Powers Brown Architecture was on a mission.  Tasked with designing a luxury hotel-condominium high-rise mere steps from San Antonio’s historic Alamo, the regal Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and the city’s beloved San Antonio River Walk,  the design of the multi-storied Thompson San Antonio and Arts Residences at the Thompson Hotel had to navigate a rich series of forces to incorporate a fresh, welcoming presence into the dynamic Arts District with a respectful nod to the area’s deep Texas Hill Country roots.   

“There were three considerations of major consequence:  understanding Texas Hill Country architecture and how to take that style vertical which really hasn’t been done successfully before, context, i.e. respecting the imprint/orientation, plus, of course, selecting the ideal materials,” explains the firm’s Founding Principal and CEO Jeffrey Brown, FAIA, who served as the project’s lead designer.  The resulting Thompson San Antonio and the Arts Residences at the Thompson Hotel catapult the property’s interpretive ‘Texas Hill Country style’ into a newly minted landmark of the Alamo City.

The Texas-based design team conceived of the dual-purpose building as a base that could extend the urban logic of the context via a complex constellation of volumes and planes resting on top. To best interpret San Antonio’s highly regional Hill Country style, the designers chose a limestone-based stucco for the tower and hand-selected limestone to match that of the River Walk to line the structure’s baseline. The entire ensemble negotiates the opportunities of urban locality and the obligation that a 20-level building has to the downtown San Antonio skyline. 

Given the extreme site constraints of .615 acres, along with the all-important orientations to the River Walk, its Tobin Center “dance partner,” the angles of the sunrise and sunset and expansive views of the Hill Country, the tower was forced into the most formidable urban trope: the slab.  “Our approach was to articulate the program elements of the Thompson San Antonio, i.e. its condominium, public spaces, such as its restaurants, rooftop lounge, swimming pool and deck and a full-service spa, and the Hotel’s sub components to deconstruct the slabs using formal “cleaving” operations.  The cleaving serves both as a separation and a holding together of the building’s elements simultaneously,” noted Brown.

The first cleaving of the slab is a vertical sliding of both “halves,” i.e. of the double-loaded corridor north and south to the limitation of the base, thus creating empty corners which the designers occupied with sloped conical volumes.  One half is expanding downward to the street for the private entry for the condominium owners and the second along the riverfront rising from the bottom to top towards the urban core views for hotel guests and visitors.

The exact mid-tower level marks the second cleaving, which creates a horizontal zoning of the hotel on the lower floors from the condominium units on the upper floors. It separates the two physically at the top level of the hotel program of the 33 suites.  This facilitates a successful sense of wholeness at numerous scales without sacrificing its overall place on the skyline. 

“An essential part of the design was for the Hotel to seem to have been born on that site.  So, a big piece of that for us was to try to relate it to the Tobin Center, the only other partner – the dance partner – it has just across the river,” Brown noted. 

He and his design team carefully calibrated the Thompson Hotel’s homage to the Tobin Center and the River Walk.  The tower’s base features a metal wall curved and programmed with a sinuous sort of rippling of aluminum composite panels that index the river.  “The thing about the metal panel screen is it’s across the river from the Tobin Center, but it’s also across the street from El Tropicano, a sort of 1950s-style hotel which also has a wall that floats out in front of it.  So, it was a unique opportunity to say we have this game of walls at the base of the buildings that all talk to each other,” Brown said. 

The Thompson Hotel’s 62 condominiums sit atop 162 hotel rooms, including the expansive suites. The property’s series of base levels serve as home to a new chef-driven restaurant, 4,000-square-foot ballroom/pre-function reception area, pool with pool bar, expansive deck with private cabanas and a full-service spa, accompanied by parking on the first four levels.  The guest rooms and suites, which range from 350 to 2,400 square feet, offer jaw-dropping floor-to-ceiling views of the urban horizon and the rolling Texas Hill Country beyond.

Thompson San Antonio’s expansive fourth floor pool deck offers panoramic city views and is serene oasis, exclusively for hotel guests and residents of The Arts Residences. It features a 2,000-square-foot swimming pool, lounge areas, a pool bar, private luxury cabanas and a dramatic water-ledge. 

Thompson Spa, the hotel’s 5,000 square-foot full-service spa, features five treatment rooms, intimate relaxation areas, a steam room, and a sauna and a state-of-the-art fitness center. These amenities are designed for the exclusive use of hotel guests and residents of the adjacent Arts Residences.

Four restaurant and bar destinations cross indoor and outdoor spaces: the 200-seat Landrace, overlooking the Riverwalk and adjacent to the hotel, features a 40-seat riverfront terrace and a restaurant with soaring ceilings and walls of floor-to-ceiling windows. A show-stopping bar and a semi-open kitchen showcasing the wood-fired grill add to the ambiance. Landrace also offers two expansive private dining rooms, one of which features views of the River Walk.

Floating high above the River Walk is The 300-seat Moon’s Daughters, an indoor-outdoor rooftop restaurant and bar that dazzles from its 20th-story perch over the twinkling city lights and below starry San Antonio nights.

