The Civic Hotel makes its Seattle debut at the intersection of a newly connected network of roads between the city’s Space Needle and the South Lake Union neighborhood. Located in the former Imperial 400 Motel (built for the Century 21 World’s Fair in 1962), the property has been restored by local architectural firm Wittman Estes to capture a keen Seattle sensibility that blends technology and nature.
The three-story, 27,433 square meter hotel welcomes visitors with the lobby and the event area on the ground floor, where a new glass staircase with floating Douglas fir steps serves as the centerpiece. The 1,000-square-meter meeting room is fitted with sliding panels for added versatility, while a café on the ground floor opens onto a wooden deck with built-in seating.
All 52 accommodations are evenly distributed over the second and third floors, where they line corridors with bright yellow doors. “The key to hotel rooms is to reconcile art and commerce,” says Wittman Estes architect Matt Wittman. “We wanted to choose materials that would last but still have a sense of luxury.” Custom-made plywood furniture is installed in each guest room to add warmth and complement the location’s mid-century ethos.
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