The LEED List No. 04 - Hotel Marcel

A Monument Reclaimed

The design at Hotel Marcel is not performative. It endures with quiet certainty. Conceived by architect Bruce Redman Becker of Becker and Becker, this all-electric, LEED Platinum-certified and Passive House-compliant hotel is housed in one of New Haven’s most formidable architectural relics. Formerly the Pirelli Tire Building, designed in 1967 by Bauhaus-trained architect Marcel Breuer, it once stood as a monument to industry. For decades, it sat dormant, a Brutalist landmark reduced, for a time, to a billboard for IKEA’s adjacent superstore—its facade wrapped in branding rather than intention.

Now, seated in the sunlit calm of Hotel Marcel’s restaurant, it’s hard not to pause. Not just because the tea is perfectly steeped or the latte steamed on solar power. But because everything around you speaks softly. The light. The materials. The geometry. Each one seems to ask for your attention in its own quiet way.

The Architect's Intention

Becker’s relationship with the building is deeply personal. Raised in New Canaan, Connecticut, a town rich in postwar Modernist architecture, he grew up surrounded by the work of Breuer, Johnson, and Noyes. His parents were both designers, his mother in furniture and his father in industrial objects. When the building fell into neglect, it felt less like a loss of property and more like the erasure of a design legacy. In 2019, Bruce and his wife Kraemer purchased the building from IKEA for $1.2 million, initiating one of the most ambitious adaptive reuse projects in contemporary hospitality. In 2020, after more than a year of study and planning, Becker acquired the site with a vision not just for preservation, but for transformation.

“There are two big ideas embedded in the design of Hotel Marcel,” Becker explains. “The first is to celebrate the building through the spirit of every detail of its creative reinvention as a boutique hotel. The second is to recycle the building, and many of its interior components, in a way that can serve as a model for sustainable hotel development.”

A System, Not a Statement

Hotel Marcel is not a gesture. It is a system. The first hotel in the United States to unite LEED Platinum certification with Passive House and Net Zero performance standards, it lives within the lineage of adaptive reuse. Its Brutalist frame, all rigid geometries and cast-in-place voids, contains 165 guest rooms, including suites situated in the original executive wing. A signature restaurant, richly composed public areas, and flexible event spaces complete the ensemble. Every corner has been considered, every volume measured not only for function, but for grace.

The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and underwent a certified historic rehabilitation approved by the National Park Service and SHPO. It also meets the standards required for inclusion in Hilton’s Tapestry Collection. These layers of preservation and branding reinforce that sustainability and historicism are not mutually exclusive—they can be beautifully aligned.

I had the extraordinary privilege of touring Hotel Marcel alongside architect Bruce Becker and General Manager Ben Webster. To move through the space with the very individuals who brought it to life was to witness a rare synergy. Design and operation spoke in unison. Passion became visible.

Interior Design as Narrative

Becker and Becker have long championed sustainability as not only a responsibility, but a creative framework. As Becker himself put it, “We also recycled a whole building, the single most important thing we did environmentally.” The two-story void that cuts through the center remains untouched, framing the city like a canvas. Board-formed concrete, terrazzo stair treads, and mahogany handrails, materials that carry the weight of memory, are preserved with restraint and care.

That same reverence extends into the interior, where Dutch East Design took the reins with remarkable grace. The Brooklyn-based studio, led by partners Larah Moravek, William Oberlin, and Dieter Cartwright, brought warmth and narrative to the Brutalist shell. Dutch East Design, known for their emotionally expressive interiors, approached the building with reverence, not nostalgia. Their design introduces tactile contrast through handmade terracotta tiles, Anni Albers fabrics, warm woods, and soft drapery. “We didn’t want to create a museum to Breuer,” Cartwright said, “but write a new chapter.”

The firm was tasked with preserving original elements such as the concealed spline acoustic tile ceiling and the executive floor’s layout and wood paneling. These features were transformed through artful detail. Custom lighting with prismatic lenses, faceted wood panels, and nine redesigned executive suites preserve the midcentury spirit while offering a contemporary hospitality experience.

