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Tower 23
San Diego, CA.
Graham Downes Architecture

Urban waterfront resort embraces sun and sand with a Modern touch

 
 
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Photo © Amy K. Fellows

Taking its name from a nearby lifeguard station, Tower23 occupies a prime site on the oceanfront boardwalk along Pacific Beach in San Diego. The 45,000-square-foot boutique hotel features 44 guest suites, an 8,000-square-foot restaurant with an indoor/outdoor bar, expansive decks and patios, conference and banquet facilities, and an underground parking garage.

In designing the hotel, Graham Downes Architecture pursued a pared-down, contemporary minimalist style marked by clean, streamlined forms in simple compositions. To capitalize on the balmy southern California climate, the designers integrated interior and exterior spaces wherever possible: in the restaurant and bar, which feature outdoor patio seating as well as secluded indoor rooms; and in the guest suites, which include private terraces and balconies overlooking either the ocean or a garden.

The hotel’s translucent glass façade emits sunlight during the day and, by night, transforms the building into a striking theater of light. This design encapsulates both the chic, urban vibe the hotel’s owner sought to portray, as well as the more casual, relaxed ambience of an intimate beachside retreat. Tower23, an urban beach resort, celebrates the elements of sea, sand, sun, sky, and southern California’s beach lifestyle.

Formal name of project:
Tower 23

Location:
San Diego

Gross square footage:
45,000 sq. ft.

Owner:
Brett Miller, Vernon and Mary Taylor

Architect:
Graham Downes Architecture
1600 National Ave.
San Diego, Ca. 92113
619-234-2565 tel.
619-234-2568 fax
www.grahamdownesarchitecture.com

team

Click here to see all the people and products behind this project

 

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