Merge is currently working with a developer from Singapore on a new upscale boutique hotel and prototype for the US. The first one is launching in Boston.
This building is designed as a 7 story 'mini-tower' that will be located in the heart of Downtown Boston near TD Garden. While the interior will introduce a very new approach to hospitality design, the front façade will represent an architectural branding of this new product and its place within the City.
The site is a tight urban infill parcel that will showcase a GFRC (glass-fibre reinforced concrete) screen façade designed as a series of scalloped and concave panels. Each panel represents 1-2 sleeping pods located behind the screen.
The shape and texture of these recessed curved panels are extremely contemporary, yet reminiscent of the concave surfaces and elements (i.e. stone columns, cornices, etc.) found in the historical architecture in and around Boston.
The elliptical apertures allow light through the glass wall behind, while providing a modulated rhythm to the front façade that implies the program within the building.