Carlos Molnar of Sol Design Studio (Sol) worked on the restoration and renovation of a 125,000 square foot historic hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The resort, originally designed by acclaimed architect Whitney Warren in 1919, needed to be restored and modernized to achieve a five-star, five-diamond rating. With the hotel’s new adjoining towers already under construction, the owner needed to complete the public areas and back of house area on a very aggressive project schedule.
The design team faced a number of challenges in restoring the historic Vanderbilt Hotel. The foremost challenge was the need to preserve the historic ambiance of the hotel while adding new subterranean parking and back of house facilities. In order to achieve this, the historic building was supported while excavating 25 feet below it to create the parking and provide access between the new and existing structures. Another challenge was that the entire site lies within a designated seismic earthquake zone, as well as a high-velocity hurricane wind zone with parts of the structure resting within five feet of the Atlantic Ocean.
* Carlos Molnar represents JPA as Consultant Architects. Sol was asked to provide some construction administration services by the Ownership Group.
