Hotel Marcel, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton is an adaptive reuse of the renowned Bauhaus designer and architect Marcel Breuer’s Brutalist icon, the Pirelli Tire Building in New Haven, Connecticut. The building is not only a historically preserved example of Breuer’s work, but, in its new use, is also set to be the country’s first Passive House and Net Zero certified hotel, as well as one of a handful of LEED Platinum-certified hotels in the United States.

© Seamus Payne

Hotel Marcel was designed in 1969 by Breuer and completed in 1970 to house the headquarters of Armstrong Rubber Company, one of America’s premier tire production companies. Armstrong Rubber owned the site until 1988, when it was acquired by Pirelli. Listed on the Connecticut and National Register of Historic Places, Pirelli Building, as it quickly became known, survived several plans to demolish it.

Fans of Brutalism breathed a sigh of relief in 2020 when local developer and architect Bruce Redman Becker, FAIA, LEED AP, of Becker + Becker, purchased the building to turn it into a net-zero energy hotel and conference center, which happened in spring 2022 when Hotel Marcel opened.

At Hotel Marcel, most of the 165 guestrooms and suites utilize concrete grey, caramel vinyl and walnut throughout, emphasized by pops of muted dark green and sienna and sculptural decorative lighting. Guests also find a Breuer Cesca-designed chair at the desk.

© Seamus Payne

The signature restaurant is BLDG, and the wine list highlights biodynamic and organic wines from Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Chile and California, while most of the menu will be locally sourced with items including New Haven lobster rolls and duck confit sliders. BLDG restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks daily. The property offers 7,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event spaces with a penthouse courtyard and galleries.

Dutch East Design wrote a new chapter for the structure, converting the abandoned building into a unique and fresh experience for travelers and local visitors. They reintroduced the public to the hotel’s austere and formal exterior by creating a human, approachable and warm interior. Embracing Brutalism’s truth to materials, the interior utilizes natural woods, hand-made tiles and custom patterns and profiles inspired by Bauhaus design features.

© Seamus Payne

Given the property’s historic significance within the cultural and architectural landscape, many constraints were placed on the interior design, but the designers found ways to weave them into the project. There are repurposed 1960’s light fixtures, custom furnishings, Bauhaus-inspired patterned area rugs, and original textile and graphic print artworks.

The hotel’s sustainability systems had to be deeply interwoven as well to achieve such high performance. Key in achieving its net-zero qualification is the Power Over Ethernet system, used for powering lighting, window treatments and guestroom mini-fridges. The hotel is all-electric, generating 100 percent of its own electricity and energy for heat and hot water, with a rooftop solar array and solar parking canopies. Auto charging stations are available for guests. Double-occupancy room rates start at $175 per night, depending on room size and dates.