August 2, 2022

Words: Ted Loos

Photography: Seamus Payne

Dutch East Design and Becker + Becker Transform an Iconic Marcel Breuer Building into a Sustainable Hotel

Marcel Breuer’s 1970 Connecticut headquarters for Armstrong Rubber Company has re-emerged as the Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. A skillful reinterpretation of the nine-level, 110,000-squre-foot icon of concrete brutalism by Dutch East Design and architect-developer Bruce Becker of Becker + Becker resulted in 165 rooms for the former IKEA–owned property that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now one of fewer than a dozen LEED Platinum–certified hotels in the country.

Dutch East partners Dieter Cartwright, Larah Moravek, and William Oberlin were keen to tap into the Breuer energy—up to a point. “We chose not to be nostalgic,” Cartwright begins. “It was important for us to write a new chapter.” Moravek adds, “We wanted to create a soft underbelly to the strong exoskeleton.” That strategy begins in the lobby, with walls enriched by handmade terra-cotta tiles that warm up the large, column-free space. The palette for the rooms, the restaurant named BLDG, and the 7,000 square feet of event space is unified by “walnut and maple, concrete grays and caramels,” notes Moravek, for a muted feel.

In BLDG, a quartz-topped bar with wood accents is topped by a perforated canopy powder-coated bronze—subtle shades of the feeling of suspension in the overall structure. Some of the housing for overhead lighting was reclaimed from the original building site and used there, too. “It’s a fun, little detail that ties into the history,” Oberlin says.

The concrete building had been the Armstrong Rubber Company head­quarters and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The concrete building had been the Armstrong Rubber Company head­quarters and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In BLDG, a quartz-topped bar with wood accents is topped by a perforated canopy powder-coated bronze—subtle shades of the feeling of suspension in the overall structure. Some of the housing for overhead lighting was reclaimed from the original building site and used there, too. “It’s a fun, little detail that ties into the history,” Oberlin says.

In the rooms, headboards are covered in toffee-colored vinyl. The custom metal-framed desks with painted-glass tops all get a Breuer Cesca chair, to hit the heritage note soundly. But Anni Albers–designed patterns in grays and blues introduce a burst of vim. Like Breuer, the pioneering textile artist was once a Bauhaus teacher, and later lived near New Haven with her Yale University professor husband and artist Josef. “Anni was an inspiration for all the art,” says Moravek of the rooms’ wall hangings by Brooklyn-based Cory Siegler and other pieces in the hotel, which are predominantly by female makers and curated by Becker’s wife, artist Kraemer Sims Becker.

That forward spin on the past epitomizes the Dutch East approach. “We weren’t looking to create a museum to Breuer,” Oberlin says. “It was to create a new typology in the original design that was unexpected.”

Selma stools by Origins 1971 line the quartz-topped bar at BLDG, the hotel’s restaurant.
Selma stools by Origins 1971 line the quartz-topped bar at BLDG, the hotel’s restaurant.
Anni Albers–inspired art by Cory Siegler hangs above the custom platform bed and vinyl-upholstered headboard in a guest room.
Anni Albers–inspired art by Cory Siegler hangs above the custom platform bed and vinyl-upholstered headboard in a guest room.
Sleeper sofas and ottomans are also custom.
Sleeper sofas and ottomans are also custom.
A corner room shows off Breuer’s deep window wells, which have been newly wrapped in stained maple, and, behind the bed, his Cesca task chair covered in an Albers fabric.
A corner room shows off Breuer’s deep window wells, which have been newly wrapped in stained maple, and, behind the bed, his Cesca task chair covered in an Albers fabric.
In the lobby of the Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, a conversion of a 1970 office building by MarcelBreuer, handmade terra-cotta wall tiles in a Bauhaus-inspired relief are arrayed in an alternating pattern.
In the lobby of the Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, a conversion of a 1970 office building by MarcelBreuer, handmade terra-cotta wall tiles in a Bauhaus-inspired relief are arrayed in an alternating pattern.
Joining Celia Johnson’s painting in the pre-function space is seating, ceiling fixture, console, and rug all custom by Dutch East Design.
Joining Celia Johnson’s painting in the pre-function space is seating, ceiling fixture, console, and rug all custom by Dutch East Design.
The pre-function area also features a historic Breuer granite desk, which stands on porcelain floor tile.
The pre-function area also features a historic Breuer granite desk, which stands on porcelain floor tile.
Jens Risom armchairs furnish the lobby lounge.
Jens Risom armchairs furnish the lobby lounge.
Part of the 165-key hotel property is a separate structure containing 7,000 square feet of event space that had formerly housed mechanicals.
Part of the 165-key hotel property is a separate structure containing 7,000 square feet of event space that had formerly housed mechanicals.

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