Canopy by Hilton Memphis Hotel

164 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38103 United States

Building Area (sf): 117,101

Completion: 9/14/2020

Architect of Record:

HBG Design

Danny Valle, AIA – Project Manager / Principal-in-Charge
Nathan Peak, AIA - Lead Architectural Designer / Principal
Thor Harland – Sr. Designer
Rodger Conine, AIA – Project Architect

• Owner/Client:
• General Contractor: Confidential
• Electrical: Canup Engineering
• Engineering:
  Chad Stewart & Associates – Structural Engineering
  Haltom Engineering, LLC - M/E/P Engineering
  
• Other:
  Benya Burnett Consultancy - Specialty Lighting
  Fred Schmid & Associates LLC (FSA) - Food Service
  Interior Designer – Sawyer & Company (formerly Krause + Sawyer)
  
• Photography:
  McGinn Photography
  

Located in the heart of downtown Memphis, the new Canopy by Hilton hotel is designed to immerse guests in the unique characteristics of host cities and neighborhoods, while attracting local residents to the public spaces. The siting of the new Memphis hotel is perfectly suited to the brand’s promise. The hotel is located at a marquee corner location, overlooking the corner of Union and B.B. King Boulevard surrounded by three of the city’s most iconic destinations -- The Peabody Hotel, AutoZone Park and Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous, the legendary barbecue restaurant. The hotel is also in walking distance to the historic Beale Street entertainment district. The architecture blends understated charcoal gray with a mix of brick, wood, concrete and metal comprising the façade. The muted colors and textures complement Canopy’s high-profile neighbors, and the unique design is in keeping with Memphis’ quintessential spirit and distinct contemporary vibe.

The five-story Canopy hotel designed by HBG Design is an understated charcoal gray balanced with a mix of brick, wood, and concrete materiality and well composed fenestrations on the main elevation. The hotel's unassuming color and material palette allows the building’s high-profile and more civically important neighbors, the Peabody Hotel and AutoZone Park, to shine as the main acts in the downtown experience.

A lighter gray metal distinguishes the south east corner hotel tower façade immediately fronting the intersection, highlighted by the signature orange Canopy hotel signage to emphasize the identity along the most visible façade. Simple aluminum framed windows punch with repeated patterns on all four elevations of the project. As day turns to dusk, the hotel exterior lighting transforms the hotel’s building materials and textures into warm ribbons of vertical light that will illuminate the corner from far distant vantage points along Union Avenue and B.B. King Boulevard. The architectural lighting at night helps emphasize the hotel massing above and serve as a beacon for wayfinding.

The podium is dressed in a glass and aluminum storefront to allow the ground floor spaces to be seen from the inside as well as from the outside. Inside, two large skylights stream natural light into the central lobby. The stylized and quirky interiors by Sawyer + Company are influenced by Memphis culture and history with nods to the area’s iconic music legacy and vibrant industry. The result is an overall sense of high-quality design, creativity, and appropriate proportion that is truly of its time, drawing from a rich heritage of architectural elements and material inspiration from the city’s past, present, and future.