Doo Wop Architecture
by Jonathan McGaha | December 9, 2010 12:00 am
The design of the StarLux Hotel, located in the New Jersey shore resort town of Wildwood, is influenced by the local 1950’s vintage commercial modern motels-known locally as Doo Wop. A new lobby and swimming pool were added to an existing 1950’s motel building, which was renovated to accommodate 20 rooms and suites. The distinctive Astro Lounge features custom stencil patterns, mid-century modern furniture and a circular fireplace.
Located at the end of the main boulevard into town, the building is oriented toward the street, welcoming visitors to the Doo Wop district. The StarLux uses the visual vocabulary of the fifties
(the colors, forms and shapes), but turns up the volume a notch, and offers all of the amenities that are now currently expected of contemporary resort hotels. The project was conceived as a themed environment, with the architect, Philadelphia-based Stokes Architecture, involved in the interior design, the commissioning of custom Wildwood photography in the rooms and even the selection of music to be played.
A new exterior staircase was required to meet modern egress codes, so the architect chose to make this staircase a signature design element. The perforated steel skin, fabricated by Mitchell Welding and Ironworks of Cape May Court, N.J., was chosen to conceal the actual stair, but still make it somewhat open to the users of the stair, as well as to create interesting lighting effects at night. The rounded and slightly conical shape of the stair is meant as a counterpoint to the rectilinear geometry of the main building.
Metal was chosen for its durability and permanence. The perforated metal was chosen for the reasons given above, and also to create a semitransparent scrim for the stair structure.
StarLux Hotel, Wildwood, N.J.
Owner: Jetsonian Partners, a Morey’s Piers and Resorts affiliate
Architect: Stokes Architecture, Philadelphia
General Contractor: John Mirenda, Northfield, N.J. (Phase one); MJJ Construction (Phase two)
Steel fabricator: Mitchell Welding and Ironworks, Cape May Court House, N.J.
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/doo-wop-architecture/