Given the moniker “The Mummy” by locals, the tarp-covered, corroding, half-built husk of a hotel project loomed over the intersection of LaSalle and Huron in downtown Chicago for years. While the project was abandoned during the 2008 recession, it was eventually rescued by a creative redesign, and today the Godfrey Hotel stands as one of the most luxurious and aesthetically pleasing buildings on the Windy City skyline.
The reincarnation began in 2011, when the hotel was reexamined by Oxford Capital Group, which then teamed up with the building’s original architects of Valerio Dewalt Train Associates to bring the project back to life. To help complete the revitalization of the structure, products and expertise were also supplied by All-American Exterior Solutions, Metl-Span, The Gettys Group, Wolff Landscape Architecture and Valspar.
The finished structure comprises 16 stories and 221 rooms, and is insulated by 60,000 square-feet of Metl-Span CFA Architectural Wall-Panels. The panels are coated in Valspar Fluropon Embossed Silver, providing long-term color retention and outstanding resistance to ultraviolet rays, dirt and stains, which will help prevent the hotel from ever resuming its previous “Mummy” form.
The design of the Godfrey Hotel is an inspired study upon modern architectural forms, and is built in a staggered truss structural framing system. The Metl-Span panels and Valspar coating provide a sleek, steely sheen to the exterior, contributing to the building’s overall chic and modern look.
The architect of the Godfrey Hotel describe the finished building as “intentionally daring and honest, a real ‘Chicago’ building, linking to the city’s rich past of architectural innovation.”
Standing tall between downtown Chicago and the lakefront of Lincoln Park, the Godfrey Hotel finally opened its doors to the public in February of 2014. Through the hard work and resilience of the project planners, the site completed its transformation from an irksome eyesore, to a sight for sore eyes.
The Godfrey Hotel Chicago, 127 W. Huron at Lasalle, Chicago, IL, http://www.godfreyhotelchicago.com/
