Louisville, KY
100,000 square feet
2006
Type: Hotels / Reuse
Theme: Transforming Old Buildings
The first of the award-winning 21c Museum Hotels, 21c Louisville is a radical re-envisioning of five contiguous 19th century warehouse buildings in Louisville’s historic downtown district. Our straightforward, modern insertions weave the five buildings together, highlighting elements of the original fabric and providing opportunities to display dramatic, large-scale contemporary art.
It’s not just how the space has been reshaped into something altogether new and complex, but how one finds this new kind of urban life mixed with art that makes it so exciting.
Stephen Brockman, Principal
TenBerke
Design Architect, Interior Design
K. Norman Berry Associates Architects PLLC
Executive Architect
Stanley D. Lindsey and Associates
Structural Engineer
Kerr-Greulich Engineers, Inc.
MEP Engineer
Renfro Design Group, Inc.
Lighting Design
#1 Best U.S. Hotel and #6 Best Hotel in the World
Conde Nast Traveler
Best Hotel - Best of Year Awards
Interior Design Magazine
Global Vision Award
Travel Leisure
At the project’s onset, the original buildings on site – five contiguous historic buildings from the 19th century – had been vacant for over 20 years without any modern electrical, plumbing, mechanical or fire protection systems. They had housed the Falls City Tobacco Bank building and the G. Schurmann Wholesale Saddler, beautiful examples of commercial architecture done in a Renaissance Revival style, and while the series of buildings form a cohesive whole, the distinctive character of each is still legible on the facade.
Our design sought to respect the buildings’ history, ensuring that existing masonry walls and architectural details were framed in public spaces to reveal the space’s original warehouse character. By adaptively reusing a preexisting structure, this project provides a socially and environmentally sustainable model for the continuing revitalization of Louisville’s historic downtown.
