AXIS Architecture + Design is pleased to announce that the firm has been commissioned to provide architectural design services for a new Moxy Hotel in downtown Tucson, Arizona.

Proposed for a half-acre site bordering Tucson’s Central Business District, the six-story hotel will introduce 137 guestrooms to a prominent location near the city’s historic Fourth Avenue neighborhood and destination Congress Street entertainment district. The development will be constructed above an existing below-grade parking garage originally designed to accommodate a future hotel.

AXIS’ architectural design draws upon downtown Tucson’s early industrial brick vernacular while incorporating complementary elements of Pueblo Revival architecture. A warm brick façade, articulated pilasters and corbelling, expansive street-level glazing, recessed windows, flat rooflines, and earthen-toned plaster will connect the contemporary hotel to the material character and architectural history of its surroundings.

At street level, the lobby and lounge will open visually onto Fifth Avenue through tall storefront glazing, strengthening the relationship between the hotel and the surrounding pedestrian environment. Above, the guestroom levels step back from the street, differentiating the hotel’s private accommodations from its public-facing podium while responding to the scale of neighboring buildings.

Watch for updates in future editions of the Praxis as AXIS’ vision for this new boutique lifestyle hotel takes shape.

The post AXIS Awarded the Architectural Design of the New Moxy Tucson appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

AXIS Architecture + Design, the noted and award-winning West Coast hospitality design, hotel architecture, adaptive reuse, multi-family residential design, and affordable housing architectural design firm, is proud to announce the completion of the comprehensive renovation of Hotel Viking, one of New England’s most iconic boutique hospitality destinations. A project on behalf of KHP Capital Partners activating the design of Los Angeles-based interior design firm Beleco, the hotel’s centennial transformation reimagines the historic Newport property through a design narrative that balances the grandeur of the city’s Gilded Age heritage with a contemporary vision for residential-style luxury hospitality. Proudly, AXIS served as AOR on the project.

An upscale boutique hotel renovation authentically inspired by the property’s historical character

Originally constructed in 1926, with an additional wing introduced in the 1960s, Hotel Viking presented a uniquely layered architectural history shaped by decades of evolving hospitality trends and interventions. Working within a historic structure that lacked complete as-built documentation, the project compelled the design team to continuously adapt as concealed conditions and unforeseen structural realities emerged throughout planning and construction. The resulting transformation thoughtfully showcases the coastal character of the original 1926 landmark while introducing a renewed sense of warmth, sophistication, and modern classicism.

Throughout the public spaces, AXIS assisted in restoring the hotel’s original sense of procession and layered arrival, while Beleco introduced interiors that blend Newport’s maritime heritage with the relaxed sophistication of contemporary coastal living. Historic research informed numerous interventions throughout the property, including reinterpretations of original Viking iconography, historic lighting motifs, and maritime-inspired detailing woven subtly throughout the guest experience. Signature architectural moments include the transformation of the lobby lounge fireplace into a dramatic double-sided marble focal point, the introduction of custom lotus-motif glass walls and doors to improve guest marshalling, and the reinterpretation of the hotel’s historic Viking barback mural within the bar’s new recessed ceiling feature.

The renovation extends beyond the interiors to reinforce Hotel Viking’s presence within Newport’s historic Bellevue Avenue district. The design team introduced new exterior lighting designed to accentuate original architectural elements and reestablish the building’s nighttime identity within the city fabric, while updates to the front entrance portico strengthen the sense of arrival. Additionally, the hotel’s rear courtyard was expanded and reconfigured to support future food-and-beverage activations and open-air social programming.

Project adds to AXIS Architecture + Design’s demonstrated expertise along the East Coast

Beyond its significance as a historic hotel repositioning effort, Hotel Viking also represents an important milestone in AXIS Architecture + Design’s continued expansion into the East Coast. Following AXIS’ recent work on The Press Hotel, Autograph Collection in Portland, Maine, Hotel Viking adds to AXIS’ growing East Coast project portfolio, and reflects the firm’s well-established nation-wide architectural design capabilities.

