The Watermark Hotel, located in Baton Rouge, LA, is part of the Marriott Autograph Collection. Noted for its lush, high design aesthetic, the distinguished Autograph Collection celebrates independent boutique hotels that are unprecedented in design and thoughtful in spirit. The unifying element across all of these properties is an uncompromising attention to detail. Each destination is chosen for its quality, striking originality, sense of place and unique details. Needless to say, admittance into this prestigious club is no easy feat.

Challenge

Frameless glass panel shower doors inherently have a “rattle” as they close. Despite the thickness of the glass or the cost of the door, to the user, this sound translates as cheap. But given the minimal hardware area typical of frameless glass panel doors, the impact one can have on the overall stability of the door and closure is relatively small; in turn, making their seemingly inherent ‘cheapness’ difficult to overcome.

The Autograph Collection® cannot be associated with mid-level properties, let alone cheap quality. So, what is one to do when the design calls for a modern, frame less glass door with a rustic, barn door aesthetic and high-quality feel, but no time to make it happen? Call Source Direct.

PROJECT INFORMATION

Project Name: The Watermark Hotel

Project Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Hotel Brand: Marriott Autograph Collection

Parent Company: Marriott

Client Company: Gensler

Architect: Gensler

Designer: Gensler

General Contractor: Milton J. Womack, Inc

Products Manufactured: Frame less glass barn door using exposed track system hardware and soft closing mechanism in both directions

• Innovative design solution
• Soft-close feature
• Designed and engineered to ensure the easiest installation and highest performance
• Soft-close frame-less glass door was the first of its kind

Tasked with finding a feasible design solution that was within budget and in accordance with Marriott’s strict brand standards, Source Direct’s creative team of engineers hit the ground running. Their quest for a solution came to a head with the development of a unique and novel design solution never before used on a frame-less piece of glass: soft-closing mechanisms. This led to the creation of the first softclose, frame-less glass panel door.

Full List of Products Delivered:

• Custom soft-close mechanisms designed around a custom door system
• First soft-closing, frameless glass panel door
• SDI 500 series flat track hardware in a black finish with face mounted matching roller hardware
• Black ladder and flush mounted pull handles used on a white laminated glass door panel for a striking presentation

Solution

Given the caliber of design across the other Autograph Collection hotels, it was clear that not just any frame-less glass panel or barn door would suffice. In fact, this project would require something that hadn’t even been invented yet.

RAISE YOUR STANDARDS, NOT YOUR BUDGETS.

Given the intense competition in the hotel industry, there has never been a more important time for architects, interior designers and hotel developers to keep up with design trends and emerging consumer behaviors. Hotel guests today are seeking unique, bespoke experiences that they can share on social media—namely, Instagram. To be “Instagrammable,” architects, designers and developers must create spaces that appeal to a hyperconnected, Internet-driven consumer population by anticipating these opportunities and incorporating them into the design early on. Source Direct took that challenge in stride, working as a detail driven partner to create moments that have been captured, shared and liked by thousands.