In week 6, a general plan of the hotel is created for further development. Hotel room and different public facilities were being arranged into the existing building plan.

5th floor concept arrangement (green represents the kitchen, red represents the restaurant and blue represents the rest area)

In my initial arrangement, the kitchen and the restaurant are arranged to the north-east side of the building, as this direction can provide the guests a spectacular view of the castle. Some part of the kitchen and the restaurant wall are replaced with glass so that the sense of entire space will be less restricted. The resting zone near the restaurant can also provides an alternative resting place for the guests by serving as an brunch area. However, this arrangement was quickly abandoned as the kitchen is at the best scenic spot, blocking most of the castle view.

4th floor concept arrangement (green represents resting space)

As most of the public facilities were arranged to the upper floor, the aim of the 4th floor arrangement is to hold as many rooms as possible for guest capacity. Multiple changes about the rooms’ length were made to make sure that the rooms will fit with the existing building structure. Some existing structures (west side pillars) were also been utilized to help separating the rooms. 2 rest zones were added to the corridors, this provides a place for the 4th floor residents to rest while also makes the corridor more engaging.

In week 9, a survey about the site’s dimensions was being carried out. The purpose of this investigation is to gather information for further section drawings. As the 1:1 plan of this building has already been provided to us, my colleagues and i focused on measuring the height of the site’s interior.

Site survey drawings

Measurement drawing of the site (office)

Measurement drawing about the site (staircase, corridor and the lift)

With the information provided by different groups, i created the first section drawing of the building. As i want the section cut to show as much public spaces of my further designs as possible, a step section was introduced.

.General building plan with section lines

Section drawings of the existing building

In week 11, multiple textured drawings of the hotel design were being made to provide a better understanding of the design’s atmosphere.

Textured hotel design plans

Textured hotel sections

The hotel room area was designed to be separated from the public area. In order to create a quiet, relax and dark atmosphere, dark carpets are selected for the corridor flooring and the corridor wall decoration, as this material is soft in touch and can absorb sounds. A certain proportion of the corridor wall was decorated with dark wood, this difference in colour indicates the shape and the direction of the corridor, preventing the guest from bumping into the wall in an relatively dark space. Paintings and other furniture were planned at the end of each corridor, this serves as a decoration and an indicator that tells people the path ends here.

Hotel corridor section with texture (zone E)

The two staircases were designed to be easter eggs of the film scene. The southern staircase floor was planned to be concrete, as this can help simulate the sense of entering a basement. The northern staircase floor and the reception floor were decorated with marble tiles, this aims to reconstruct the observatory scene from the movie.

Northern staircase and reception Tile decorated observatory hall

As the 4th floor bar aims to corresponds with the half-underground bar from the film, similar interior materials were selected for the bar. Red brick wall and wooden flooring were introduced due to this reason.

Pendant lights were also added to help enhance the overall atmosphere of the space.

In this week, multiple changes were made for general design improvements.

Edited 5th floor plan

Firstly, as the design developed, i noticed that a hotel usually has a large open space for holding events, and the public lounge is relatively small for this function. Hence, i decided to weaken the separation between the lounge and the balcony, making them able to merge into one open space if the user needed. In order to achieve this, a part of the existing window that separates the lounge and the balcony is replaced with 3 transparent double door. When closed, these transparent doors can serve as the same function as the old window. If they need to be opened, people can flow freely from the interior lounge to the balcony, making the space capable of holding large events. Also, the wall separates the lounge from the restaurant is now directly connected to the existing building structure, making the design visually satisfying.

The improved lounge and balcony

Secondly, the arrangement in the restaurant were also being changed. The 3 sets of small table are being moved further from the kitchen entrance, as this will provide a clear path for the staffs. The stage is now adapted to connect the building’s structural shape. This approach utilized the unused conner space, giving more space for the players to perform. The dumb waiter is now shown in the kitchen plan with an extra back exit introduced, these facilities makes food delivery easier for the staffs.

The improved kitchen and restaurant ( yellow zone is the new exit, green zone is the dumb waiter)

On the 4th floor, new facilities were added into the bar.

Edited 4th floor plan

Two sets of long table were added to the bar space, increasing the bars capacity. Also, a large screen was added to the wall, designed for broadcasting the musical performance on the restaurant stage and play certain films, this design solved the bar’s ‘lack of perform issue’, providing entertainment to the 4th floor bar user.

Edited bar (green zone is the tables, yellow zone is the screen and audio device)

Furthermore, the east side staircase window was completely removed for providing the atmosphere of going underground to the bar when accessing it.

F5 staircase   F4 staircase   Removed window (red zone)

In week 8, the plan of the hotel was improved. More details were added and certain designs were being replaced to enhance the theme of the chosen film.

