Reimagined for the first time in four decades, the 182-room The Union Club Hotel draws on the school’s history, values, and contributions to society to inform sweeping changes, including an open, soaring lobby and guest rooms that echo elements of student living. Design moments throughout the hotel celebrate the story of Purdue and its people, enveloping guests in the culture of the university while offering fresh excitement and modern comforts. A two-story dynamic art piece comprised of an ebonized wood bookcase filled with white books serves as a screen for projected images, including those of famous alum Amelia Earhart. A large wooden sculpture in the restaurant, reminiscent of tractor tire tracks on a newly ploughed wheat field, adds to the thematic design, while seating pieces upholstered in tweeds nod to classic collegiate professionals.
Patterns and textures celebrate and expand the hotel’s existing historic interior architecture, with stone-clad openings repeated throughout the design. A modern riff on rich wood paneling, painted a deep charcoal hue, extends through new spaces, and a bold mosaic floor in the reception area is inspired by original stone flooring found in the neighboring Student Union. Colors — the crisp black and gold of Purdue, the slate grey of blackboards, the deep blue of a Midwestern sky, and warm notes of leathery cognac — seamlessly reflect the university’s story throughout the hotel. Guest rooms offer yet another element of Purdue life, with designers taking inspiration from student living environments. A crisp, graphic houndstooth pattern in full Purdue colors enlivens the carpet in the corridors, continuing in the sleeping areas in a quieted colorway of grey, black, and blue. Corridor walls in cream, punctuated by dark charcoal stained doors and trim, transition to two-tone guest room walls in a velvety gray extending to picture rail height with a clean white above.
