Virginia Beach, Virginia
Three existing structures on this block included the 16 floor, 265 unit Mayflower Apartment building, a two-story connected parking structure, and a single-story retail building comprising of 3 restaurant tenants. The crown jewel of this purchase was the historic Mayflower Apartments, which was originally completed on August 18, 1950. At the time, it was Virginia’s tallest building and is still one of the few high rise apartments located near the Virginia Beach oceanfront.
The owner’s goal was to bring life back to this iconic tower and re-imagine it to feel like a beach club rather than a traditional apartment building.
The Original Mayflower Building
The design team was tasked to create a uniform look for the entire block that would stand out from the surrounding resort buildings and project a “modern beach style”. The exterior paint scheme was designed to be bright and clean in a vertical orientation that would draw the viewer’s eye upward and contrast with the summer blue sky. A new logo was created to give the property immediate recognition and was designed to provide a signature pop of color when used throughout the entire property. The architects designed a suspended white box with the Mayflower name and logo over the most predominate corner of the building facade, between the 11th and 14th floor, which serves as a beacon to beachgoers during the day and night.