Form, Function, and Feel

Each guest room follows Breuer’s original five-foot modular grid. Most rooms are fifteen feet wide instead of the typical twelve, dictated by the rhythm of the existing window placements. The rectangular symmetry of the precast façade reappears throughout the interiors. It shows up in the thin borders of lighting fixtures, the vinyl headboards, and the metal frames of bathroom mirrors and sinks.

Dutch East Design custom-crafted furniture throughout the hotel. Modular storage systems, sculptural nightstands, and walnut-framed beds soften the interiors without erasing the structure’s geometric clarity. The Cesca chairs, upholstered in Anni Albers fabric, are not mere style nods. They are future heirlooms, selected with both endurance and narrative in mind. Artwork by Cory Emma Siegler adds further texture, echoing the Bauhaus sensibility that defines the space.

Stickley fabricated custom wooden casements offsite, installed with precision to match the building’s new triple-glazed windows. Natural woods, hand-glazed tile, and sustainably harvested hardwoods ground the interiors with emotional resonance. No off-gassing paints or synthetic finishes. No visual noise. Just considered materials chosen to last, both physically and spiritually.

Performance Behind the Quiet

Public areas carry the same restraint and refinement. The sunken lounge is a nod to Breuer. The restaurant and bar flow into over 9,000 square feet of event space, used for everything from weddings to sustainability summits. A palette of travertine, oak, and terracotta lightens the interiors and invites warmth. Lighting is quietly theatrical. Seating invites conversation. The atmosphere is composed, not contrived.

This sense of poise extends into the infrastructure. Hotel Marcel is the first hotel in the United States to use a Power over Ethernet system for lighting, window treatments, and guest room mini-fridges. The system reduces energy consumption by over thirty percent. It also allows for nuanced control and seamless integration.

The hotel’s “Decarb Toolkit” outlines a comprehensive set of strategies to eliminate CO2 emissions and enhance long-term efficiency. Fuel switching replaced gas and oil with heat pumps and induction cooking. A solar microgrid supports peak energy use and storage. Laundry machines are electric. Emergency backup comes from batteries, not generators. A fully electric shuttle replaces combustion-based transport. Each move reduces carbon while improving resilience.

A Certified Model for Now

Passive House is one of the most rigorous sustainability standards in the world. Overseen by the Passive House Institute, the certification requires buildings to meet stringent requirements related to insulation, airtightness, and thermal performance. While LEED evaluates across a broad environmental spectrum, Passive House focuses on energy use intensity and building envelope performance. Hotel Marcel meets these demands through deep insulation, air-source VRF heat pumps, and triple-glazed windows fitted precisely into Breuer’s original openings. It is among a select group of buildings in North America to meet these international standards, and is currently listed among the Passive House Institute's certified projects.

According to the Urban Green Council, the average site energy use intensity for hotels in New York is 107.4 kBTU per square foot. Hotel Marcel operates at 43.9 — a number that doesn’t just beat the average, but redefines it.

Energy systems are comprehensive. More than one thousand solar panels span the roof and parking canopy, generating over 575,000 kilowatt-hours annually. A 1.5 megawatt-hour battery stores the power for uninterrupted service. A grid-forming inverter synchronizes solar, storage, and utility flow, enabling the hotel to function as a microgrid. This is not just sustainable. It is resilient.

Operationally, the elegance continues. Induction-only kitchens eliminate fossil fuel dependence. In-house laundry reduces transport emissions and water use. Elevators regenerate power. Single-use plastics have been eliminated. Linens are refreshed only upon request. Banquets avoid disposables and compost all food waste.

Hospitality for the Planet

The restaurant, BLDG, serves locally sourced seasonal fare. Even the steamed milk in your morning latte is powered by sunlight. Electric vehicle charging is offered through twelve Tesla superchargers, two universal EV stations, and a dedicated fourteen-person electric shuttle. Every element, from culinary systems to transportation, reflects what the team calls “hospitality for the planet.”

From the parquet panels lining the elevators to the light fixtures repurposed in the ceiling tiles, nearly every detail of the building has been thoughtfully reused or refined. The goal was not to strip the building of its past, but to let it breathe anew.

