The circa-1965 midcentury marvel situated on a busy Austin thoroughfare languished for years as a Radisson, enduring many additions that chipped away at its character. Undeterred by the challenge, Sydell Group founder and CEO Andrew Zobler (the mastermind behind fashionable lifestyle concepts the Freehand and NoMad) salvaged the building, transforming it into the understated Line Austin, home to Arlo Grey restaurant, Jasper meeting space, a pool, Alfred’s coffee shop, and soon-to-open burger joint Dean’s One Trick Pony (rooftop lounge P6 is set for a spring 2019 debut). “The idea was to allow the property to become a nexus for creativity and a public living room for the city that people could experience and enjoy,” he says.

This starts at the façade, where local architect Michael Hsu removed old components to reveal the “beauty and grit of the original building,” he says, converting the tired lobby into a modern glass structure that ushers in views of Congress Avenue and nearby Lady Bird Lake. For the interiors, Zobler called on Los Angeles designer Sean Knibb, who was behind the original Line in LA, to develop a concept rooted in the location. “We used as much of the old design as possible,” Knibb says, “stripping it down where necessary to allow the building to take on a new life without having to undergo a radical change.”

A refined lobby space is awash in pastel pink and soft gray, dotted with cozy blue furnishings and three fireplaces that anchor the space. The tactile ceiling treatment invokes an artist’s canvas, juxtaposing “the smoothness of the vertical walls and the lushness of the plants hanging in the garden,” Knibb adds. The sleek palette continues in Arlo Grey restaurant, helmed by Top Chef winner Kristen Kish, which leads to the infinity pool. Complete with plaid-covered umbrellas and views of the Congress Avenue Bridge, it provides the perfect perch to watch the famous bats ascend into the night sky.

The 428 guestrooms are minimalist in design, with sandblasted plywood headboards and floor-to-ceiling windows that highlight either city or water views. “I like the rhythm of the hotel,” Knibb points out. “From the front door and the guestrooms to the pool and the restaurant, it’s the flow and continuity that gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment.”