This is the first phase of a total of two phases that comprise the expansion of the hotel with additional parking and hotel suites units, in the second phase. This last phase, currently under construction has been carefully planned not to affect the recent remodeling of the existing hotel structure.

Our objectives for the remodeling and renovation of the existing La Concha Hotel were not only to bring La Concha to its original iconic image but at the same time to incorporate today’s hospitality requirements.

First, we defined the original elements of the hotel that merited its reconstruction or preservation. Among them we highlighted the reconstruction of the multi-vaulted structure housing retail and pool cabañas along Ashford Avenue (partially demolished), the spiral stair at the entrance way, the ballroom vault structure and the signature concrete shell structure, namely “La Concha”, at the North side of the property.

Second, we analyzed the operator needs and requirements to foresee how they could be accommodated within the structure. To our delight, the major hotel operation spaces could be located in the same areas that they used to be served from when the hotel originally opened: the hotel main lobby, ballroom, restaurants, back of the house support spaces and vertical circulation.

Third, we identified conditions that did not meet the new program and required special intervention, primarily the redesign and reconstruction of the pool deck. Originally a floor level higher than the lobby, the pool was isolated and had no direct relation with any of the hotel’s main venues. The lobby, in turn, at the same level of arrival, was an enclosed space with no exceptional or particularly memorable views.

The new pool deck flows as an extension of the lobby, in different levels, opening into the beach through wider apertures under the guestroom tower. Through the pool deck, a new grid system angled in relation to the original structure was devised to highlight, the new design from the original.

Steel structural elements were painted a bright color to create a transitional space between the lobby and the pool deck. Another evaluated condition was the expansion of the guestrooms to the outer building line in the North façade.

The original room’s balconies were too small and their pre-cast concrete guardrails, apart from being in very poor condition, blocked the guest’s views of the ocean. The new glazed enclosure opens the guest room to the ocean view while providing a larger interior areas.

The use of modern construction technologies allowed the re-creation of original details using more lasting materials. For example, the original pre-cast concrete bris soleil of the South façade at the entrance and pool cabañas was re-created using aluminum following the original design. Wood louvers in the guestrooms’ levels open corridors were re-constructed of aluminum.

The use of the original mechanical room under the concrete “Concha” shell, will now house a beach club.

Photo by Max Toro

The project’s interventions to the Hotel La Concha existing structure took great care not to affect its iconic image, but at the same time to create a feeling of familiarity and comfort that flows through its spaces.

Photo by Max Toro

The project’s interventions to the Hotel La Concha existing structure took great care not to affect its iconic image, but at the same time to created a feeling of familiarity and comfort that flows through its spaces.

Photo by Max Toro

The project’s interventions to the Hotel La Concha existing structure took great care not to affect its iconic image, but at the same time to created a feeling of familiarity and comfort that flows through its spaces.

The project’s interventions to the Hotel La Concha existing structure took great care not to affect its iconic image, but at the same time to created a feeling of familiarity and comfort that flows through its spaces.

The project’s interventions to the Hotel La Concha existing structure took great care not to affect its iconic image, but at the same time to created a feeling of familiarity and comfort that flows through its spaces.

The project’s interventions to the Hotel La Concha existing structure took great care not to affect its iconic image, but at the same time to created a feeling of familiarity and comfort that flows through its spaces.

The project’s interventions to the Hotel La Concha existing structure took great care not to affect its iconic image, but at the same time to created a feeling of familiarity and comfort that flows through its spaces.