Hotel at allmendbrunau
Studio Adam CARUSO
Autumn 2018
The Cauldron
with Nora Molari & Georg Weillenmann
The design task for the semester was to plan a hotel in one of the 5 project sites. Based on our previous research in the beginning of the semester regarding the houses of known architects.
The site is placed on the outskirts of Zurich, where the urban meats the rural. There are three existing structures present. A barn house, which was used as storage.A canteen that is used as a restaurant and the stables that are rented out for storage and studio space. People mostly come to the Allmend and just pass through the site without engaging with it. There isn’t a real sense of transition between the urban and rural, it happens suddenly.
What we propose is to make the transition more apparent, by doing so increasing the duration of stay at the site. In order to achieve this the existing fragmented buildings on the site are brought together. They are made into a coherent ensemble with a series of interventions and additions.
This notion of transition is also what interested us regarding the reference project Casa de Vidro by Lina Bo Bardi. There are different ways of transition to be found in this house. The rather abrupt transition between the representative glass room and the private parts of the house is one. Second the much subtler transition she creates in the glass room itself. There is a certain ambiguity between the additive principal of the floor plan, but the section reveals the unity of those different parts through the roof. It is this kind of transition from one space to another that fueled the project.
Site drone image
Ground floor plan
The program is split in to three separate buildings, each responsible for a part of the program; bedroom, living room, kitchen. Every one of these units consists of two parts that rely on each other, the existing and its new counterpart. These new additions work on two levels; At the scale of the buildings they evoke the union of two pieces coming together as one. At the site scale of the whole complex they negotiate between three buildings to create coherent ensemble.
Elevation
In order to develop the site from a space of passing through to a continuous territory of interaction and cultural immersion we propose a hotel for professionals or creatives, who come to Zurich for a lecture or a project, for a few days or weeks.
People arriving at the site from the city find reception and information at the entry. From there hotel guests reach their rooms by passing through the garden and along the river, discovering their room facing back at the courtyard.
Color schemes for the interiors
The Bedroom model photograph
Addition to the stables
The hotel offers an also public living room for working, meeting or relaxing, where guests can interact with other guests or locals beyond their professional context. A space that could also host a lecture or small concert, where guests might contribute to the cultural life of the community.
Section of the “Living Barn”
Floor plan of the ”Living Barn”
The Living Barn model photograph
Section through the site
Living room and canteen share a courtyard. The canteen serves this courtyard with a bar. An open kitchen, negotiating between the public promenade towards the Allmend and a productive garden and outside eating area, should also allow for cooking workshops to be held, completing the cultural experience and allowing further informal exchange. Lastly, the upstairs dining hall opens up towards the landscape of Allmend Brunau.
The Dining hall model photograph
Section of the “Canteen”
1st floor plan
Ground floor plan