab with radiant floor heating. The absence of radiators makes the rooms feel larger, and the floors were left exposed. “With warm