The leading authority for the Architecture & Design community
January 12, 2018
Text: Jesse Dorris
Krause Sawyer’s Canopy by Hilton Washington, D.C., Riffs on City’s Historic Waterfront
Long before Washington, D.C., became a political stronghold, it was known for its robust waterfront. New York firm Krause Sawyer channeled this legacy when designing the Canopy by Hilton Washington, D.C., The Wharf. The brand’s first hotel stateside invigorates the district’s up-and-coming Southwest region, a stone’s throw from the famed Municipal Fish Market, the country’s oldest open-air seafood bazaar.
Custom counter stools pull up to a butcher-block and zinc bar underneath a ceiling featuring slices of aluminum and walnut veneer with Arteriors and Restoration Hardware pendants at the Canopy Central Bistro & Bar. Photography by Guillaume Gaudet.
“We were inspired by the transformation of the marina and the fish market over time,” say co-founders Kajsa Krause and Tracey Sawyer. For the 175-room hotel and its main public space Canopy Central, the duo focused on nautical materials like weathered oak and steel that recall docks and warehouses. Guestrooms feature custom inset carpeting with patterns resembling dappled waves, along with canopies that wittily reference fish crates.
A social seating in Canopy Central offers custom sofas and club and arm chairs in walnut, along with custom, laser-cut solid walnut cocktail tables with black-steel fins. Photography by Guillaume Gaudet.
“We also had fun with the large artwork of a fisherman featured on whitewashed bead board,” the pair says. It’s located in a nook boasting a granite fireplace and custom lounge chairs—an ideal spot to await your ship’s arrival. Bon voyage!
Stepped seating in the Canopy Central business zone is white oak with CDI pillows; the Heat & Glo gas fireplace is surrounded by Misty Black granite and Dekton Oversize tile cladding. Photography by Guillaume Gaudet.White oak and blackened steel stairs lead from the ground-floor lobby to a lower lobby, marked by a Design Within Reach sofa and table, AFRA chairs, and a hand-tufted area rug by Innovatives. Photography by Guillaume Gaudet.Queen guestrooms feature integrated back walls and canopies made of gray washed Ceruse Oak with LED trip lighting, along with JLF daybeds and Chapman floor lamps. Photography by Guillaume Gaudet.A Misty Black granite counter defines the perimeter of the rooftop Whiskey Charlie bar, with Allermuir stools and chairs and Marset pendants. Photography by Guillaume Gaudet.Whiskey Charlie, the rooftop bar, offers views of East Potomac Park and the Potomac River. Photography by Guillaume Gaudet.