AXIS also extends its thanks to Kaleb Schelhaas and the Owner’s Representative team at Artaic Group for their very capable project management expertise.

Visit AXIS’ online project portfolio for complete project imagery, and for additional details of AXIS’ design program for the Hotel Viking historic hotel renovation.

The post AXIS Advances its East Coast Hospitality Presence with the Transformation of the Historic Hotel Viking appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

AXIS Architecture + Design, the noted and award-winning West Coast hospitality design, hotel architecture, adaptive reuse, multi-family residential design, and affordable housing architectural design firm, is proud to celebrate the completion of the Hilton Arcadia Los Angeles. Located along Arcadia’s destination Huntington Drive, the 173-room full-service Hilton hotel represents one of AXIS’ most architecturally ambitious hospitality projects to date, combining the ground-up design of a new six-story hotel tower with the adaptive reuse and conversion of an existing three-story office building. Serving as both Design Architect and Architect of Record, AXIS guided the project from concept through construction.

Developed by VG Properties and constructed by R.D. Olson Construction, the Hilton Arcadia further expands AXIS’ extensive portfolio of hospitality architecture projects throughout the Western United States while showcasing the firm’s growing expertise in adaptive reuse and hospitality-driven redevelopment.

A rare hospitality project uniting adaptive reuse and new construction

The completed hotel brings together a newly constructed six-story tower and a converted three-story office building within a single operational Hilton-branded property, creating a unified guest experience that conceals the project’s dual origins.

The new hotel tower delivers guestrooms, banquet facilities, pre-function event space, and guest amenities, while the former office building has been comprehensively reimagined as a hospitality environment offering additional guestrooms, dining venues, meeting facilities, and a rooftop lounge. Together, the two structures comprise more than 153,000 square feet of hospitality space, functioning not as separate buildings but as a single cohesive destination. Achieving this level of integration across the two building types required careful coordination of architectural planning, life-safety systems, circulation patterns, operational requirements, and brand standards.

AXIS’ design draws architectural inspiration from one of Southern California’s most iconic landmarks

Central to AXIS’ vision for the Hilton Arcadia was the opportunity to create an architectural response to one of Southern California’s most recognizable neighboring landmarks: Santa Anita Park.

Widely regarded as one of the nation’s most celebrated racetracks, Santa Anita Park is equally known for its distinctive Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architecture. Inspired by the racetrack’s iconic 1930s grandstand and pavilion structures, AXIS developed an architectural language that translates the elegance, movement, and sophistication of the era into a contemporary hospitality environment.

The hotel’s exterior composition is defined by sweeping curves, strong vertical window rhythms, and carefully proportioned massing that evokes the architectural character of Santa Anita while maintaining a distinctly modern identity. Along Huntington Drive, the building establishes a confident presence that both complements and respects its historic neighbor, creating a visual dialogue between past and present.  Through careful attention to façade articulation, material selection, scale, proportion, and fenestration patterns, AXIS created a cohesive architectural identity that allows the hotel to be perceived as a single development despite its dual construction origins.

Creating a seamless architectural experience across two building typologies

Beyond the visual challenge of unifying old and new construction, the Hilton Arcadia required AXIS to solve a series of complex architectural and operational challenges inherent to combining adaptive reuse and ground-up development within a single hospitality project.

Unlike a conventional hotel development, the project required the design team to reconcile differing structural systems, floorplate configurations, building code requirements, and circulation patterns while maintaining the operational efficiencies expected of a modern full-service Hilton property. The success of the project lies not only in its architectural appearance, but also in the seamless manner in which guests move throughout the property without awareness of the different building types that underpin the development.

This integration extends beyond planning and operations to the overall guest experience. Complementing AXIS’ architectural vision, interior design for the project was developed by Atwater Inc. Studio, whose hospitality-focused interiors extend the property’s contemporary interpretation of Southern California’s Art Deco heritage throughout the guest experience.