Thompson San Antonio’s nine indoor and outdoor venues span more than 10,000 square feet and feature a versatile selection of layouts. The flexible space encompasses three unique outdoor venues steeped in the natural beauty of the River Walk. Interior event spaces include: a 2,574-square-foot ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows that is poised to be the city’s go-to venue for weddings and other special events; a 2,111-square-foot foyer filled with natural light; and a 678-square-foot executive boardroom with advanced videoconference technology.

Powers Brown Architecture, a professional services firm with offices in Houston, Washington, D.C., Denver, Toronto, and St. John’s, Newfoundland, maintains a diverse architecture design, space planning and urban design practice that spans from regional to international projects. Founded in 1999, it has built a reputation for specialized design and technical superiority, producing award-winning work and gaining recognition from local, regional, and national organizations. The firm has designed more than 250 million square feet since its inception and has won more than 100 design awards as well as having 45 buildings with LEED certification. In addition, Powers Brown Architecture’s work, architects and design staff have been featured in Architect and Texas Architect, as well as various other design and business journals around the U.S. and Canada. For further information, go to www.powersbrown.com   

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About Thompson San Antonio

. Powers Brown Architecture was on a mission.  Tasked with designing a luxury hotel-condominium high-rise mere steps from San Antonio’s historic Alamo, the regal Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and the city’s beloved San Antonio River Walk,  the design of the multi-storied Thompson San Antonio and Arts Residences at the Thompson Hotel had to navigate a rich series of forces to incorporate a fresh, welcoming presence into the dynamic Arts District with a respectful nod to the area’s deep Texas Hill Country roots.   

“There were three considerations of major consequence:  understanding Texas Hill Country architecture and how to take that style vertical which really hasn’t been done successfully before, context, i.e. respecting the imprint/orientation, plus, of course, selecting the ideal materials,” explains the firm’s Founding Principal and CEO Jeffrey Brown, FAIA, who served as the project’s lead designer.  The resulting Thompson San Antonio and the Arts Residences at the Thompson Hotel catapult the property’s interpretive ‘Texas Hill Country style’ into a newly minted landmark of the Alamo City.

The Texas-based design team conceived of the dual-purpose building as a base that could extend the urban logic of the context via a complex constellation of volumes and planes resting on top. To best interpret San Antonio’s highly regional Hill Country style, the designers chose a limestone-based stucco for the tower and hand-selected limestone to match that of the River Walk to line the structure’s baseline. The entire ensemble negotiates the opportunities of urban locality and the obligation that a 20-level building has to the downtown San Antonio skyline. 

Given the extreme site constraints of .615 acres, along with the all-important orientations to the River Walk, its Tobin Center “dance partner,” the angles of the sunrise and sunset and expansive views of the Hill Country, the tower was forced into the most formidable urban trope: the slab.  “Our approach was to articulate the program elements of the Thompson San Antonio, i.e. its condominium, public spaces, such as its restaurants, rooftop lounge, swimming pool and deck and a full-service spa, and the Hotel’s sub components to deconstruct the slabs using formal “cleaving” operations.  The cleaving serves both as a separation and a holding together of the building’s elements simultaneously,” noted Brown.

The first cleaving of the slab is a vertical sliding of both “halves,” i.e. of the double-loaded corridor north and south to the limitation of the base, thus creating empty corners which the designers occupied with sloped conical volumes.  One half is expanding downward to the street for the private entry for the condominium owners and the second along the riverfront rising from the bottom to top towards the urban core views for hotel guests and visitors.

The exact mid-tower level marks the second cleaving, which creates a horizontal zoning of the hotel on the lower floors from the condominium units on the upper floors. It separates the two physically at the top level of the hotel program of the 33 suites.  This facilitates a successful sense of wholeness at numerous scales without sacrificing its overall place on the skyline. 

“An essential part of the design was for the Hotel to seem to have been born on that site.  So, a big piece of that for us was to try to relate it to the Tobin Center, the only other partner – the dance partner – it has just across the river,” Brown noted. 

He and his design team carefully calibrated the Thompson Hotel’s homage to the Tobin Center and the River Walk.  The tower’s base features a metal wall curved and programmed with a sinuous sort of rippling of aluminum composite panels that index the river.  “The thing about the metal panel screen is it’s across the river from the Tobin Center, but it’s also across the street from El Tropicano, a sort of 1950s-style hotel which also has a wall that floats out in front of it.  So, it was a unique opportunity to say we have this game of walls at the base of the buildings that all talk to each other,” Brown said. 

The Thompson Hotel’s 62 condominiums sit atop 162 hotel rooms, including the expansive suites. The property’s series of base levels serve as home to a new chef-driven restaurant, 4,000-square-foot ballroom/pre-function reception area, pool with pool bar, expansive deck with private cabanas and a full-service spa, accompanied by parking on the first four levels.  The guest rooms and suites, which range from 350 to 2,400 square feet, offer jaw-dropping floor-to-ceiling views of the urban horizon and the rolling Texas Hill Country beyond.

