American Modernism: The Durham by Commune
Matching something of a Southern cultural renaissance in its namesake city – at the heart of North Carolina’s thriving Triangle region – The Durham Hotel arrives as a ode to mid-century-modern American design. Reviving an iconic bank building, The Gentian Group sought-out the keen eye of award-winning Los Angeles firm Commune to conceive a scheme true to context. Their eloquent equation – what hotelier Craig Spitzer mandates in offering guests a holistic experience – takes visitors back half-a-century but with all the contemporary connivence and quality one might expect. One enters to find both a shoe-shinning stand and newsstand to match any discerned bookshop. Bold floor to ceiling tiles motifs are matched only by a loud yet palatable primary colour spectrum – reminiscent of a 1950s Herman Miller showroom – throughout the James-Beard-award-winning Durham restaurant. As guests move up through a curvilinear mezzanine level to 53-bedrooms, they find themselves in a similar yet sober palate with sharp present-day details at every corner and iconic furniture pieces. A rooftop bar matches a private penthouse with sweeping views of Durham’s historic cityscape – denoted by such gems as the Performance Arts Center or Motorco Music Hall.
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