Towering above southeast Mississippi, the long leaf pine tree grows in abundance. The region known as the Pine Belt is home to Hattiesburg, MS. Named after Hattie, the wife of Captain William H. Hardy, who founded the city in 1882, Hattiesburg is a town whose history is embedded in the railroad and lumber industries. Today, Hattiesburg grows with the strength of a diverse economy, healthy neighborhoods, and The University of Southern Mississippi.

Hattiesburg’s moniker of the “Hub City” sparked ai3’s design concept and began to inform and influence the “neighborhood story.” Unique to the Hotel Indigo brand, this story is to be embodied by an upscale design with a boutique hotel feel. Taking cues from the rich industrial history of the area, alongside the region in which Hattiesburg is home to, ai3’s design inspiration began with the circular growth of the long leaf pine, a metaphor for the expansion of the Hub City itself.