Canopy by Hilton Memphis Downtown Beale Street

164 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38103 United States

Building Area (sf): 117,101

Completion: July 2020

Sited at a key entry to downtown Memphis' historic entertainment district, this lifestyle hotel revitalizes an abandoned structure into a thoughtfully executed, engaging building.

The Canopy by Hilton hotel in downtown Memphis revitalizes a dilapidated 1950s structure that had been vacant for 20 years. By preserving the existing columns and foundations, the project reduced construction waste and costs, transforming the floorplans into functional square footage. The 171,100-square-foot hotel block is elevated above a transparent podium level and underground parking, with a design maximizing guestroom potential through a double-loaded corridor around an internal light well. This light well brings natural light into the urban block, enhancing public spaces with warmth and openness.
The team’s priority to preserve the existing structure posed complex challenges for the design and construction. The choice to reuse the columns and foundations reduced construction waste, minimized the need for new concrete, and saved project costs. The floorplans were transformed into functional square footage, resulting in a unique hotel design that balances an upper guestroom block with an engaging lobby level.
The podium offers an uplifting experience, connecting guests to Memphis' diverse culture. The hotel's material composition honors the city's historic mid-rise masonry architecture with well-composed fenestrations, proportions, repetition, and scale. Using brick, aluminum, and wood for their resilient and recyclable qualities, and a dark charcoal gray palette with simplified forms, contemporizes the design, evolving the area’s visual aesthetic.
Through rigorous investigation, the design integrates historic, aesthetic, and structural elements, achieving a progressive solution that addresses the project's context, sustainability goals, and programmatic objectives. The result is a visually striking building that revitalizes downtown Memphis' urban fabric while respecting its architectural heritage.

1. The site’s architectural history
2. Urban Renewal: After two failed attempts by other developers to revitalize the site, the building was abandoned with the exterior skin removed and the bare structure left standing at a major threshold into the heart of the city. Our solution to reuse the existing columns and foundations significantly reduced the construction waste, minimized our need for new concrete and allowed this project to remain in budget.
3. Photo by Nick McGinn Photography
4. Design thinking
5. Typical Hotel Level and Typical Lobby Level Floorplans
6. Photo by Nick McGinn Photography
7. Sectional relationships – welcoming the surrounding culture and daylight into a dense urban block.
8. Photo by Dero Sanford/ThinkDero Photography
9. Photo by Nick McGinn Photography
10. Photo by Nick McGinn Photography