A Diamond in the Brooklyn Rough
The Williamsburg Wythe Hotel currently stands as the only existing hotel in its micro-neighborhood, known as the Wythe Corridor. According to an article released by NYDailyNews on Friday, it’s really easy to see the area’s recent transformation—when Brooklyn Brewery came to North 11th St. (across from the Wythe Hotel) in 1991, eight people would buy beer on a good night. “Now that number is 3,000 to 4,000 people.”
The Wythe Corridor is zoned commercial, so large skyscraper buildings cannot be built. “The zoning leaves developers with one golden goose: a hotel.” There are currently three other hotels in commission in the area; one is currently being built, the other two have not yet begun construction. These hotels are looking to the Wythe, and its success, as they begin to plan their own designs.
Get Honest Buildings’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Morris Adjmi Architects was the firm responsible for the design of Wythe Hotel. The hotel is a retrofit of the original building (a cooperage factory) plus a glass addition above. Morris Adjmi project director Mohammad Rajab worked on the hotel and says the firm’s primary concern was “making a hotel that was of and for Brooklyn. You have to go there and find the hotel; it’s a unique and special space that cannot be recreated elsewhere.”
In order to really echo an authentic Brooklyn experience, Morris Adjmi chose to use local artists and millmakers. “The wallpaper in the rooms is local—and the graphics are what you would see if you looked out the window. The murals outside the hotel were locally done, as is the furniture in the rooms,” says Rajab. An interesting fact about the hotel’s furniture is that the wood used was reclaimed from the building itself, saved from the retrofit and put to new use.
The Wythe fits in well with the surrounding area. It’s a mix of old and new, the original building has been there for over a century and the top portion is made of modern glass paneling. “The addition keeps with the language of the area, without hiding what was added. We went with an all glass system, maximizing the views, while using six and eight pane windows to look historic, in factory style.”
The hotel’s uniqueness and character comes from its location. Morris Adjmi Architects is well known for its contextual architecture, and it took great efforts to reinterpret and modernize the hotel, while still making it work with the surrounding neighborhood. As Rajab says, “Its true strength is standing out by fitting in.”
This piece first appeared on http://community.honestbuildings.com/a-diamond-in-the-brooklyn-rough/
