Navy Pier’s first hotel, Sable at Navy Pier, opened this week in Chicago. The KOO-designed project links the lake with the city that acts as its backdrop.
KOO started with a window box as the organizing principle for the design of the facade and guest rooms. Each of the 223 guest rooms features a window seat with views of Chicago’s skyline and Lake Michigan. The angled surface of each room’s window seat creates a textured exterior that reflects the range of light, shadow, and color of the lake.
The interior design, also done by KOO, pulls inspiration from Navy Pier’s history as a port and the eponymous USS Sable by incorporating subtle nautical cues like weathered brass, ship building materials, and the use of smooth curves similar to those of a ship’s interior cabin. The color palette is grounded by mixed neutrals and highlighted by a spectrum of blues and blue-greens reminiscent of the colors of Lake Michigan.
The design of Sable at Navy Pier also preserves Navy Pier’s structure. A unique structural engineering approach was introduced to protect the pier. The design uses micropiles that thread through the existing pier foundations and lake water to bedrock below. The micropyles support new columns and a new structural slab that creates a platform to carry the hotel floors. The columns create an arcade that supports the hotel rooms above the Sable at Navy Pier’s lobby and newly created retail space.
In addition to KOO as the architect, James McHugh Construction Co. was the project’s general contractor. Sable at Navy Pier is targeting LEED Silver certification.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment declined in 333 of 352 metro areas in June
Construction employment declined in all but 19 communities nationwide this June as compared to June-2008, according to a new analysis of metropolitan-area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis shows that few places in America have been spared the widespread downturn in construction employment over the past year.
| Aug 11, 2010
Casino Queen breaks ground on $2.15 million entertainment venue
The Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Ill., is raising the stakes in its bid to capture a larger share of the local gaming market with the start of construction on a new $2.15 million sports bar and entertainment venue that will enhance the overall experience for guests.
| Aug 11, 2010
Outdated office tower becomes Nashville’s newest boutique hotel
A 1960s office tower in Nashville, Tenn., has been converted into a 248-room, four-star boutique hotel. Designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with PowerStrip Studio as interior designer, the newly converted Hutton Hotel features 54 suites, two penthouse apartments, 13,600 sf of meeting space, and seven “cardio” rooms.
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
10% of world's skyscraper construction on hold
Emporis, the largest provider of global building data worldwide, reported that 8.7% of all skyscrapers listed as "under construction" in its database had been put on hold. Most of these projects have been halted in the second half of 2008. According to Emporis statistics, the United States had been hit the worst: at the beginning of 2008, "Met 3" in Miami was the only U.S. skyscraper listed as being "on hold". In the second half of the year, 19 projects followed suit.
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
