Elevating The Farnam Hotel

The Farnam Hotel interior shot of the conference room
The Farnam Hotel
The Farnam Hotel interior shot of the restaurant

Project Overview


Project Name
The Farnam Hotel

Size
130,000 GSF

Market Sector
Hospitality

Client
Marriott International, Inc. 

Team
Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture

The challenge was to create a high-end, sophisticated, boutique hotel within an existing 15-story building. The project team created a more engaging interior and exterior with an unforgettable palette for both. Together, they help visitors see a familiar place from a new perspective. – Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture

The Farnam Hotel is a 4-star boutique hotel located in Omaha’s Landmark Center, a mixed-use office/hospitality space in the heart of the city’s revitalized urban core. The goal for the project’s form and function was to create a space unique to the local market, which merged the Marriott Autograph Collection’s precise design standards with the Owner’s vision to incorporate nuances of the city’s agrarian and industrial origins throughout the guest experience.

IP Design Group was brought on as the project’s acoustical and technology consultant, providing oversight and guidance on differing technology applications and ensuring the luxury hotel met the acoustical requirements, including sound transmission class ratings set forth by Marriott. Our firm responded to the ambitious goals to craft one of the city’s most luxurious hospitality venues and the first Marriott Autograph Hotel in Omaha by providing innovative technology and acoustical solutions. Additionally, the firm’s design solution provided integral value to the hotel’s package of offerings. The hotel is spread across noncontiguous floors and shares the location with multiple businesses which posed unique challenges for our firm’s approach to acoustical design. While addressing the various design constraints presented by the unique project layout, our firm also provided solutions to enhance the precise aesthetic and atmosphere the Owner of The Farnam Hotel set out to achieve.

Acoustics at The Farnam


Our firm collected acoustical measurements on the various areas within the space in order to make amicable material recommendations that fit the owner’s budget and design preferences. All the while, our firm had to ensure the selections could meet the stringent design standards dictated by Marriott Autograph Collection Hotels. User experience in hotels, especially within suite spaces, hinges deeply on noise isolation and sound transmission. Jessica Hiatt CTS-D is a firm associate principal who provided oversight and guidance on the project.

“In a space like the Landmark Center, there are a lot of different sound sources to consider: you have sound coming from the tenants in the office spaces, activity coming from Omaha’s downtown, the mechanical systems also emit noise,” Jessica explained, “Our team had all of these different factors to consider when making recommendations for ceiling tiles, flooring materials, etc.”

The finish materials recommendations throughout the hotel were driven by  data collected from our team’s acoustical analyses. As a result, the lobby background noise levels are supplemented with speakers embedded into the ceiling, providing a comfortable experience sets the tone for a guest’s stay. Creating an acoustically comfortable environment was a high priority for the lobby and other shared spaces. It was achieved through the analysis of mechanical systems through airflow velocity recommendations and vibration isolation for mechanical equipment.

Additionally, silencers and duct liners in sensitive areas were particularly advantageous, as space to provide MEPT infrastructure in guest suites was limited. All connections and penetrations were provided with an air-tight acoustical sealant to maintain the required sound transmission class outlined by the Marriott Autograph Design Standards document.

Inspired Technology Solutions


In addition to providing the Omaha community with a one-of-a-kind hospitality experience, the robust technological solutions provided within the Farnam, particularly in the conference room spaces, elevate the boutique hotel into a truly multi-functional event space.

The Farnam is outfitted with five different event/conference room spaces: The Prefunction, The Mercer Boardroom, The Wilson, The Washburn, and The Rosewater Ballroom. Spaces such as the Mercer Boardroom, The Wilson, and The Washburn are outfitted with audiovisual equipment for a host of different corporate events. Higher noise reduction coefficient (NRC) ceiling tiles were reserved for the conference room spaces to promote high-quality speech intelligibility and also support optimized quality output from the sound reinforcement and speech amplification equipment present in the spaces. Architecturally embedded ceiling microphones, projectors, and screens allow the spaces to be optimized for videoconferencing while also maintaining a sleek visual aesthetic appropriate for more intimate, in-person gatherings.

The Prefunction acts as a versatile gathering space with flexible data connections and other technological amenities that allow groups to collaborate and connect in a visually dynamic environment.

The Rosewater Ballroom comes with similar technological solutions akin to The Wilson and The Washburn that allow for 300+ attendees to enjoy presentation and collaboration capabilities that can be tastefully hidden without tarnishing the ballroom’s elegant and regal aesthetics, making it a preferred choice for weddings and banquets. Giving the owner the ability to customize the available technological capabilities within the space allows it to provide the visual aesthetics along with functionality necessary for multiple events.

Brilliantly Unexpected


The Farnam Hotel’s tagline is “Brilliantly Unexpected.” Combining elements from Omaha’s agrarian and industrial roots into an elegant tenant experience was an ambitious goal for the Owner and was successfully executed by the project team. IP Design Group’s role in bringing that vision to life involved harmonizing form with function.

Our group’s vast experience and resources allowed for optimized outcomes in acoustical quality and robust technological features that enable the hotel to be viable not only within the hospitality market but also as a preferred location for corporate events and formal outings.

We invite you to review our hospitality project portfolio to learn more about IP Design Group’s ability to provide innovative and integrative low-voltage and acoustical solutions.