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MODELS
city docking point
dome stairs
waiheke plantroom
waiheke ferry terminal
finals
THEORY
Our design of the two hotels lies very much on the foudation of our philosophy, "experience is pre-determined by your state of mind". This philosophy derives from the short story "Ultimate City". In context, Halloway the architect imagined a utopic vision for the run-down city, portraynig a sense of hope and a dream of developing it into the "ultimate city". In contrast, the people working for Halloway had a totally opposing mindset; no ideal vision, dystopic view as opposed to utopic, thus the absense of hope.
This introduced to us the idea of how one setting can be viewed upon many different perception, depending on the individual, their experience prior and their overall mindset.
With our hotels we wanted to establish this idea of exploring architecture through different spaces and contrasting the experiences in these spaces. It would be interesting to see how this would effect the viewer's overall perception of the hotels once they journey through it thoroughly.
We are very used to seeing viewing buildings from the exterior first then the interior, and in a way this pre-determines our perception of the interior. For our Waiheke hotel, we wanted to get away from this conventional idea and explore the architecture within first. The flying vehicle would come in through the tunnel which is also the docking point. The guests are then drawn towards the entrance of the plantroom. The entrance is a series of arches, with rigid, uneven bits extruding outwards. This encloses the spaces and perhaps even makes you feel uneasy and completely unaware of what is about to come next. Once you enter the plantroom the space opens up and you find yourself in a vast dome-like space. You are engulfed by fragmented triangles on the walls and ceiling. Even though the sight of it is quite hectic at first, it isn't an uncomfortable experience due to the open space.
From the plantroom you then go up a series of spiral stairs that bring you to the dome stairs. These stairs are made of a segments of circles but these segments get larger and larger, so they form a spiral like effect around the center. So essentially when you walk on the stairs your walking on the facade of the structure. The experience is not as much in climbing the stairs but rather in being immersed in you surrounding spaces. You feel as if the different segments are constantly revolving moving around you when really its you who is moving. Being partially underground and partially above, means that as you move towards the top you are exposed to more and more light, which enhances the effect of the "moving" interior.
The glass material of the lift creates no barrier interrupting the guests and the enviornment. Therefore, the flying virtual experience can be achieved. There is a sudden openness and revealisation to the elongated sloping site. The pure greenery where there is no architecture is the first opening or the introduction to the guests about the externality of the hotel. The lift continuously travels skywards through the tower which fuctions as the major structural element of the hotel which holds the main body of the hotel altogether. Its ribbon-like form naturally blends in the air and does not create a solidifying imagery that looks rather too heavy to be seen as 'floating'. This strong hint of light, in and out, builds up the excitement for the guests. When they reach the top of the tower, they are naturally leaded to the lobby space - the biggest interior space. The main body of the hotel is derived from a raindrop-like curve repeated and rotated from a point around the core. This action of embracing the air hugs the lightness of air and its free space. The glass material use allows the translucency to be evident which does not interrupt the free space heavyly; merging and weaving with the surrounding through material palette. The opaque interior wall seperates the lobby space from the actual hotel rooms and therefore, people would naturally expect a flowy, curvy and enhancing interior. Yet they are confronted with a rigid, angled and irregular internal spaces and panels which rather cuts through air rather than blending in. The same idea of surprise and unexpectation can be achieved externally as well. People can land via the flying balloon, allowing them to observe the external form of the hotel first and then enter the building.
The constant change and contrast allowed our architecture to be more than a 'hotel' but a culture. There are no targets, no biased designs, specific desires which are only dedicated to a group of people. This kind of architecture respects the individuals' perceptions and gives them a choice, to resolve the idea of utopia and dystopia themselves.
Where as the Waiheke hotel is solely based upon the initial introduction to the interior as opposed to the exterior, for the City hotel, the pre-introduction to the environment that surrounds the hotel plays a large role in contrasting the first impression and the experiences that follow. The ideas of site and the aspects the site already creates prior the existence of the hotel were articulated within the composition of the to allow for this contrast of experience.
The ruinic environment that surrounds the hotel is the initial experience all guest are forced upon prior entering the hotel, thus justifying the design of the facade; a collage of left over material within the ruins forming the exterior shell. This first impression is directly opposed upon the entrance to the inner areas of the hotel which lies in between the two existing buildings. By borrowing the partitions the neighbouring buildings create, a space that acts as the communal area where the functional aspects such as the plantroom and docks are situated was able to be created.
