Specht Architects transforms former union hall into Carpenter Hotel in Austin

American studio Specht Architects has renovated and expanded a "mid-century-utilitarian" carpenters' union hall building to create this hotel near downtown Austin.The brick and concrete Carpenter Hotel is situated within a pecan grove in one of the last enclaves of Old Austin, near the Barton Springs swimming hole. The compound is anchored by a 1940s landmark and former home of the city's Carpenters' Local 1266 union.While the "mid-century-utilitarian" hall was repurposed into the boutique