Hotel Vermont Main Entrance and Drop-off Canopy
The challenge was to create a design that is urban, contemporary and authentic; to capture the essence of the Vermont experience without resorting to nostalgia.
The site is on a previously neglected section of Cherry Street, midway between the Church Street Marketplace and the waterfront. The majority of the infill site frontage is a narrow 45 foot wide slot, which necessitated an unusual guestroom type with square proportions. The site gains additional depth at the West end where the lobby and other public functions are located. The building must also straddle the entrance to the City Garage from Cherry Street and the Hotel Bar and Terrace steps up to span over another garage entrance ramp from the adjacent Marriott.
The form and program of the building is a response to each of these different site conditions. The resulting massing serves to break up a long front with separate areas at the street level for the Hotel entry and public space, the City garage entry, and a stand-alone restaurant to the East.
The relatively small footprint of the public ground floor is organized around the granite-clad elevator core which serves as figure/ground for the reception, meeting and entertainment spaces surrounding it, creating a series of dynamic, asymmetrical and interconnected interior environments.