Adaptive Reuse of Old Motel

Adaptive Reuse of Old Motel
Reception desk and bar made from reclaimed wood. 968 Park Hotel - South Lake Tahoe, CA
While green building, like other premium building practices can be significantly more expensive than traditional building practices, this doesn't have to be the case. G8 Partners worked with MWA to transform a neglected Days Inn motel into a chic and environmentally responsible hotel. The building received a total facelift, inside and out, nearly eliminating any trace of its original 1970's architecture. Throughout the building, there are hints of the original building: from the re-use of wood still painted with the building's original green, to transforming an old bed spring into a design element in the lobby. The project received a commercial merit award in the 7th Annual TQ Mountain home awards for its unique and innovative approach to environmentally responsible redevelopment. read article.

read more

In late 2003, I sent Kurt Reinkens, a senior partner at MWA, a 3-page letter describing the features that I wanted in a house on a lot in Northstar. Kurt and his team took the letter and went to the lot (numerous times) and designed a house that not only met but greatly exceeded my expectations.

There were already houses on each side so Kurt and his team designed my home so that I had total privacy even with 72 windows! I didn’t need a single blind in any room---l did put a few but they were not necessary for privacy.

No house can be done without modifications along the way. Kurt and I and the builder Jeff Cotton did these smoothly and with total cooperation among all three parties.

In addition, Kurt continued to always look for ways to make the design better. His unique placement and design of windows not only captured all the views but as I mentioned earlier kept the privacy.

I highly recommend Kurt and his firm to do any architectural project and I would use them again.


-- John Atterbury
Copyright © 2025 - All Rights Reserved