New Embassy Suites - Monroe North

[GRLaker]

10 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

And a suburban hotel ye shall get.  I like the original plans from way back much better. 

What would be a good example of a fiber cement exterior? I'm thinking it looks like EIFS but hope I'm wrong. 

@GRJohn I liked the idea of watching the Lions on the rooftop too. Maybe they re-evaluated the plan after they realized the liability of fans throwing themselves off the building? LOL. 

Joe

Basically like any typical suburban Holiday Inn Express, only the siding is cement fiber rather than vinyl. Blah. 

[Chester Cheeto]

This is the only 3D model of the building I can find in the drawings sent to me.  Sorry for the crappy quality, I had to blow up the size a bit.

And the first floor plan:

[GRLaker]

11 minutes ago, mielsonwheels said:

This is the only 3D model of the building I can find in the drawings sent to me.  Sorry for the crappy quality, I had to blow up the size a bit.

And the first floor plan:

The balconies and the decks above the main entrance and event center entrance are a nice touch. It gives the building some depth, which has been lacking quite a bit in Grand Rapids architecture.

[GRDadof3]

11 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

And a suburban hotel ye shall get.  I like the original plans from way back much better. 

What would be a good example of a fiber cement exterior? I'm thinking it looks like EIFS but hope I'm wrong. 

@GRJohn I liked the idea of watching the Lions on the rooftop too. Maybe they re-evaluated the plan after they realized the liability of fans throwing themselves off the building? LOL. 

Joe

Here's fiber cement in some commercial applications. This hotel (Embassy Suites) looks like it will have a combination of these large panels mixed with horizontal siding. 

I really think at least the front of the hotel should be done in masonry. Or large portions of the front, and primarily the ground floor. If this comes off poorly, like the Beltline hotel did, it could be a big setback for Monroe North because this project is so large. I do know that on residential applications, the cost of fiber cement board (hardi plank) is not that much different than brick or stone. 

http://www.kmew.co.jp/ceraclad/projects/projects10.html

Edit: I do need to correct the record. According to the drawings, the ground floor treatment will include granite, labeled as G1:

 

 

The corner bases are also granite and wrapped back along the sides. That's a nice touch at least. Wish they'd nix the horizontal siding altogether. 

[GRDadof3]

29 minutes ago, mielsonwheels said:

This is the only 3D model of the building I can find in the drawings sent to me.  Sorry for the crappy quality, I had to blow up the size a bit.

And the first floor plan:

It's not terrible. 

[wingbert]

8 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

It's not terrible. 

Now THAT'S a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one....

To Joe's point, so we've gone from this to this.  I would ask, which fits the character of North Monroe better?

 

[GRLaker]

10 minutes ago, wingbert said:

Now THAT'S a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one....

To Joe's point, so we've gone from this to this.  I would ask, which fits the character of North Monroe better?

 

There's character on North Monroe? 

[GRDadof3]

14 minutes ago, wingbert said:

Now THAT'S a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one....

To Joe's point, so we've gone from this to this.  I would ask, which fits the character of North Monroe better?

 

Neither, really. Considering the history of the area, it seems like a design that elicits old factories in the area or an old mill would be a homerun. That almost undoubtedly would require a lot of brick and exposed steel. I wonder if the architect even knows anything about the area? They're based out of Missouri or something? And the developers are out of Bay City or Saginaw?

[Allison Slater]

11 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

And a suburban hotel ye shall get.  I like the original plans from way back much better. 

What would be a good example of a fiber cement exterior? I'm thinking it looks like EIFS but hope I'm wrong. 

@GRJohn I liked the idea of watching the Lions on the rooftop too. Maybe they re-evaluated the plan after they realized the liability of fans throwing themselves off the building? LOL. 

Joe

Looks like second floor in the middle.  Not rooftop per se, but elevated and above the street nonetheless.

[arcturus]

At least the original drawing had some semblance of red brick which fits with the N Monroe character.  But this revision is making the Riverfront Hotel on Ann St look better and better.

 

[ironyisadeadscene]

Could be worse...  But the original plans were oh so much better.

