Architectural Preservation Award Recognizes FH Design’s Restoration of Noelle Hotel
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Noelle Hotel received a Preservation Award from the Metropolitan Nashville Historical Commission, recognizing the outstanding architectural and restoration work performed by Feltus Hawkins Design.
Built in 1929 as one of the city’s luxury hotels, the structure stands at the entrance to Printer’s Alley and served as a bank and an office building before the four-year rehabilitation and restoration process returned it to its roots as a hotel.
“We really dug into the building’s past and the colorful history of the downtown area to create a boutique hotel that is viable in today’s economy, but also forges an emotional tie with the past,” said David Hawkins, FH Design principal and architect of record for the Noelle Hotel restoration.
Hawkins was the architect for the renovation of the building, which included preserving the entrance, lobby, mezzanine and exterior, and providing the architecture for the guestrooms, rooftop bar and all public spaces. The renovation kept the double-height lobby intact with its terrazzo floors, pink marble stairs, marble columns and walls and brass railings.
The rehabilitation began in 2014 and included a modern addition Hawkins designed. The 11-story addition of floor-to-ceiling glass and aluminum façade wraps 63 new guest rooms on the historic hotel’s east side overlooking Printer’s Alley and the Cumberland River.
“The floor-to-ceiling glass and aluminum façade of the addition contrasts with the repetition of the punched openings within the original brick and limestone building,” Hawkins said. “We set back the addition from the face of the original structure to maintain the prominence and balance of the historic portion.”
FH Design collaborated with DAAD on the interior design and more than 50 local fabricators, makers and design sources on the hotel renovation project to create a hyper-localized experience for guests and Nashvillians alike.