Gallery

Bryan Martin A. Caringal

The project is a new Grand Hotel to be located in Old Town Square of Prague, Czech Republic. The initial group site strategy explored to create intimate elevated public spaces as a way to view activities in the town square. It later transformed into a slightly elevated public space specific to hot spots analyzed which led to possible plaza seating and green spaces. These elevated portions of the hotel plaza helped define + activate public spaces, which were not prevalent before. The notion of maintaining a similar street wall along the perimeter of the square is necessary for keeping a contextual language. Micro plazas are created as a result of leftover spaces evident throughout the city of Prague. These negative spaces created by the notching of facades become public plazas.

Through a number of explorations, a few characteristics were seen as fitting design elements for the project.
Mimicking the pinching elements of Prague streets creates an atmosphere of constricting + contracting streets,
which forms public and private access.

The hotel units are private, overhead placements of various typologies help create layered atmospheres. These
various typologies consists of the winter/summer garden, hotel units, etc. With the help of the winter/summer
garden, portions of the building will be covered by vegetation or devoid of to create a transforming layer of
privacy and facade articulation. Each hotel unit will be treated to different conditions as time passes and the
building changes.