Adaptive Reuse - Chapter 3 - Gunn Meyerhoff Shay

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S Y N E R G Y
When something is said to be greater
than the sum of all its parts, it possesses
synergy. With architecture and urban
design, this effect energizes ensembles.
Rarely does an architectural design
firm get the opportunity to design an
entire ensemble all at once, but Bob
Gunn and Eric Meyerhoff had several
chances. In addition to the mile-long
Savannah riverfront project, Bob and
Eric also designed the master plan for
Armstrong State College (now Armstrong
Atlantic State University), and the first
phase of King’s Bay Naval Submarine
Base, making each of those places distinctive.
In a way, these experiences
proved that a place was more than just
the sum of its parts.
Ordinarily, great places evolve through
a gradual process of addition. “River
Street’s Rousakis Plaza gave Savannah
a magnificent front porch for the whole
world to come and enjoy,” says Shay,
“and Bob and Eric deserve a lot of
credit for having the vision to see it from
beginning to end.” But Bay Street and
the city’s skyline have proven to be a
much slower process. Spawned by River
Street’s new success as a place for visitors
to gather, Bay Street was Savannah’s
traditional address for commerce, and
included many landmark buildings — the
Cotton Exchange, the U.S. Customs
House, and City Hall. “With the success
of the riverfront came Savannah’s first
new hotel in a generation, the Hyatt
Regency. But this hotel was very controversial
and became a horrible example
of ensemble, destroying the scale of
River Street and turning its face inward
to its own atrium, ignoring the beauty of
the surroundings.”
Fortunately, this did not become an
acceptable pattern for the future. As
tourism grew, Bay Street reclaimed its
place as Savannah’s center of commerce,
but with a new kind of trade — the hospitality
industry.
“As of 2007, Gunn•Meyerhoff•Shay
has designed nine new or renovated
hotels on Bay Street. Gradually, those
buildings have transformed the street,
the intersections, and the skyline — from
a decaying corridor for truck traffic into
Savannah’s ‘Broadway.’ Each added
new life and stimulated a memorable