InterContinental New York Barclay

The redesigned InterContinental New York Barclay complements and celebrates the past, ensuring that it remains a destination within the highly competitive hotel and entertainment market of Midtown Manhattan.

Built in 1926 by the Vanderbilt family, the InterContinental New York Barclay is one of the city’s only remaining and fully operational properties crafted in the Federal style prominent in American design from the 1780s to 1840s.

The 704-room hotel had last been renovated in the 1980s and needed significant architectural and interior upgrades to compete in the New York hospitality market.

In crafting a new interior for the property, HOK’s design team looked to the  hotel’s historic past, infusing birds (the property’s lobby birdcage once housed as many as 200 songbirds), the letter B (found on the building’s exterior cornice) and classic Federalist designs (including stripes, arrows and eagles) as recurring themes.

The redesign, expansion and renovation of the hotel’s footprint helped to modernize the building and created 15,000 square feet of new ballroom and event spaces.

The 420,000-sq.-ft. interior serves international business travelers, tourists and New Yorkers seeking curated, historically inspired spaces for entertaining and meeting.