Photography: Pat Krupa
After standing empty for the last two decades, this long-vacant Marcel Breuer building in Connecticut is about to get a new lease of life as plans emerge to convert it into a hotel.
Breuer originally designed the former office in 1968 as the headquarters for a local rubber company. It was sold in the late 80s, and since then it’s had a bumpy ride, with the structure left untended and part of it demolished by Ikea in 2003, to make room for a parking lot.
For the last 15 years, the site has been little more than glorified ad space, used to host the homeware store’s signage.
Its fortunes now look set to change with the building’s new owner – local developer Bruce Becker – announcing plans for its adaptive reuse as a net-zero energy hotel and conference centre. Modernist pilgrims can rejoice with local reports suggesting the facade will be completely restored, and the interior overhauled to make room for 165 rooms.
