Unwrapping ‘the mummy’: Chicago hotel project comes to life

During the economic crisis of 2008, a hotel construction project in downtown Chicago lost funding and was wrapped in white protective fabric as the half-built structure loomed over the prominent River North neighborhood. It was known by locals as “the mummy,” until the project was revived in 2011 and completed in 2014.

What was an eyesore is now the chic and impressive Godfrey Hotel, with an inner steel framing and 221 rooms on 16 stories. It is insulated with 60,000 sf of Metl-Span CFA Architectural Wall Panels and coated with Valspar’s Fluropon in Embossed Silver. The excellent performance characteristics of the panels and the 70% PVDF coating will prevent the building from again resembling “the mummy.”

The sleek architectural panels and Valspar coating give the building a steely sheen, and the exposed triangle trusses serve both an ornamental and structural purpose. The guest rooms have a gray and purple palette, mirroring the boutique hotel’s exterior and the minimalist lobby is oval shaped. The building stands apart from the many other hotels that fill the city.

“We’re very pleased with the building and how the skin of it stands out in the surrounding buildings,” says David Jennerjahn, AIA, Principal with Valerio Dewalt Train Associates and the project’s architect. “You don’t see very many of that façade system being used in Chicago. For a boutique hotel that’s trying to set itself apart as a unique place to stay in the city, it added to that aesthetic and that uniqueness.”