The Magnificent Hotel Emma

Hotel Emma 

Architect: Lake | Flato Architects and Three: Living Architecture

Designer: Roman and Williams and assists from Local Interior Design Firms

Photo Credits: N/A

Materials Used: Select Grade Sinker Cypress Lumber , Teak Lumber 
Select Grade Sinker Cypress Lumber and Teak Lumber.

The Pearl Brewery has experienced decades of expansion, recognition and success. By its 75^th anniversary, The Pearl became the largest brewery in the Southwest. In the most recent years, the 33-acre site north of downtown San Antonio has been completely remodeled by Lake|Flato Architects, Dallas based Three: Living Architecture, Roman and Williams and huge assists from countless local interior design firms including Giles Parscale. The hotel resides in the main brewery building next to other renovated restaurants and shops. Hotel Emma is built around stories and history based on Emma Koehler, wife of former brewery president Otto Koehler. Like the woman she is named after, The Hotel Emma embodies a resilient structure with an authentic old soul.

The building has no sign of modernism, but all the feeling of the old world. It has recycled reclaimed steel and furnishings mixed with traces of reclaimed wood. As you enter the front lobby, you will step onto the vibrantly colored Redondo Tile and make your way to the reception desk that combines a traditional charm with new world sophistication. The reception desk is carefully crafted of Reclaimed Sinker Cypress that tells a story on its own. Cypress logs lost over hundreds of years ago and left at the bottom of the cold rivers and lakes are a sunken treasure to the modern age. You will notice the desk has different wood colors ranging from dark to light to subtle hints of green and it is finished with decorative iron panels. Two histories brought together by one solid desk. Outside, Teak was used as the siding for the planters all around the pool area. Teak is one of the hardest, strongest and most durable of all timbers. Teak is highly resilient to any rotting and almost impervious to the effects of rain, hot sun and Texas heat, thus why it is an excellent choice for outside decking or lumber use. All in all, the building conveys its German-Texan Heritage with a blend of industrial grit and lavish old world comfort.