Downtown Madison, Wisconsin, is riding a wave of revitalization and development. From the revival of the Majestic Theatre to gourmet dining, the King Street District has become the nexus for entertainment in Madison. Entrepreneurs, Josh Berkson and Patrick Sweeney, co-owners of Merchant, a popular farm-to-table restaurant and craft cocktail bar in the district envisioned adding a “lifestyle boutique hotel” to the mix. Josh and Patrick shared their vision with our Madison studio — collaborating with designers to create a vision for a seven-story hotel development in the heart of the District.

The King Hotel features a restaurant, underground music venue, rooftop bar and boutique hotel rooms. The design’s 33 hotel rooms are located on the third through sixth floors of the building. The rooftop includes a bar with a retractable roof, acting as an expansive window into the city. The rooftop and ground floor also feature retail spaces enclosed between nano walls made from glass. These nano walls act as giant, transparent dividers that can be moved to create customizable space. The retail space on the ground floor will entice city dwellers into the hotel, further extending the link between the district and the King Hotel.

The King Hotel design is the first large, public project to come out of OPN’s new Madison studio. The design was driven by Josh and Patrick’s vision and the site’s incredible location in the heart of downtown with views to the Capitol and the lake.

The challenge of the site was it was a fairly small site and they had big expectations for all the parts of the building. Making all that come together at an appropriate scale was important to all of us. We always wanted to be conscious of the sight lines to the Capitol, to make sure this building was not cutting off any views, while at the same time looking for those views and making sure there will be opportunities to see them up on the rooftop, from the Capitol to the lake.”

Wes Reynolds, Principal