Modern interior space with wooden and marble accents, featuring black shade table lamps, nature-themed artwork of birds, and a glass wall with a fireplace inside.
A cozy living room with a large beige sectional sofa, circular armchair, and a small round coffee table with a red decorative ball. There's a dark wooden bookshelf filled with books and decorative items on the left, and two windows with wooden blinds allowing sunlight to fill the room. A large landscape painting hangs on the wall between the windows, and the floor is covered with a patterned stone tile.

Bringing Light Back to the Statler

Spacious hotel lobby with curved seating areas, wooden flooring, modern lamps, and decorative columns.

Software used: Revit, SketchUp, Enscape

ABOUT THE project

As the teaching hotel of Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration, one of the most respected hospitality programs in the world, the Statler Hotel is meant to stand as a model of what hospitality can be. Yet its interiors tell a different story. Heavy dark woods and dated finishes leave the hotel feeling closed off and behind the times. The hotel needed an update that would match its reputation, one that brings in light, warmth, and a stronger connection to the landscape around it.

Students who live in Ithaca year-round often look for spaces that remind them of home. Statler guests are different. Most are high-income urban adults who come to experience the best of Ithaca and Cornell during a short stay. If they only wanted a comfortable room, they could book any chain hotel nearby. What they’re paying for is a sense of place, and the existing Statler had almost no connection to its surroundings.

This redesign reimagines the Statler as a luxury sanctuary that feels as if it were built by the same forces that shaped the landscape. Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture, the design pairs high-end materials with an earthy aesthetic. Glass columns echo the region’s waterfalls, and local stone anchors the space in its setting. Regional textures, Cornell memorabilia, and student-led programming complete an elevated experience rooted in place.

challenges

The problem: Public spaces were buried in the center of the plan, while offices and a small gym claimed all the natural light.

The goal: Reclaim the perimeter for guests and maximize daylight, without losing the cozy, sanctuary feel.

Interior view of a luxurious hotel or apartment lobby with a large circular seating area, modern furniture, artwork, and warm lighting

The lobby

The lobby is the threshold between Ithaca’s rugged landscape and the hotel’s refined interior. Glass columns serve as its centerpiece; their transparent forms and textured lower ridges evoke the vertical flow and crashing spray of the local gorges. Grounded in local stone and warm timber, the space feels grand and open while keeping the intimate warmth of a Wright-inspired interior.

Living room with wooden floors, tan sofa, wooden chair with white cushion, modern floor lamp, framed market map on wall, wooden shelves, and an abstract art piece on the left.

The lobby shouldn’t be the only place to sit. These corner pockets give guests a secluded perch where they can still feel the energy of the main space without being in the middle of it. With no walls or separate rooms, they keep a visual connection to the architecture while offering the privacy of a quiet retreat.

Interior of a modern, well-lit hotel lounge with brown sofas, marble accent chairs, and various tables and lamps, featuring wooden flooring and decorative art.
Interior of a modern room with wood accents, featuring a marble counter, mounted artwork of birds, and a glass door with a fireplace visible through it.

reception

Built from warm wood and rich red marble, the reception desk balances Cornell’s heritage with a clear Wrightian influence. Staggered heights build in ADA accessibility without breaking the rhythm of the design, and vertical wood paneling mirrors the cascading lines of Ithaca’s waterfalls. Behind the desk, two oversized bird paintings from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology root the welcome in local history.

Valet

The valet desk blends marble, warm wood, and black steel to connect the interior with the hotel’s exterior entry, creating a streamlined, high-end first impression. Clear signage guides arriving guests, a monitor lets staff see each car pull up, and a discreet stool keeps the team comfortable and attentive without compromising the polished look.

Hotel lobby with a wall featuring vertical black letters spelling 'V I A L E T', a black door, beige walls, wooden flooring, a beige sofa, a table lamp, and marble chairs with illuminated cylindrical structures nearby.
Interior of a building with a white marble reception desk accented with black, a potted flower on top, cream and red marble walls, and dark wood flooring.

the parlor

Looking through an open doorway into a hotel lounge or lobby with seating, large windows, and modern decor.
Spacious living room with beige and cream upholstered furniture, a black grand piano and drums in the background, a wooden room divider with shelves, and a large dark wood bookshelf filled with decor and books, illuminated by warm lighting.

Where the gym and management offices once claimed the windows, the parlor now gives that daylight back to guests. As the home of a nightly cocktail and music hour, it features live performances by local and student musicians and a bar cart serving complimentary regional wines. Intimate lounge pockets and a warm, residential scale invite guests to linger, turning a once clinical space into the social heart of the hotel.

Living room with large beige sectional sofa, round coffee table with red floral arrangement, two wooden chairs, and a bookshelf with books and decorative items. Large windows with blinds show a sunset view with trees and buildings outside.
Living room with large beige sectional sofa, modern chairs, wooden shelves with books and decorative items, marble floor, and large windows with blinds, illuminated by warm sunlight.