Hilton Arcadia reinforces AXIS’ leadership in hospitality architectural design

Led by AXIS’ Los Angeles studio, the completion of the Hilton Arcadia further strengthens AXIS’ reputation as one of the West Coast’s leading hospitality architecture firms. Beyond its significance as a new full-service Hilton property, the project serves as a compelling example of the firm’s ability to navigate the complexities of hospitality design, adaptive reuse, and large-scale development while delivering memorable guest experiences rooted in local context and architectural character.

As hospitality developers increasingly explore opportunities to reposition aging commercial assets, the Hilton Arcadia stands as a model for how existing office buildings can be thoughtfully transformed and expanded through hospitality-focused redevelopment, unlocking new value while contributing distinctive destinations to their surrounding communities.

The post AXIS Completes the Hilton Arcadia Los Angeles, a Landmark Adaptive Reuse and New-Build Hotel Development appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

AXIS is excited to announce the groundbreaking of our newest hospitality project now underway in Seattle: the Candlewood Suites hotel on Jefferson Street. AXIS is serving as the Architect of Record and Design Architect on the project on behalf of clients Perfect Wealth Investment LLC. Construction expertise is being provided by Synergy Construction Inc.

Located directly across from the Swedish Hospital Cherry Hill Campus, the seven-story hotel is designed to provide comfortable, extended-stay accommodations in one of Seattle’s most active medical and residential districts. The project will include 37 guestrooms, with some featuring private patios, as well as a rooftop deck with a BBQ station, and a fitness room for guests.  Designed by AXIS’ Seattle studio, the hotel will offer convenient access to nearby medical facilities and transit, and will deliver a welcoming and practical long-stay lodging option for visitors to the Cherry Hill neighborhood.

The article appeared in the Winter 2026 edition of the Praxis newsletter.

The post Project Announcement: Our Candlewood Suites Extended Stay Hotel Project Breaks-Ground in Seattle appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

Late last year, one of AXIS’ most recent upscale boutique soft-branded hotel conversion and renovation projects, the Martis Valley Lodge, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, quietly celebrated its completion and grand opening. A boutique mountain retreat located in Truckee, California, the project saw AXIS serve as AOR and assist in transforming a former Hampton Inn into a new 109-room contemporary lodge-style hospitality destination authentically inspired by the natural beauty of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Contributing to the activation of lead design firm and interior designers Atwater Inc. Studio’s creative direction for the property, the project repositioned the property from a conventional select service hotel into a distinctive boutique lodge. Heavily inspired by the changing seasons of the Sierra Nevada and the sports-focused sensibilities that define the Lake Tahoe region, guest spaces and public areas are designed to reflect the rhythms of mountain life. From winter skiing to summer hiking and lake activities, spaces are pragmatically designed to serve as a basecamp for year-round exploration.

See a fulsome project description and additional project photography in our online project portfolio.

This article appeared in the Winter 2026 edition of The Praxis newsletter.

The post AXIS Serves as AOR on the Boutique Hotel Renovation of Martis Valley Lodge, Tapestry Collection by Hilton appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

A rendering of the new-build multi-family residential housing project Alexan Shoreline, designed by Seattle architects AXIS Architecture + Design.

Designed by AXIS’ Seattle studio on behalf of Trammell Crow Residential, Alexan Shoreline East is a new-build multi-family residential development that blends contemporary style with sustainability. Rising elegantly to eight stories, this multi-family marvel offers a diverse array of 299 apartments – from cozy studios to spacious three-bedroom homes. Tentatively, a portion of the development’s units are earmarked as affordable housing.

Concrete being poured at the new-build multi-family residential housing project Alexan Shoreline, an apartment designed by Seattle multi-family residential architects AXIS Architecture + Design.

