Navy Pier’s first hotel, Sable at Navy Pier, opened this week in Chicago. The KOO-designed project links the lake with the city that acts as its backdrop.
KOO started with a window box as the organizing principle for the design of the facade and guest rooms. Each of the 223 guest rooms features a window seat with views of Chicago’s skyline and Lake Michigan. The angled surface of each room’s window seat creates a textured exterior that reflects the range of light, shadow, and color of the lake.
The interior design, also done by KOO, pulls inspiration from Navy Pier’s history as a port and the eponymous USS Sable by incorporating subtle nautical cues like weathered brass, ship building materials, and the use of smooth curves similar to those of a ship’s interior cabin. The color palette is grounded by mixed neutrals and highlighted by a spectrum of blues and blue-greens reminiscent of the colors of Lake Michigan.
The design of Sable at Navy Pier also preserves Navy Pier’s structure. A unique structural engineering approach was introduced to protect the pier. The design uses micropiles that thread through the existing pier foundations and lake water to bedrock below. The micropyles support new columns and a new structural slab that creates a platform to carry the hotel floors. The columns create an arcade that supports the hotel rooms above the Sable at Navy Pier’s lobby and newly created retail space.
In addition to KOO as the architect, James McHugh Construction Co. was the project’s general contractor. Sable at Navy Pier is targeting LEED Silver certification.
Related Stories
Hotel Facilities | Oct 29, 2024
Hotel construction pipeline surpasses 6,200 projects at Q3 2024
According to the U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics, the total hotel pipeline stands at 6,211 projects/722,821 rooms, a new all-time high for projects in the U.S.
3D Printing | Oct 9, 2024
3D-printed construction milestones take shape in Tennessee and Texas
Two notable 3D-printed projects mark milestones in the new construction technique of “printing” structures with specialized concrete. In Athens, Tennessee, Walmart hired Alquist 3D to build a 20-foot-high store expansion, one of the largest freestanding 3D-printed commercial concrete structures in the U.S. In Marfa, Texas, the world’s first 3D-printed hotel is under construction at an existing hotel and campground site.
Designers | Oct 1, 2024
Global entertainment design firm WATG acquires SOSH Architects
Entertainment design firm WATG has acquired SOSH Architects, an interior design and planning firm based in Atlantic City, N.J.
Hotel Facilities | Sep 5, 2024
citizenM’s American expansion now includes second hotel in Boston
The Back Bay property is also the kickoff of a new mixed development.
Codes and Standards | Sep 3, 2024
Atlanta aims to crack down on blighted properties with new tax
A new Atlanta law is intended to crack down on absentee landlords including commercial property owners and clean up neglected properties. The “Blight Tax” allows city officials to put levies on blighted property owners up to 25 times higher than current millage rates.
Building Technology | Aug 23, 2024
Top-down construction: Streamlining the building process | BD+C
Learn why top-down construction is becoming popular again for urban projects and how it can benefit your construction process in this comprehensive blog.
Curtain Wall | Aug 15, 2024
7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks
It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus.
Products and Materials | Jul 31, 2024
Top building products for July 2024
BD+C Editors break down July's top 15 building products, from Façades by Design to Schweiss Doors's Strap Latch bifold door.
Casinos | Jul 26, 2024
New luxury resort casino will be regional draw for Shreveport, Louisiana area
Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana, the first land-based casino in the Shreveport-Bossier market, recently topped off. The $270+ project will serve as a regional destination for world-class gaming, dining, entertainment, and hotel amenities.