Accessibility is integrated throughout. All guest rooms exceed ADA thresholds. Bathrooms feature roll-in showers, lowered counters, and intuitive circulation. Nothing feels added on. Everything belongs.

A Blueprint for Timeless Design

Hotel Marcel is not a showroom. It is not a thesis. It is a hotel. And yet, in its totality, it feels like a blueprint. Quietly radical in its completeness. Every decision, from the walnut bed frames to the lighting controls, has been considered through a lens of longevity, efficiency, and emotional clarity.

This is not the future. This is now. Passive House, long standard across Europe, is still rare in North America. Hotel Marcel proves its potential through restraint, not spectacle. It does not look like a laboratory. It feels like arrival. A place to rest. A place to exhale. A place where good design reveals itself not in excess, but in ease.

You feel it in the weight of the door handles. In the echo of terrazzo underfoot. In the hush of light filtered through sheer linen.

Hotel Marcel is not a reinvention of Brutalism. It is a restoration of purpose. It reminds us that timelessness is not found in trends, but in the grace of things done well.

Quietly, but without question, it is extraordinary.

Always, In the Details.

All images courtesy of Hotel Marcel, Becker + Becker, and Dutch East Design. Sourced via official websites and press kits. Used here for educational and editorial purposes.

Hotel Marcel - 500 Sargent Drive, New Haven, CT 06511 - hotelmarcel.com/

Dutch East Design Inc. - 231 W 29th Street, New York, NY 10001 - dutcheastdesign.com/

Becker + Becker - 21 Bridge Square, Suite 360, Westport CT 06880 - beckerandbecker.com/

The LEED List No. 03 - Arlo Hotels - Midtown

The design at Arlo Midtown does not shout. It hums. Conceived by Meyer Davis, a renowned New York based design firm known for its work in luxury hospitality and residential interiors, the interiors of this LEED Silver-certified hotel in Manhattan's Garment District manage to feel both softly urban and intimately intentional. Meyer Davis is recognized for their sophisticated, clean aesthetic and thoughtful spatial composition. Their design philosophy embraces narrative and function equally, prioritizing a balance between emotional resonance and practical utility. The palette is refined and textural, the lighting deliberate, the materials natural but polished. Nothing is too much, yet everything feels considered. At Arlo Midtown, this approach reveals itself through the use of natural materials, smart lighting, and refined finishes that create a welcoming yet urban atmosphere. Their work supports the hotel’s sustainability goals through restrained detailing and purposeful spatial planning, aligning seamlessly with Arlo’s compact footprint and design ethos.

Arlo Midtown presents a compelling case for compact sustainability in hospitality. As a LEED Silver certified hotel operating within the dense urban fabric of Manhattan, it embraces a micro hotel model that aligns naturally with many of the goals outlined in the LEED framework. In a city where space is at a premium, the hotel maximizes every square foot, not just in terms of function, but also in energy efficiency, material usage, and environmental impact.

The compact nature of Arlo Midtown is not simply about smaller rooms; it is about strategic space planning. Efficient floor plans reduce circulation space without compromising guest comfort. Zoning between public and private areas is handled carefully, promoting intuitive movement and minimizing unnecessary transitions. Smaller rooms mean smaller energy loads: heating, cooling, and lighting systems operate on a tighter footprint, making it easier to regulate and reduce consumption. The energy savings are considerable when aggregated across the hotel's 489 rooms.

LEED Silver certification requires projects to earn 50 to 59 points across categories such as Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation. In compact urban hotels, credits are often earned through strategies like smart HVAC zoning, occupancy sensors, low flow plumbing fixtures, and locally sourced, low emitting materials. Arlo Midtown likely incorporates these elements, along with energy efficient lighting, reduced construction waste, and tight envelope design to limit thermal loss. Public transportation access, bicycle storage, and reduced parking availability also contribute to site sustainability, aligning with LEED's urban mobility goals.

Compact design in this context becomes both a spatial and ethical choice. The smaller scale encourages resource conscious behaviors, from reduced housekeeping demands to the use of multifunctional furniture and amenities. While it may seem subtle, this restraint shapes not only the building’s performance but also the guest experience. There is a feeling of design intentionality, where nothing is excessive, and everything has a role.

