Seven historic beehive-shaped kilns made from brick and native stone sit at the entrance of Basalt’s Arbaney Park near the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Fryingpan rivers. Commissioned by the Aspen Silver Co., they were built in 1884 to transform piñon wood into charcoal for Aspen’s mining smelters.
Hospitality design firm Flick-Mars used history as a guide to connect The Hoffmann’s interiors to the surrounding landscape. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HOFFMANN HOTEL
The kilns served as inspiration for The Hoffmann (thehoffmannhotel.com), a new 122-room hotel in Basalt. Staged on Kodiak Ski Lake in the Tree Farm, a 43-acre mixed-use community 20 miles from Aspen, the new hotel is part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton, a portfolio of unique properties designed to embrace and reflect their local destinations.
Dallas-based Flick-Mars headed up the hotel’s design, drawing inspiration from the Hoffmann Kiln, which was invented by Friedrich Hoffmann in 1858. It revolutionized the brick-making industry at the time. Inside the hotel, the arched brick ceiling over the bar pays homage to the kiln’s design, and the lobby’s centerpiece fireplace is crafted in raw metal as a modern interpretation.
“The Hoffmann was designed to invoke a cozy modern aesthetic through natural materials and warm textures,” says Flick-Mars partner Matt Mars. “The space embodies the palette of the landscape and embraces the authentic nature of its surroundings.” The check-in desk and bike-room storage walls are stained beetle-kill pine wood. “It was a sustainable approach as using beetle-kill pine aids in sequestering carbon storage,” Mars says. The two dramatic slabs of white pine on the wall behind the front desk are meant to evoke the confluence of the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork rivers, where Basalt’s historic kilns are situated.
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