Commune's The Durham Hotel Is a Colorful Tribute to Mid-Century Design
Escape to the golden age of American Modernism.
Design and architecture fiends who were dismayed at the closure and subsequent demolition of the Japanese Modernist masterpiece, Tokyo’s Hotel Okura, in August will find the existence of The Durham in Durham, North Carolina welcome news. The Durham is housed inside the former Home Savings Bank, which provides the stunning architectural setting for LA-based design studio Commune’s aesthetic vision. The studio effectively turned the iconic building’s six stories — encompassing 53 guest rooms, a penthouse, a rooftop lounge and a restaurant with an outdoor dining terrace — into a modern reinterpretation of the best of mid-century American design, inspired by the likes of Josef and Anni Albers, Charles Eames, and Albert Frey. Additionally, a newsstand on the ground floor offers a curated selection of reads and records, while the sweeping lobby opens up into an airy restaurant serving food by James Beard Award-winning chef Andrea Reusing. Take a look inside the hotel’s interior via the slideshow above.
The Durham Hotel
315 E. Chapel Hill St.
Durham, NC 27701
