Austin-based design agency Kartwheel Studio has renovated a structure to preserve the mid-century modern atmosphere of the 1960s seaside motor lodge in Galveston, Texas.
Originally constructed as the Treasure Isle Motel by Kotin & Beerman Architects in 1963, the low-slung, two-storey building reopened in November 2023 as Hotel Lucine.
Kartwheel Studio and the owners worked to revitalise the 28,500-square foot (2,645-square metre) U-shaped building ? the oldest remaining mid-century beachfront motel on the town's famous seawall ? to maintain "as much of the original architecture as possible" while recentering guests' focus on the interior courtyard.
Kartwheel Studio has renovated a 1960s motel, both updating and paying homage to original mid-century structures On the exterior, the team removed the mid-century porte-cochere and straightened the stair-stepped facade into an angled front wall that follows the line of the street.
Fresh white paint coats the stucco and brick walls, while a breeze block wall forms a short railing on the second floor.
Changing the layout of the front-of-house areas, the team opened up the ground floor with narrow bands of floor-to-ceiling windows and a large skylight that brings light into the centre of the plan.
Hotel Lucine's stucco and brick exterior was painted white
To the left of the lobby lies The Den. Formerly a set of offices, it is now an open lounge space with wall-to-wall sisal and mahogany, mixed textiles, custom furnitu...