This case offers a useful reminder that sustainability does not always rely on grand architectural gestures. Sometimes, it shows up in the systems we do not see, in the planning decisions made early on, and in the refusal to waste space. In places like Arlo Midtown, compactness becomes a design value, a quieter, more disciplined way to build and operate in a city that rarely stops moving.

I visited Arlo Midtown this week and had the opportunity to speak with Danny, the hotel manager. He generously showed me around the hotel, including all three restaurant and bar spaces, the gym, and two guest rooms, a double and the most requested corner king room. While all the rooms are small, they are exceptionally efficient in layout and use of space. After the tour, I stayed for a bite and had the seasonal squash blossoms with a glass of wine, which felt like the perfect way to take in the space from a guest's perspective.

One of the biophilic design elements that stood out to me most was a set of moss rings hanging above the front desk in the lobby. They hover just above the staircase that leads to the lower level, where the gym, office, and housekeeping are located. Even the gym has biophilic elements. Each element provides subtle grounding, and they set the tone for the kind of calm, natural rhythm the hotel wants you to feel. Even in a compact space, biophilic elements like this do a lot of heavy lifting. You feel the softness in the air, the visual connection to green without needing a view.

Arlo’s architecture plays with volume in subtle but effective ways. Public areas like the lobby and restaurant have high ceilings that make the space feel generous and open, drawing guests in and encouraging gathering. In contrast, the private guest rooms have lower ceilings that emphasize rest and privacy, adding to the sense of coziness without feeling confined. Showers take the place of tubs, speaking to both the space-saving layout and a more efficient use of water. In the bathrooms, the tile finishes reflect an urban palette that nods to nature without leaning heavily into earth tones. The textures and colors feel like the city, refined, cool, and understated, but still organic.

What struck me most about the psychological aspect of Arlo’s design was how it uses smallness to bring people outward. In a city like New York, where square footage is always a negotiation, the hotel does not try to fight its footprint. Instead, it embraces the idea that a room should be a place to rest and reset, not necessarily the final destination. The design subtly encourages guests to explore, socialize, and step into the energy of the city. But it also knows how to hold stillness. At night, the rooftop becomes a kind of quiet observatory, with views of Hudson Yards and the city skyline pulling people upward. It is a smart balance, compact interiors that invite you out, and shared spaces that draw you back in.

As both a guest and someone deeply immersed in the practice of design, Arlo Midtown reminded me that sustainability, when executed with care, can feel quietly luxurious. It is not a matter of subtraction, but of refinement. There is no need to strip away comfort or elegance to achieve environmental intelligence. Instead, the design draws your attention to the subtle pleasures, the softened acoustics of a well-planned lobby, the intimacy of a perfectly scaled room, and the way natural light lands exactly where it should. These details do not declare themselves, but they are deeply felt. In Arlo Midtown, beauty and responsibility coexist not as a compromise, but as conviction. The hotel does not need to explain its ethos; it simply lets you live in it. And that, to me, is where sustainable hospitality becomes something far more lasting: not a feature, but a feeling.

Always, In the Details.

All images courtesy of Arlo Midtown and Meyer Davis Studio. Sourced via official websites and press materials. Used here for educational and editorial purposes.

Arlo Midtown - 351 W 38th St, New York, NY 10018 - arlohotels.com/midtown/

Meyer Davis - 180 Varick Street, Suite 404, New York, NY 10014 - www.meyerdavis.com/

The LEED List No. 02 – Crosby Street Hotel

I spent this week at the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo, nestled on a quiet cobblestone block that renders even a cloudy afternoon beautifully composed. I’ve walked past it countless times, but this was the first occasion I allowed myself to truly study it. Not simply as a guest, but as a student of design. I arrived for afternoon tea, a visual and sensory delight in itself, and stayed far longer than anticipated, observing how the space moved, breathed, and held its guests.

