Philadelphia Marriott Old City Hotel
Hotel interiors photography for Sawyer & Co hospitality design firm at the Marriott hotel in Philadelphia Old City.
The Philadelphia Marriott Old City Hotel reflects a thoughtful approach to hospitality design, where historic architecture meets contemporary interior sensibility. Photographed by Atelier Gaudet, this project sits within an ongoing body of hotel photography and hospitality interior design photography, including editorial explorations such as this boutique hotel photography project. Through an emphasis on light, materiality, and spatial rhythm, the series highlights how interior design shapes the guest experience in one of Philadelphia’s most storied neighborhoods.
Located in the heart of the Historic District, a place where culture, ideas, industry and architecture meet, the design narrative of the newly renovated Marriott property focuses on the storied building serving as a connecting point between the two iconic neighborhoods of Old Town and Society Hill.
When creating the interiors of the Philadelphia Marriott Old City, the design team drew inspiration from the local warehouse structures and centuries-old colonial detailing found throughout the property’s neighborhood. Utilizing industrial elements and artisanal craftsmanship paired with hardwearing garments and intricate tailoring, the building location’s past is woven into every element of the freshly modern design. Raw materials meet refined finishes, innovative art meets traditional touches, and the old and new are inherently interconnected.
The arrival moment features open blackened steel frames holding large textile art installations spanning between the brick clad columns in the freshly transformed atrium. Here, an intricately woven piece is juxtaposed with a braided roll of vintage denim, setting the general tone for the property. As guests approach the reception area, the well-known sentence “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” has been deconstructed and applied to the wall with golden metal letters. The reception pods are each clad with oxidized copper and a leather writing pad.
The atrium is now host to a large bar with a separate barista café counter. The heart of the Marriott Greatroom, this voluminous space features large communal tables at bar-height and a variety of lounge seating, well suited for bigger groups as well as single individuals. A large skylight above tracks the sun and brings in natural light throughout the day. An overhead custom designed blackened metal grid is added as a layer within the large volume to bring down the scale, adding intimacy and creating a structure for appropriate lighting. The columns around the atrium arcade have been partly white-washed and clad with a backlit metal mesh for an added layering of color, materiality and texture, allowing for intimate mood lighting.
The guestroom finishes remain are bright and airy, with a reclaimed, whitewashed wood finish on the case goods, mixed with dark wooden accents. Various metal and glass finishes add a raw, refined touch. The bathrooms are executed with a porcelain tile to create a vintage, concrete look.
As a hospitality photographer, Atelier Gaudet collaborates with hotels, designers, and brands to create imagery rooted in architecture, interiors, and atmosphere. Discover more projects in the hospitality photography journal, featuring hotel photography and hospitality interior design photography across a range of properties and design narratives.