[andrew.w]

I would say that this new proposal is an improvement over the very first design, in that it removes the lower parking levels along Monroe as the iteration before this also did, and that it moves the mass of the hotel out to the street, giving it the best street presence. I never really thought that the first barrel vault design had very good massing. as it seemed like a bunch of different ideas stacked on top of each other, and many of the postmodern classical ornaments were sure to come out overdone and clumsy in the final product. That and the first four floors of that version looked to be precast, or even worse, just painted cast in place concrete.

That said, I agree with the others that said this design should take more cues from it's neighborhood, and incorporate more of the industrial character. I would argue that a brick first floor, and overall majority brick exterior would be more appropriate than the granite and cement composite board proposed. But overall, I think the massing and proportion of the design have improved with each iteration.

[joeDowntown]

Not hardiboard. Ugh. If the Drury Inn can do brick at 28th and 96, Suburban hotels should be able to pull through on this one. I still like the first proposal better (the look. Parking is better in the 2nd). The new proposal isn't bad, but the finishes are disappointing. 

Joe

[GRDadof3]

1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

Not hardiboard. Ugh. If the Drury Inn can do brick at 28th and 96, Suburban hotels should be able to pull through on this one. I still like the first proposal better (the look. Parking is better in the 2nd). The new proposal isn't bad, but the finishes are disappointing. 

Joe

I agree. I'm trying to think who at the city should be pressured on this to require brick? At least a big percentage of the front facace. I don't believe this is set to go before the PC again?

For those wondering about height, it will be 100' tall, just below the height of Icon on Bond. 

[wingbert]

6 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Neither, really. Considering the history of the area, it seems like a design that elicits old factories in the area or an old mill would be a homerun. That almost undoubtedly would require a lot of brick and exposed steel. I wonder if the architect even knows anything about the area? They're based out of Missouri or something? And the developers are out of Bay City or Saginaw?

The first rendering at least has some uniqueness to its design (not that "uniqueness" is always a winner).  The current iteration is kind of a yawner.  It looks fairly typical of the kind of hotel building you'd see at various highway interchanges in multiple metropolitan areas across the country.

[ctpgr34]

7 hours ago, wingbert said:

Now THAT'S a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one....

To Joe's point, so we've gone from this to this.  I would ask, which fits the character of North Monroe better?

 

Where did 'Cruisehip" one fall in, the middle of the 3?

[GRLaker]

41 minutes ago, ctpgr34 said:

Where did 'Cruisehip" one fall in, the middle of the 3?

This was a thing? Or is this a hotel designed for another city?

[GRDadof3]

54 minutes ago, GRLaker said:

This was a thing? Or is this a hotel designed for another city?

No that was the design at one time. It's still the one shown on the architect's website. That was before Gill Industries/GR Stamping vacated the alley and they were able to move the parking ramp to the East along Bond St. This drawing shows the parking ramp on the right, which looks atrociously Orion-ish. 

http://www.brpae.com/market/hospitality/

[joeDowntown]

I forgot about the cruise ship. Yuck. This plan is better (though I thought the barrel vaulted top of the original plan was really cool).

If they could just be "convinced" to add brick, I'd be completely happy with the infill. hardiboad says to me "I'm going to look quite dilapidated in 12 years". 

Joe

[arcturus]

If they're going to put a ship on top at least do it like Marina Bay Sands - https://www.google.com/search?q=marina+bay+sands&biw=1581&bih=782&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjWuvqxlqrRAhWniVQKHfxeBfYQ_AUIBigB&dpr=1#imgrc=cAAEjcej8adDiM%3A

[GRLaker]

Not gonna lie...The Floridian in me likes the cruise ship look minus the parking ramp and a need for more depth to the tan portion of the building. However...It would stick out like a sore thumb in that area. Something like that would look better near DeVos Place - not surrounded by old factories. 

[GR8scott]

We need something on the northside to complement the pyramid and the castle!

[MJLO]

2 hours ago, GR8scott said:

We need something on the northside to complement the pyramid and the castle!

Someone needs to propose an apartment community that is replica'd after the Taj Majal at 10 mile and 131

[GRLaker]

1 hour ago, MJLO said:

Someone needs to propose an apartment community that is replica'd after the Taj Majal at 10 mile and 131

Bringing an old O-K Red rivalry to a whole new level. Castle Wars between Grandville and Rockford.

[ctpgr34]

An application for Demolition of the warehouse building (on the left) was issued yesterday.  Not sure how long those take, but this is moving along ......