On a recent site walk, members of AXIS’ Seattle office watched the project’s concrete pour in action, including for its bioretention planters ingeniously designed by AXIS to aid in stormwater management and to add significant landscaping texture to the common outdoor amenities. In those outdoor spaces, the amenities come alive with two inviting courtyards and a rooftop deck complete with a sheltered kitchen. Adjacently, a generous clubroom offers spaces to gather, play, and cook in an indoor kitchen. The ground level caters to various needs – from fitness enthusiasts to pet lovers – featuring a gym, study rooms, a communal workspace, an outdoor pet zone, and a dedicated dog wash. To add a personal touch, select units feature private patios or balconies. Keeping with AXIS’ commitment to sustainability, Alexan Shoreline East aims for LEED Platinum certification, including provisions for 30 EV chargers.

Visit AXIS’ multi-family residential design portfolio on our website for more project imagery of the Alexan Shoreline East.

The post Introducing Alexan Shoreline East, AXIS’ Latest Multi-Family Residential Design Project in Seattle appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

Yesterday, Urbanize LA published an article noting the start of construction at our Fairfield by Marriott Inglewood hotel project.

Adding to AXIS’ already significant select service hotel design portfolio, the hotel will hold 150 guestrooms and a welcoming ground-floor bar and lounge that will seamlessly extend into an inviting exterior amenity space along Century Boulevard. With a commitment to sustainability, the hotel is on track to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Read Urbanize’s article here: https://la.urbanize.city/post/construction-underway-fairfield-hotel-3640-century-blvd-inglewood

Visit AXIS’ online project portfolio for additional project imagery, and for an abstract of AXIS’ vision for our design of the destination: https://axisarchitecture.com/our-projects/fairfield-inglewood-select-service-hotel/

The post AXIS’ Fairfield Inglewood Select Service Hotel Design Project Featured in UrbanizeLA appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

AXIS Architecture + Design, the noted and award-winning West Coast hospitality design, hotel renovation, multi-family residential design, and affordable housing architectural design firm, is pleased to celebrate the grand opening of their latest new-build hospitality design project: the AC Hotel Pasadena.  Serving as Architect of Record on the project in coordination with design architects WATG, the AC Hotel Pasadena represents AXIS’ sixth completed AC Hotel project, and marks the latest addition to AXIS’ extensive ground-up hotel design portfolio.

A development on behalf of Welcome Group Inc., AXIS was commissioned to design the first branded hotel to operate in Pasadena’s iconic Playhouse Village arts district.  Meeting the challenge, AXIS delivered a design that balances the neighborhood’s historical and artsy surroundings with AC Hotels’ modern and contemporary brand aesthetic.  A ground-up construction rising from a former parking lot, the six-story AC Hotel Pasadena delivers 194 rooms across 110,000 sf of hospitality, dining, and retail space, and introduces a new select service destination that ambitiously positions itself amongst Pasadena’s finest upscale hotels.

The exterior of the AC Hotel Pasadena, a new-build hotel designed by California hotel architects AXIS Architecture + Design.

Viewed from the street, AXIS’ contemporary and European-inspired design program is immediately appreciated.  Extending from the sidewalk to the roofline, the hotel is elegantly framed by balconies and outdoor entertaining spaces on each of the building’s vertices – a design feature that not only defines the extent of the hotel along the streetscape, but one that also starts to hint at the easy-living French Riviera inspiration behind AXIS’ design.  Along the roofline, gradually angled parapets create forced perspective and emphasized scale to the façade, while a fenestration program featuring massive multi-story windows along the top floor add to the effect.  Maximizing the hotel’s interface with the bustling sidewalk, AXIS’ site plan ingeniously tucks the driveway and entrance behind the building, both maximizing the lot’s functional space while at the same time creating a sheltered arrival experience for hotel guests.  Polishing the exterior design, dynamic Trespa paneling set above old-world brick cladding perfectly blends contemporary aesthetics with local Southern Californian ambiance.

The rooftop bar at the AC Hotel Pasadena, a new-build select service hotel designed by California hotel architect AXIS Architecture + Design.

