New York, New York, USA

Integrating an early 20th-century townhouse with a modern twelve-story brass-clad extension, Brian Messana and Toby O’Rorke along with the studio’s design team create a harmonious blend of historic and contemporary architecture.

Named Townhouse Hotel, the development is located in Chelsea and posits an alternative to the theatrical posturing and outré decorative effects typical of so many boutique properties.

Here, the art resides in the space itself and its myriad of refined architectural details, not in layers of applied ornament.

Built around an existing early-twentieth-century townhouse, the hotel gathers strength from the quiet sophistication of its public spaces and guest rooms, all animated by the energy of the surrounding city.

For its impressive design features, the project has been awarded a 2024 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The interior of the original town- house was completely gutted and reimagined to accommodate a reception area and an informal library lounge on the entry level, a cocktail lounge on the second floor, a restaurant on the third level, and a below-grade boulangerie accessible from the street.

Beneath the townhouse, they excavated space for a subterranean pool and gym.

The guest rooms occupy an elongated, minimalist brass box that rises twelve stories above the historic townhouse, crowned by a rooftop terrace with dazzling views of the Empire State Building.

The character of the individual spaces emerges from the rich materiality of their construction: the walnut accent wall in the reception area and the walnut paneling of the library lounge; the wine racks of brass with illuminated shelves of frosted glass that encircle the cocktail lounge; the vaulted brick ceiling, polished concrete floor, and brass vitrines of the boulangerie; and the smooth concrete shells of the pool and gym.

The serene guest rooms are sparingly detailed with millwork and custom beds in walnut, and floors of wide-plank white oak, which make warm counterpoints to the taut modernist façade of floor-to-ceiling glass framed in brass mullions.

The light, airy guest quarters make a striking foil to the purposefully moody, sequestered ambience of the below-ground facilities for the pool and gym, creating a diverse range of experiences within the hotel.

All the spaces possess the intimate scale and residential spirit embodied in the original townhouse.

Project: Townhouse Hotel
Architects: Messana O’Rorke
Design Team: Brian Messana, Toby O’Rorke, Viktor Nassli, and Margot Robier
Client: Private
Photographers: Messana O’Rorke