chrysalis inn
Scope:
A 43-room boutique hotel with a full day spa and wine bar, located on the waterfront in the Fairhaven neighborhood of Bellingham.
Design:
This building’s generally traditional composition has been conditioned by formal gestures at various scales. The impact of these is to contemporize the building form and to provide a sense of informality and individuality to each of the spatial and formal experiences within the symmetric structure.
A challenge of the project was to establish a feeling of luxury and provide the required amenities within the area constraints of its small waterfront site. To meet zoning height limitations, the top floor of the building is tucked under a large sloping roof. Shed dormers create a rhythm along the roof’s perimeter which is carried down to the lower floors with oversized window bays.
A sense of drama greets guests immediately as they arrive into the three-story entrance lobby. A steel and wood stair arcs through the latticework of fir columns and beams above. The lobby opens into a large living room which in turn opens to the waterfront terrace.
Editorial Coverage:
Toby Sonneman “Transformation in Bellingham,” Northwest Palate May/June 2002
“A chrysalis is all about transformation: the gold-colored pupa, enclosed in its cocoon, transforms itself into a butterfly. the concept perfectly firt the Chrysalis Inn & Spa at the Pier… Not only are guests transformed by the inn’s setting and cocoon-like comfort, but even the land on which it sits has been transformed…
“(The owners) wanted to open a small hotel in the Northwest that combined the intimacy of a bed-and-breakfast with the amenities of a first-class hotel…
“Seattle architect Regan McClellan expressed the chrysalis theme in the building’s balance of enclosure and openness, cocooning spaces and wing-like shapes. In the entrance, an impressive ironwood staircase curves gracefully upward to the third floor, giving the visitor a feeling of expansiveness. Large windows everywhere offer a full view of the bay, so even on cloudy days, the inn seems to glow with a calming light and warmth…”
Scope:
A 43-room boutique hotel with a full day spa and wine bar, located on the waterfront in the Fairhaven neighborhood of Bellingham.
Design:
This building’s generally traditional composition has been conditioned by formal gestures at various scales. The impact of these is to contemporize the building form and to provide a sense of informality and individuality to each of the spatial and formal experiences within the symmetric structure.
A challenge of the project was to establish a feeling of luxury and provide the required amenities within the area constraints of its small waterfront site. To meet zoning height limitations, the top floor of the building is tucked under a large sloping roof. Shed dormers create a rhythm along the roof’s perimeter which is carried down to the lower floors with oversized window bays.
A sense of drama greets guests immediately as they arrive into the three-story entrance lobby. A steel and wood stair arcs through the latticework of fir columns and beams above. The lobby opens into a large living room which in turn opens to the waterfront terrace.
Editorial Coverage:
Toby Sonneman "Transformation in Bellingham," Northwest Palate May/June 2002
"A chrysalis is all about transformation: the gold-colored pupa, enclosed in its cocoon, transforms itself into a butterfly. the concept perfectly firt the Chrysalis Inn & Spa at the Pier... Not only are guests transformed by the inn's setting and cocoon-like comfort, but even the land on which it sits has been transformed...
"(The owners) wanted to open a small hotel in the Northwest that combined the intimacy of a bed-and-breakfast with the amenities of a first-class hotel...
"Seattle architect Regan McClellan expressed the chrysalis theme in the building's balance of enclosure and openness, cocooning spaces and wing-like shapes. In the entrance, an impressive ironwood staircase curves gracefully upward to the third floor, giving the visitor a feeling of expansiveness. Large windows everywhere offer a full view of the bay, so even on cloudy days, the inn seems to glow with a calming light and warmth..."