Thompson San Antonio’s expansive fourth floor pool deck offers panoramic city views and is serene oasis, exclusively for hotel guests and residents of The Arts Residences. It features a 2,000-square-foot swimming pool, lounge areas, a pool bar, private luxury cabanas and a dramatic water-ledge. 

Thompson Spa, the hotel’s 5,000 square-foot full-service spa, features five treatment rooms, intimate relaxation areas, a steam room, and a sauna and a state-of-the-art fitness center. These amenities are designed for the exclusive use of hotel guests and residents of the adjacent Arts Residences.

Four restaurant and bar destinations cross indoor and outdoor spaces: the 200-seat Landrace, overlooking the Riverwalk and adjacent to the hotel, features a 40-seat riverfront terrace and a restaurant with soaring ceilings and walls of floor-to-ceiling windows. A show-stopping bar and a semi-open kitchen showcasing the wood-fired grill add to the ambiance. Landrace also offers two expansive private dining rooms, one of which features views of the River Walk.

Floating high above the River Walk is The 300-seat Moon’s Daughters, an indoor-outdoor rooftop restaurant and bar that dazzles from its 20th-story perch over the twinkling city lights and below starry San Antonio nights.

Thompson San Antonio’s nine indoor and outdoor venues span more than 10,000 square feet and feature a versatile selection of layouts. The flexible space encompasses three unique outdoor venues steeped in the natural beauty of the River Walk. Interior event spaces include: a 2,574-square-foot ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows that is poised to be the city’s go-to venue for weddings and other special events; a 2,111-square-foot foyer filled with natural light; and a 678-square-foot executive boardroom with advanced videoconference technology.

Powers Brown Architecture, a professional services firm with offices in Houston, Washington, D.C., Denver, Toronto, and St. John’s, Newfoundland, maintains a diverse architecture design, space planning and urban design practice that spans from regional to international projects. Founded in 1999, it has built a reputation for specialized design and technical superiority, producing award-winning work and gaining recognition from local, regional, and national organizations. The firm has designed more than 250 million square feet since its inception and has won more than 100 design awards as well as having 45 buildings with LEED certification. In addition, Powers Brown Architecture’s work, architects and design staff have been featured in Architect and Texas Architect, as well as various other design and business journals around the U.S. and Canada. For further information, go to www.powersbrown.com   

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About Thompson San Antonio The 162-room Thompson San Antonio is located in a new luxury, mixed-use development on the banks of the San Antonio River in the heart of the city’s vibrant River Walk. Featuring 33 suites with soaking tubs, wet bars and views of Texas Hill Country, the hotel will also offer a penthouse with pool table – the ultimate entertainment suite. Public spaces will include a full-service spa, a pool-deck bar with cabanas, and a rooftop bar with panoramic views of downtown. More than 5,000 square feet of light-filled event space will be anchored by a 4,000-square-foot ballroom. Oversized guest rooms will provide stylish sanctuaries in the heart of San Antonio, while a restaurant from a celebrated local chef will also draw guests and locals alike.

Situated in the vibrant Arts District, steps from the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and within walking distance to The Alamo, Thompson San Antonio will bring something unique to the city – a visionary new destination that honors the rich culture and legacy of San Antonio while offering a fresh and contemporary experience rooted in the timeless now. The Thompson San Antonio and The Arts Residences development are being led by Houston-based developer DC Partners and San Antonio’s Universal Services Group. Powers Brown Architecture, a Houston-based firm, is the architect for the property, working in collaboration with Mexico-based interior design firm Amass & G, whose credits include Thompson Hotels’ award-winning The Cape resort in Cabo San Lucas.

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The 162-room Thompson San Antonio is located in a new luxury, mixed-use development on the banks of the San Antonio River in the heart of the city’s vibrant River Walk. Featuring 33 suites with soaking tubs, wet bars and views of Texas Hill Country, the hotel will also offer a penthouse with pool table – the ultimate entertainment suite. Public spaces will include a full-service spa, a pool-deck bar with cabanas, and a rooftop bar with panoramic views of downtown. More than 5,000 square feet of light-filled event space will be anchored by a 4,000-square-foot ballroom. Oversized guest rooms will provide stylish sanctuaries in the heart of San Antonio, while a restaurant from a celebrated local chef will also draw guests and locals alike.

Situated in the vibrant Arts District, steps from the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and within walking distance to The Alamo, Thompson San Antonio will bring something unique to the city – a visionary new destination that honors the rich culture and legacy of San Antonio while offering a fresh and contemporary experience rooted in the timeless now. The Thompson San Antonio and The Arts Residences development are being led by Houston-based developer DC Partners and San Antonio’s Universal Services Group. Powers Brown Architecture, a Houston-based firm, is the architect for the property, working in collaboration with Mexico-based interior design firm Amass & G, whose credits include Thompson Hotels’ award-winning The Cape resort in Cabo San Lucas.

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