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CONTINUITY
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
FALL 2008
Since 1924, The Carolina Inn has served as a comfortable and cheerful hotel for visitors to the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, and a home for returning alumni. The hotel complex is located in the heart of the campus, and built as a private hotel in 1924 by John Sprunt Hill and designed by architect Arthur C. Nash. In 1935, Hill donated the Inn to UNC with the stipulation that after meeting expenses, profits from the Inn were to be used for "the maintenance and support of the University library, and especially for the support of the collection of books and papers known as the North Carolina Collection," which are still carried out today.
The Inn's design is a mix of early American and English Regency styles, which incorporates late 18th century elements from George Washington's Mount Vernon, particularly the two-story portico and cupola on the original Cameron Avenue façade, and early 19th elements from Richland, a plantation house in Louisiana. The Richland elements include the familiar hipped-gable brick end walls with integral flat double chimneys above a central demi-lune window. The design represents both the colonial and antebellum South, which creates a unique atmosphere of easy elegance and historic ambiance "to provide for the special wants and comforts of the University alumni... and University visitors.”
The hotel has undergone five major renovations since 1924 (including three major additions), and a sixth is currently underway, which prompted this studio project. Renovation work since 1995 has sought to return the Inn to its original grandeur and traditional warmth, while offering guests the most up-to-date services and amenities. The Carolina Inn has completed its first phase of lodging renovations, which has revitalized many guestrooms and maintained the historical charm and elegance for which The Carolina Inn is known. The Inn, through these renovations, has focused on improving sustainability and efficiency, utilizing local products, as well as increasing guest comfort and amenities.
Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a member of the prestigious National Trust's Historic Hotels of America, The Carolina Inn offers an atmosphere of elegance and the spirit of tradition. The Carolina Inn has served for nearly a century as “a cheerful Inn for visitors, a town hall for the state, and a returning home for sons and daughters of alma mater.” Today, the Inn celebrates its storied past while providing the most up-to-date accommodations and event facilities for guests and the UNC community.
Carolina Inn & Suites Expansion & Renovation:
The Carolina Inn & Suites project was initiated within the Fall 2008 graduate studio, which was developed based on framing goals and aspirations established by the Inn. The Inn’s goal was to execute an expansion and modernization of the Inn and its services, which respects its history and historic context while increasing patron services. It was the Inn’s utmost desire was to maintain its historic character and details of the original architecture in order to provide continuity and maintain the high standard that has already been achieved. The program outlined, amongst other items, the following additional parameters:
Whitehead Luxury Suites Renovation:
Miller Hall Spa & Fitness Center:
Courtyard & Parking Development:
The Inn's design is a mix of early American and English Regency styles, which incorporates late 18th century elements from George Washington's Mount Vernon, particularly the two-story portico and cupola on the original Cameron Avenue façade, and early 19th elements from Richland, a plantation house in Louisiana. The Richland elements include the familiar hipped-gable brick end walls with integral flat double chimneys above a central demi-lune window. The design represents both the colonial and antebellum South, which creates a unique atmosphere of easy elegance and historic ambiance "to provide for the special wants and comforts of the University alumni... and University visitors.”
The hotel has undergone five major renovations since 1924 (including three major additions), and a sixth is currently underway, which prompted this studio project. Renovation work since 1995 has sought to return the Inn to its original grandeur and traditional warmth, while offering guests the most up-to-date services and amenities. The Carolina Inn has completed its first phase of lodging renovations, which has revitalized many guestrooms and maintained the historical charm and elegance for which The Carolina Inn is known. The Inn, through these renovations, has focused on improving sustainability and efficiency, utilizing local products, as well as increasing guest comfort and amenities.
Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a member of the prestigious National Trust's Historic Hotels of America, The Carolina Inn offers an atmosphere of elegance and the spirit of tradition. The Carolina Inn has served for nearly a century as “a cheerful Inn for visitors, a town hall for the state, and a returning home for sons and daughters of alma mater.” Today, the Inn celebrates its storied past while providing the most up-to-date accommodations and event facilities for guests and the UNC community.
Carolina Inn & Suites Expansion & Renovation:
The Carolina Inn & Suites project was initiated within the Fall 2008 graduate studio, which was developed based on framing goals and aspirations established by the Inn. The Inn’s goal was to execute an expansion and modernization of the Inn and its services, which respects its history and historic context while increasing patron services. It was the Inn’s utmost desire was to maintain its historic character and details of the original architecture in order to provide continuity and maintain the high standard that has already been achieved. The program outlined, amongst other items, the following additional parameters:
- Underground patron parking
- Repurposing and incorporation of two historic structures on the site into the complex
Whitehead Luxury Suites Renovation:
- Whitehead converted from a student dorm into the luxury suite portion of the Inn
- Renovated to create 16 luxury accommodations, addition of guest public spaces and conference rooms as well as support and reception spaces
- Design resolved existing accessibility and life, safety, & welfare issues
Miller Hall Spa & Fitness Center:
- Miller Hall Expansion is a self-sustaining Day-Spa and Health Center that provides a variety of wellness services for the enjoyment of Inn patrons and the public
- The modernized center includes spa services, aquatics, and exercise facilities
- The center is adjoined to the Inn complex through the new courtyard structures, providing enclosed guest access, and public access through the parking structure
Courtyard & Parking Development:
- Re-envisioned courtyard and public spaces to create an enhanced and appealing guest experience, while improving functional issues such as access to amenities and parking
- Existing surface parking to the west of the Inn has been incorporated underground allowing for the expansion
- Parking capacity is doubled through the use of a two-story underground parking structure, which removes vehicles from guest view, provides increased gardens and greater security
- The main entrance to the parking structure will be located on the southwest portion of the site, between Miller Hall Spa & Fitness Center and the Inn, where the terrain provides the ideal conditions for the location of the structure and its entrance with minimal exaction or disturbance to the site
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