Our design of the plantroom was not to create an enclosed space (room), but rather to create a walkway along the balcony of the hotel where the guests would be able to experience greenery within the ruinic outside world, a sense of refuge. Linear material such as string was used in creating not walls but rather partitions, allowing for multiple spaces which directed a walkway for the guests. The linear aspects of the string also acts to the advantage of the plants in not limiting the amount of light whilst still creating partitions.
The flying vehicle dock which is situated in between the two surrounding buildings embraces the environment in the same way the communal area is created, by utilizing the existing structures and the enclosure they create. Not only does this dock act as a transition point between hotels but also a direct transition point between the obvious contrasts of the ruins and the ideals allowing for a sudden change in environment for the guests. Further, the lantern dock again borrows the neigbouring site in the sense of its placement depicting the constant use of the site to the advantage of the hotel.
Follwing the lantern is the stairs. The design of the stairs directly oppose the experience created within the Waiheke dome stairs. Where as the dome stairs was designed in a way to take in and fully experience the interior spaces the stairs create within each spiral, the city stairs are solely based around the "challenge". Experiencing the challenge of the physical climbing of the stairs shades any awareness of the surrounding space and its contents which makes for a difference of experience from the stairs to the plantroom which in contrast allows the guests for the awareness of many spacial aspects.
The hotel fully uses the site and acknowledges the advantages of the environment and the existing buildings; using all of what is possible within a ruinic setting. Ironically, by embracing the environment, the hotel gets a chance to take refuge from it at the same time; using the spaces in between to create a getaway from the norm, the underlying idea of a hotel.
The ruinic environment that surrounds the hotel is the initial experience all guest are forced upon prior entering the hotel, thus justifying the design of the facade; a collage of left over material within the ruins forming the exterior shell. This first impression is directly opposed upon the entrance to the inner areas of the hotel which lies in between the two existing buildings. By borrowing the partitions the neighbouring buildings create, a space that acts as the communal area where the functional aspects such as the plantroom and docks are situated was able to be created.
Our design of the plantroom was not to create an enclosed space (room), but rather to create a walkway along the balcony of the hotel where the guests would be able to experience greenery within the ruinic outside world, a sense of refuge. Linear material such as string was used in creating not walls but rather partitions, allowing for multiple spaces which directed a walkway for the guests. The linear aspects of the string also acts to the advantage of the plants in not limiting the amount of light whilst still creating partitions.
The flying vehicle dock which is situated in between the two surrounding buildings embraces the environment in the same way the communal area is created, by utilizing the existing structures and the enclosure they create. Not only does this dock act as a transition point between hotels but also a direct transition point between the obvious contrasts of the ruins and the ideals allowing for a sudden change in environment for the guests. Further, the lantern dock again borrows the neigbouring site in the sense of its placement depicting the constant use of the site to the advantage of the hotel.
Follwing the lantern is the stairs. The design of the stairs directly oppose the experience created within the Waiheke dome stairs. Where as the dome stairs was designed in a way to take in and fully experience the interior spaces the stairs create within each spiral, the city stairs are solely based around the "challenge". Experiencing the challenge of the physical climbing of the stairs shades any awareness of the surrounding space and its contents which makes for a difference of experience from the stairs to the plantroom which in contrast allows the guests for the awareness of many spacial aspects.
The hotel fully uses the site and acknowledges the advantages of the environment and the existing buildings; using all of what is possible within a ruinic setting. Ironically, by embracing the environment, the hotel gets a chance to take refuge from it at the same time; using the spaces in between to create a getaway from the norm, the underlying idea of a hotel.
When we first started with the project, like most other groups we were set on designing our version of a utopian hotel and a dystopian hotel. However as we embarked on each workshop our philosophy and ideas began to develop to a more lucid form. We realised that for us, it wasn't really the buildings that you could distinguish as utopian and dystopian, but rather the site of the hotels. We felt that the Waiheke site was utopia for us as it was a get away from our everyday busy lives in the city. Therefore the city site can be seen as dystopia. Within our hotels we have integrated spaces that can potentially be perceived as utopian or dystopian depending on the individual guests that journey through our hotels.
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