This Department Spotlight is the Architect & Design Department. Many people are surprised to find out that six years ago we constructed two complete hotel rooms with finishes and furniture in the back of Snap Fitness at West Park Village in Cape Girardeau. The two rooms are used as an experiment for hotel guest room finishes. Two separate décor packages are used for new construction and renovations. Each package is used over the course of about two years or potentially five projects. The Design Team works with the local DSW Construction Team to complete the new decor package in the room dedicated to new construction.

The Architectural Team is busy re-designing the DSW hotel prototype. The current prototype used at DIS Pittsburgh Airport, DIS Huntsville, DIS Cincinnati Mason, DIS Columbus Polaris, and DIS Cleveland Beachwood is getting a facelift. The architects have gathered comments from various departments of the Drury team, including Operations, and are incorporating those comments to develop a new and improved design. The DIS in College Station, Texas will be the first location to implement this prototype.

The most recent achievements for the Department include the opening of the DPH Milwaukee and the permit submittal of the plans for the DPH Madison. Each project takes years to complete from conceptual design to construction completion. These two projects are historic renovations of existing buildings so the time dedicated to them is greater than a prototype building.

One of many ongoing works in progress for both the interior designers and architects is the Drury Brand Standards. The Brand Standards are put in place to ensure expectations are achieved and to implement a consistent product at all Drury-branded hotels. Each person from the Architect & Design Department works very closely with the Operations team members to maintain and update Brand Standards.