We began this project with a former Model-T assembly plant, commissioned by Henry Ford and designed by Albert Kahn. Built to support early 20th-century manufacturing, the building had massive floorplates, which were deep, dark, and unceasingly long. While there was an abundance of perimeter windows, natural light was unable to penetrate the central areas of the building. We worked to preserve the sense of openness, while also defining spaces for a variety of the hotel’s programs and uses.
The interior public areas, private guest rooms, restaurant, and bar reinforce the building’s industrial heritage with simple, machineinspired furnishings, custom hand-crafted pieces made from reclaimed materials, and off-the-shelf industrial products. The neutral palette allows the clarity and materiality of the building’s architecture—exposed brick, factory windows, and large concrete columns—to shine through.
Monumental glass block lightwells bring light into the darkest areas of the existing interior spaces, creating a dramatic play of glow and shadow in the extra generous hallways, which double as galleries for the hotel’s art collection. The project balances vastness with intimacy, sleek industrial materials with warmth.
