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Hotel Zena

  • Prize
    Winner in Architectural Design North America
  • Company/Firm
    Dawson Design Associates
  • Lead Designer
    Andrea Sheehan
  • Architect
    Gene Weissman
  • Interior Designer
    Andrea Sheehan
  • Hospitality
    Viceroy Hotels and Resorts
  • Construction Company
    Ajax Consulting Svcs & Humphrey Rich Construction
  • Location
    Washington DC, USA
  • Project Date
    10/08/2020
  • Developer
    Pebblebrooke Hotels

This hotel is an experimental fusion between interactive art gallery, neighborhood hub and restaurant lounge. The scope was to completely transform and reposition the 193 room-hotel, its two bars and meeting venues. It was designed in its entirety to celebrate female empowerment and accomplishments through architecture, provocative feminist art and 3D art installations. Public spaces had to be extremely flexible and dividable and thus sellable for private events. The round bar, part of the arrival experience, is strategically placed to separate the lobby bar and restaurant venues. A low height corridor leads guests back to a PDR capable of opening to the main restaurant seating. The entire top floor is available to be sold as a private venue, seating up to 300 people.

Guestrooms had existing contemporary glass showers that were transformed into part of the art statement with a commissioned portrait of the Goddess Artemis. The art can be seen from within the shower and from the room itself, forming a protective cocoon at the heart of the guestroom experience. Colors and materials were all selected to enhance the warmth of the spaces. The art plays the role of watchful warriors.