DLR Group designed the AC Hotel Grand Rapids Downtown by embracing the creative energy of its location, emphasizing the city’s strong art and design culture, and compliments the collection of hotels.

The Grand River, which informs Grand Rapids’ urban landscape, also inspired DLR Group’s design details and concepts. An essential component of the hotel’s design is its intentionally-curated art collection, which embodies the hotel concept by emphasizing geometric forms and the use of light and shadow. The team worked with an art consulting firm to hand-select artists who created new artwork specifically commissioned for this hotel. Featuring selections from some of Zeeland, Michigan-based furniture manufacturer Herman Miller’s most influential designers, the lobby design pays homage to early 19th-century Grand Rapids when the destination was home to more than 40 furniture companies and earned its nickname “furniture city.”

Originally constructed in 1890, the adaptive reuse of an historic pair of heavy timber structures transformed the AC Hotel Grand Rapids into a modern, art-centric destination. DLR Group’s renovation overcame several historic preservation challenges, including non-compliance with current codes for heavy timber buildings.

Design: DLR Group Photography: Jim Kruger, Dan Ham

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