Pocketbook Hudson Hotel and Baths
As one of the first incorporated towns in the United States, with roots in the Industrial and Gilded Ages, Hudson carries a rich legacy and a growing modern appeal for Manhattan transplants and day-trippers alike.
Now, one of the town’s most historic buildings – a 19th-century former textile factory – has been reimagined by Charlap Hyman & Herrero as Pocketbook Hudson Hotel and Baths.
Championing the landmarked building’s inherent character was integral to principals Adam Charlap Hyman and Andre Herrero, who sought to retain many of the original materials, details and proportions. “We tried to resist the instinct to ‘correct’ the industrial shell, instead letting it remain legible as a kind of atmospheric backdrop,” Herrero says. “The volume, height and rawness of the structure are all still very present; just softened rather than subdivided.”
Defining the program and layout within an existing architectural framework also presented a challenge. “Instead of treating the guestrooms and public spaces as discrete zones, they’re arranged by a gradient of use, naturally shifting from public to private,” Herrero says. He adds that they “tried to avoid it feeling like there were any hard boundaries”.
Most of the 46 guestrooms and suites are located above street level, while the ground floor contains the public-facing restaurant, Ambos, retail spaces and an all-day cafe that transitions to a lounge at dusk. There’s also a subterranean club in the original boiler room as well as various event spaces. Show: Room – a creative hub featuring galleries and shops – is a design-forward addition, and the baths and a spa are housed within a freestanding brick, timber and limestone structure that once served as storage for the factory’s textile fibres.
The building’s patinated brick walls, tall ceilings and original windows have been retained, and this characterful vernacular offers a backdrop for crisp new fixtures and finishes. Stainless-steel benchtops and handrails, Donald Judd-esque timber joinery by local woodworker Primary Visual and contemporary lighting create a minimal and elemental effect softened by decorative upholstery, artwork curated by artist WangShui and custom lamps and mirrors by designer and sculptor Misha Kahn.
“We challenged ourselves to embrace the inherent irregularities and weight that come from a 19th-century industrial structure, even when we felt like we should be smoothing these irregularities out for hospitality,” Herrero says. “We constantly tested ourselves on the definition around the decay of the existing structure and how much to polish it or transform it. Preserving an element of the ghost was important to us.”
This dialogue between old and new gives Pocketbook Hudson Hotel and Baths its distinctive identity. Imperfect brick walls meet sleek stainless-steel surfaces; restored window frames are uniform on the heritage facade; and lofty rooms hold contemporary furniture and objects. It’s characterful, contextual and polished to just the right degree.
