W Boston lobby

The W Boston Hotel and Residences, in the theatre district, was renovated by William Rawn Associates. The works cover the lobby and its lounge in particular, redefining the entrance to the hotel.

The lounge walls are faced in charred timber. Set against granite columns, it gives the space a raw, mineral materiality held together by the regularity of the setting-out.

The timber was supplied by Delta Millworks, who selected Kebony Clear in the Half Gator finish. The process draws on Shou Sugi Ban, the traditional Japanese method of preserving wood by charring, whose use spread in the United States in the years before the project, in step with demand for decorative elements with a weathered look.