More than simply creating the newest select service hotel in downtown Pasadena, AXIS’ design of the AC Hotel Pasadena also creates a new commercial and entertainment destination in the city.  Along the hotel’s streetfront, AXIS included over 5,000 sf of leasable retail space to the site plan, effectively creating opportunities for the addition of new commercial anchors along the block.  Serving the neighborhood’s burgeoning dining scene, the hotel includes two distinct bar experiences, including a lobby-level bar extending out to an al fresco patio with architectural landscaping, and a destination rooftop restaurant and terrace purposefully designed and oriented by AXIS to maximize guests’ views of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Within the interior spaces, AXIS worked closely with Denver-based hospitality interior design experts Wild Muse to execute The Welcome Group’s vision.  Featuring a design that is elegantly modern and in harmony with AC Hotels’ contemporary European aesthetic, AXIS’ design of the lobby creates an austere, open, and bright space.  On the ground floor, streetfront windows appear to recede into infinity framed within recessed alcoves in the ceiling, while at the destination rooftop bar, convertible glass walls accordion out of sight to create a food and beverage venue where interior and exterior spaces seamlessly meld.

“Given the challenges in the current market, we understand that it is a difficult and almost monumental achievement to take a project from inception all the way to completion,” notes AXIS Founding Principal Architect Cory Creath.  “Our accomplishing that is a testament to the determination of our clients at The Welcome Group, as well as the collective efforts of the team.”  The AXIS team was led by the firm’s Los Angeles office’s Founding Principal Architect Gene Fong, with Kevin Sund serving as the principal in charge.  AXIS Senior Associate Stephanie Park served as project manager, with Associate Jacob Lick serving as job captain.

AXIS thanks R.D. Olson for their construction and general contracting expertise on the project.  AXIS also thanks Saiful Bouquet for their engineering capabilities.

Visit AXIS Architecture + Design’s online hospitality portfolio for additional imagery of the AC Hotel Pasadena, and for an expanded description of AXIS’ design program for the property: https://axisarchitecture.com/our-projects/ac-hotels-pasadena-california/.

The post The AC Hotel Pasadena, Designed by AXIS Architecture + Design, Officially Opens appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

Its topping-out is still on the horizon in Q1 2025, but in the meantime we’re very pleased to share the notable construction progress being made on our Element Chula Vista project.

A collaboration between our Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, our Element Chula Vista project is the latest addition to AXIS’ new-build hotel portfolio, and another example of our hotel design expertise in the Southern Californian market.

Set to open in Q4 2025, this eco-friendly destination exemplifies modern sustainability in hospitality.  With Element’s commitment to eco-conscious living, the hotel features 3,700 SF of green public spaces, 1,900 SF of meeting space, Studio Commons Suites, and outdoor amenities including a pool and spa.

Visit our online project portfolio for additional details and project imagery: https://axisarchitecture.com/our-projects/element-hotel-chula-vista-california/

The post Progress Being Made on our Element Chula Vista New-Build Hotel Project appeared first on AXIS Architecture.

Earlier this summer in our Praxis newsletter and on our blog, AXIS proudly announced the unofficial ground-breaking of our Victory Northgate affordable housing project. Since then, and in only a few short weeks, notable site preparation progress has already been made on the project. With thanks to general contracting project partners Sierra Construction Company, Inc., a live webcam is broadcasting from the construction site; view the construction progress here: https://app.oxblue.com/cameras/8c58fcff88c206cac6d7b446b288b7da?openlink=Sierra/VictoryNorthgate

A 100% affordable housing development designed by AXIS’ Seattle studio, and a project on behalf of GMD Development, Victory Northgate includes 184 non-market housing units over six stories, and includes street level retail and commercial spaces. Featuring a design that incorporates three unique but harmonious façade styles each with their own mix of organic-hued and resource-inspired paneling, AXIS’ design of the development immediately creates a textured community unto itself in the bourgeoning neighborhood.

Visit our online project portfolio for a more fulsome project description, additional project images, and links to Sierra’s live site webcam.

The post Victory Northgate Seattle Affordable Housing Project Construction Camera Goes Live appeared first on AXIS Architecture.