Crosby Street Hotel is situated on a quiet cobbled street in the heart of New York’s vibrant SoHo neighborhood. It is the first hotel outside of London by renowned British hotelier Firmdale Hotels and marks a bold but graceful debut in the United States. Built from the ground up, the hotel rises eleven stories and spans 85,000 square feet. There are 86 bedrooms and suites, each generously proportioned and thoughtfully composed. The building includes a guest library, several meeting and event spaces, a private leafy garden, a fully equipped gym, and a 99-seat screening room. The Crosby Bar, elegant and unassuming, opens onto a sunlit restaurant and serves as a natural extension of the hotel’s rhythm.

The interiors are the work of Kit Kemp, co-owner and creative director of Firmdale Hotels. Known for her fresh and expressive style, Kemp’s design at Crosby is neither restrained nor overly stylized. It is confident, layered, and joyous. Velvet upholstery, sculptural lighting, patterned wallpapers, and curated art lend the hotel a spirit that is both playful and composed. Color pairings are unexpected but harmonious. Textures are soft and deliberate. The atmosphere is quietly theatrical without ever tipping into excess.

“The hotel has settled into its space like someone settling into a very comfortable armchair and in that way it looks like the art is a part of the place, rather than a gallery or somewhere where you stand, walk around and go out. It's actually a home, and it's a home from home, and that's how the art should look within a hotel.” — Kit Kemp, Every Room Tells a Story: Art at Crosby Street Hotel

Crosby Street Hotel is also the first hotel in New York State to earn LEED Gold certification. This distinction places it among a small group of buildings that demonstrate a comprehensive and sophisticated approach to environmental performance. Gold certification reflects the achievement of over sixty percent of the available LEED points, which recognizes thoughtful innovation in energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and materials stewardship. These buildings model a design ethic that is as responsible as it is beautiful.

What is remarkable at Crosby is how lightly this responsibility is carried. There are no markers or didactic gestures. Instead, the sustainability is woven into the fabric of the experience. Over seventy-five percent of construction and demolition waste was diverted from landfills. Low-VOC paints and regional materials were used throughout. A green roof mitigates runoff and supports biodiversity. Rainwater capture and operable windows reduce energy loads and reinforce a sense of openness that is rare in Manhattan. Natural ventilation is not an amenity. It is a design principle.

The garden behind the hotel is one of its most graceful offerings. Sculpted but never stiff, it feels like an inherited space rather than an imposed one. Guests move through it slowly, almost instinctively, as though it were recalibrating their sense of pace. According to the USGBC, this connection to outdoor space, along with the hotel’s water-efficient landscape strategy, played a meaningful role in its certification. But none of that is the point. What matters is the stillness it creates.

Inside, the lighting is warm and painterly. Pools of light are placed with intent, framing moments without demanding attention. Materials speak in texture. Velvet, terracotta, stone, and hand-thrown ceramic all find their place. None of it feels incidental. Every finish contributes to a tactile narrative. Whether regional, recycled, or simply enduring, each detail feels both refined and necessary.

Crosby Street Hotel also holds three Michelin Keys, the highest rating awarded in the Michelin Guide’s inaugural list of outstanding hotels in the United States. This recognition reflects not only its quality of service but the fullness of the guest experience. Here, sustainability does not interrupt luxury. It defines it.

This visit reframed my understanding of what sustainable hospitality can look like. Not as a checklist or a set of certifications, but as a kind of elegance. A rhythm. A clarity of thought and feeling. Where 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge feels rooted and elemental, Crosby is expressive, urbane, and luminously calm. Both succeed by making sustainability structural, not supplemental.

Sometimes the most responsible buildings are the quietest. They do not need to persuade you. They let you feel it. In the hush of a library. In a garden that softens your shoulders. In the grace of a window that opens.

Always, In the Details.

All images courtesy of Crosby Street Hotel and Firmdale Hotels. Sourced via official websites and press materials. Used here for educational and editorial purposes.

Crosby Street Hotel -79 Crosby St, New York, NY 10012 - firmdalehotels.com/hotels/new-york/crosby-street-hotel/

Kit Kemp Design Studio - Ham Yard Village, 3 Ham Yard, London, UK W1D 7DT - kitkemp.com/

Stonehill Taylor - 31 W 27th St 5th floor, New York, NY 10001 - stonehilltaylor.com/