AKA Rittenhouse
135 S 18th St, Philadelphia, PA
This project is a multi-phase conversion of a 1920’s era 82,000 SF high rise apartment tower into 81 fully furnished luxury corporate suites with boutique hotel amenities. The resultant flagship building for the client is a new cornerstone for the preeminent civic square in Center City, Philadelphia.
The contemporary entrance and exterior signage creates a connection between the building and the clients brand while remaining respectfully of its historic nature.
The exterior lighting puts emphasis on the beaux arts façade and cornice highlighting the historic nature of the building.
Extensive infrastructure replacement and upgrades to this historic landmark required complex regulatory compliance, including approvals from the art commission, historic commission, streets department, and the local civic association. These challenges were solved through extensive collaboration between the builder, client, engineers, and architecture teams, but still accomplished within ambitious project scheduling and budget targets.
SPA was engaged to rethink the entire second floor in order to provide a variety of new and improved amenities for the guests of the hotel. A screening room, two conference rooms, a fitness center and laundry facilities were laid out, centered around a reading room.
Breakfast
Ideas
Harking back to club rooms of the grand hotels of a bygone era, but translated into a modern, contemporary vocabulary that fit with the brand and feel of the hotel’s current persona, hand rubbed gray stain on white oak panels were developed, with a custom bookshelf wall, an old fireplace re-envisioned in gray and black veined stone, and integrated custom millwork doors and sidelights into the conference rooms.
"AKA Rittenhouse Square recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation—and that’s apparent from the moment guests set eyes on the Philadelphia hotel." ~Nicole Carlino
