pod architecture + design unveils plans for community boutique hotel in Louisville

Louisville, KY, Aug 27, 2022 – (PR.com) – Chapel Hill, NC-based Module Architecture + Design (pod a+d) and Louisville, Ky. developer Gill Holland have revealed plans for “The Devonian,” a 17,000 square foot post-pandemic community hotel to serve local residents as well as travelers in Louisville’s historic Portland district.

Unlike standard hotels and motels whose amenities are strictly for paying guests, this hospitality venture aims to include the Portland and greater Louisville area with indoor/outdoor spaces for community and special events. In addition to the 25 small rooms, the Devonian will offer a heated courtyard pool, a rooftop terrace where Portland-based nonprofits can host fundraisers, and easy access to a wealth of arts and crafts opportunities. Entertainment.

Like most motels and motels along the nation’s highways, rooms at the Devonian will have outdoor access rather than interior hallways and an open, accessible lobby. Rooms facing the pool will be inward facing to ensure privacy for guests and adjacent neighbours.

Founded in 1811, Portland is an urban neighborhood northwest of downtown Louisville, located on the falls of the Ohio River. Fossils discovered at the falls date back 400 million years to the Devonian geological period, an interval of the Paleozoic era. Holland has named its new concept hotel “The Devonian” to honor this source of neighborhood pride.

Following Holland’s lead, a+d pod partners Douglas Pierson, AIA, and designer Youn Choi used abstractions of fossil forms found in the area to establish tectonic geometries in the building itself: the exposed structure will feature geometric shapes and patterns visible in the corals. discovered in the limestone bed of the Ohio River.

The specific Devonian context is also reflected in the architecture. Situated on the threshold between Portland’s iconic warehouse/commercial district to the east and residential neighborhoods to the west, the building’s rugged modernist form, devoid of ornamentation, suggests the raw feel of an industrial warehouse while the Glazed lobby and open roof are reminiscent of porches and breezeways among Portland’s historic homes.

Designer Youn Choi: “The Devonian is a neighborhood compass that navigates regional attractions. To the east, it focuses its view on streets and historic commercial buildings. To the west, it is a landmark that recognizes the transition from commercial to residential. the north, it identifies its prehistoric era. And to the south, it’s an axis to placemaking spaces that are emerging in Louisville’s western neighborhoods.