The process of designing two new hotels at 5th Street and Colorado Avenue in downtown Santa Monica, a site that serves as a vital entry point into the City, presented unique challenges. Such a prominent location – both a gateway to the City and just blocks away from popular attractions like the famed Santa Monica Pier and 3rd Street Promenade - meant that not just any designs would do. The new hotels would not only have to meet the highest of aesthetic design
standards, but they would also have to work within the City’s multi-modal transportation network.

Our firm was hired to provide a design tailored to the City that would incorporate a sensitive urban design and pedestrian approach to inform the buildings’ orientation and character. Additionally, it was the shared priority of our firm, the client, and the City to produce buildings that meet strict sustainability standards - in this case the goal was LEED Gold certification - that exist is seamless harmony with the design of the buildings and the experience of their users.
While both structures share some design traits - such as their interior courts that provide for daylight, cross-ventilation, and general interest shops for hotel patrons - it was important that each have its own identity. The orange metal
panels on the Courtyard by Marriott give the hotel its dramatic presence, while slight color variation within the panels adds texture, rhythm, and dynamism. A cantilevered pool deck sits just over the main entrance on the second floor, giving guests a unique view of the adjacent Metro station. The large cut out created by the second floor deck creates a dynamic change of view for passing train riders and pedestrians. In addition, the second floor deck has been activated by providing an outdoor lounging area and pool, as well as having public oriented
facilities such as meeting and exercise rooms that face the street.

At the street level of the Marriott, the primary pedestrian entrance to the hotel is located in the middle of the block and the hotel has been designed to open up to pedestrians as they come off the popular Expo Line. The corner has been given a strong presence by bringing the building down to the edge of the sidewalk,
and the storefront has been set back to allow for a widened sidewalk that could accommodate outdoor seating as well as providing for a gracious pedestrian environment.

The Hampton Inn & Suites, with its sea foam green tower, makes a striking contrast to its neighbor across the street. This juxtaposition was purposeful, with the green Hampton meant to symbolize the ocean and the Marriott 
representing the land. The glass curtain wall of the Hampton along Colorado Avenue gives the structure a strong presence, while the entrance has been set back from the street and designed to be as open and transparent as possible. One of the effects is the activation of the street corner, thus extending the esplanade that passes in front of the neighboring Marriott and terminates on the other end at the famed Santa Monica Pier.

This focus on mobility was one of our core sustainability strategies, with a variety of non-automobile transportation options available within steps of both hotels, including an esplanade connecting directly to popular nearby destinations, bike rentals, and of course the light rail stop directly across the street from the Marriott. Though subterranean parking is available for both hotels, the driveways to the garages are located around the corner from the main entrances, keeping the emphasis on the pedestrian experience. The garages themselves have spaces for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles, as well as charging stations for electric vehicles. Both hotels, including all guest rooms, are outfitted with energy-conserving LED lights and water-efficient fixtures. Each roof is equipped with photo-voltaic panels as well as being a ‘cool roof’, which means that it reduces the amount of heat absorbed into the building, and thereby reduces the amount of energy needed to cool the interior.

Sustainability was factored into the form of each building as well, with large cut-outs in each hotel creating breezeways that provide a natural source of ventilation and cooling.

In a true exercise of urban design, our firm has actively maintained the theme of the urban fabric and designed two buildings that not only respond to one another, but integrate the neighboring community, the Metro Line, and the existing architectural aesthetic already present in Santa Monica.