In 2019, one of the world’s most iconic airport buildings—Eero Saarinnen’s TWA flight center at JFK—reopened as a swanky airport hotel. This year, when the pandemic hit, it became a glamorous staycation destination for New Yorkers going stir crazy in their apartments.
The iconic building, which was finished in 1962, has had a large influence on architecture but was ultimately never used for its original purpose: by the time it was completed, it was too small to accommodate the updated jets flying out of the airport. The stunning transformation made the reimagined TWA Hotel the winner of our 2020 Innovation by Design Award in the Hospitality category.
To bring the building back to life, owner and developer MCR had to deal with 22 different government agencies and update some of the building’s very foundations. “There was some lead paint in the building, and the windows were not made of tempered glass so they shattered. There was also petroleum on the site,” says MCR CEO Tyler Morse.
The hotel also features an infinity pool on the roof and a lobby that pays homage to the history of aviation and midcentury design. To power it all, the company built a separate power plant off of the electrical grid using battery storage, so that if New York had a blackout, no one staying at the hotel would be affected.
See more honorees from the 2020 Innovation by Design Awards here.