Adaptive Reuse in Downtown NOLA
Project Facts
Location: Historic Warehouse & Arts District
Size: 5,000 +/- square feet
Program: retail and hospitality
When our clients came to us with an adaptive reuse project to build a hotel in an old warehouse structure, we knew there would be some challenges. Soon the solution became clear: what if we built a hotel UNDER an old warehouse structure?!
Process Work
In order to build a structure within another structure, you have to start with a really accurate survey and spatial understanding. In this case, we used 3D scanning to generate a point cloud model to provide us with the information for our existing conditions model.
Model showing neighborhood context.
It Came Down to Inches
The existing warehouse structure, made up of steel trusses, tension cables and purlins, needed to maintain it’s lateral strength, so removing any of those components would compromise the shell of the structure. We intended to keep the new building just under the lowest structural member of the existing truss, which came down to how much room a roofer would need to get a roll of roofing membrane underneath a beam! The program we are ducking in underneath consists of a retail space in the street-fronting existing masonry structure and a new hospitality space with an exterior courtyard underneath the higher warehouse trusses. The north facing roof cladding would be removed in order to bring in natural light and air to the courtyard and create a unique urban patio and pool experience.
Preliminary studies of the courtyard space.
Preliminary section studies.
Rendering of Courtyard.
Rendering of Courtyard View.
Exterior and Courtyard Development
We chose glazed CMU block as the material for the perimeter walls of our building within the warehouse, acting as a great way to provide required fire protection, and as a nod to our upscale industrial-vibe aesthetic. Steel doors and windows with a green patina finish presents a softer side of the industrial composition. The pool coping clad in terra cotta tile warms the space, as does natural wood finishes on less exposed soffits. These warm hues balance the cool tones of the steel and concrete flooring throughout.
Rendering of Interior View.
Rendering of Interior View.
Material Development
Developing a complete finish palette is always important in small, hospitality spaces. All surfaces require thoughtful consideration. In our interior schemes, we knew that we had to address the cool tone of the existing concrete flooring throughout the first floor. We balanced it with warm wood tones, moody accent walls, and integrated planter boxes along the double-height balcony-lined central space, capped with a skylight. Warm metals like brass and dark green marble also punctuate the space for an elevated look-and-feel, an elegant container of surprises within a once dark and dim warehouse.
guest room suite design rendering
bathroom design rendering