The edited F5 plan

Firstly, i noticed that in the previous 5th floor plan, there were no public bathrooms in public areas. This can be inconvenient for people that are residing on the 4th floor. Hence, two public accessible bathroom are added near the reception. These bathrooms can be accessed easily from public areas (reception, lounge and restaurant). As the bathrooms are near the restaurant and the kitchen, the walls were designed to be extra thick for a better sound insulation.

Two public bathrooms

The solid wall separating the lounge from the reception is replaced by a curved glass wall, allowing the clients to have a chance to see the castle through the lounge when checking in. This approach can make the reception area appear larger, enhance the impression when entering the hotel and allowing more sunlight shine into the elevator area.

The transparent glass wall between the reception and the lounge

The placement of the furniture inside the lounge was being inspired by the W Edinburgh hotel. The original plan for the couches’ placement was to make them surround a single table. This classic arrangement proved to be useful for holding a small group of people, but it is not spacially efficient if many individuals want to seat alone. Hence, imitating the arrangement from the W Edinburgh hotel, i placed multiple small couches back to one larger couch. This approach provide more suitable spaces for individual residents to occupy without using more spaces. Several tables were also introduced to the balcony area, providing more capacity and an alternative option for the user of the space.

Lounge arrangement in the W Edinburgh hotelLounge space and the balcony area

For the 4th floor, only minor changes were introduced to private spaces, but the public brunch area was removed.

The edited F4 plan

The old public brunch space is replaced by a round bar. The main reason for this is because this approach can correlate with the film scene, providing a stronger immersive experience when residents are accessing the space. The idea of the bar comes from an half-underground bar from the film, because the bar is partly located underground and can only be accessed from a staircase, the interior space of it is dark and have no natural light. The feature of this bar can be easily reconstruct with the brunch area, as that area is surrounded by multiple hotel rooms and have no direct connecting with the outside, not to mention that the south side staircase is next to it. As the central area of both floor are arranged into food serving spaces, the bar is theoretically beneath the kitchen. Hence, a dumb waiter is added to the plan, vertically connecting the kitchen and the bar.

The 4th floor bar and the staircase to access it (dumb waiter is planned at the centre of the bar)

Interior image of the bar (The Lighthouse Cafe: The Lighthouse Cafe – Google Maps)

As the bar needs a closed space to simulate the underground feature,  a new hallway was planned so that the people reside in the eastern premium room do not need to go through the bar to access their room. The interior of two premium rooms were also improved. Space in those rooms are used more efficiently and a kitchen is added into each of them, providing more practicability for these rooms.

Premium room with its own hallway connected to the staircase ( yellow zone is the kitchen)

Premium room facing the castle with new kitchen( yellow zone is the kitchen)

In week 7, i started to put my overall room plan into the actual building plan. The very first thing that i considered is the location of the reception. As the reception is usually connected to various public spaces like restaurant, it has to be located at a place where the user can easily access the view of the nearby scenery. Due to this issue, i decided to locate the reception onto the 5th floor, as this can allow more sunlight to shine into the public spaces and also providing a better initial impression for the clients when they first entered the hotel.

The first overall plan of the building.

After decided the location of the reception, i started to arrange crucial facilities like the kitchen and restaurant. The restaurant is planned next to the reception, designed to be a open space, directing people into it as it is the only place that has no isolations with the reception. A stage is planned at one end of the restaurant, musical instruments will be provided up there, this serves as an easter egg from the film (La La Land), also enhancing the musical elements for the hotel theme. The central area on this floor is decided to be a kitchen, the reasons for this is because it is basically impossible to access the view from there, and as being the central area of the entire floor, it is easier for staffs to deliver food to different parts of the hotel. Because of the window behind the reception is facing directly to the castle and a large balcony area can be accessed from there, the space behind the reception is designed to be a lounge for the clients, this space can be used as an resting area after the check in or an optional space for social activities.

One scene of the character playing piano in a dinning space.

Having all of the essential public facilities arranged onto the east side of the 5th floor, i can now confidently place private hotel rooms onto the west side of this floor to provide more client capacity for the hotel.  When designing the rooms, i restricted my room plan under 45 square meters, placing the room into the building will not be a huge problem. Hence, i decided to utilize the existed building structures to arrange the space. There are a lot of existing columns near the west side of the building, based on them, i planned 5 new walls to separated the space into 6 rooms. These six rooms are each approximately 50 square meters in their size, each with a 40 centimetre wall between them, providing the user a decent spacial experience. However, as the northwest room is in an odd shape, it is impossible to retain the spacial feature of the hotel room design if the design is planned into it, i eventually planned it into a manager’s office.

Existing columnsThe odd shape room.

The original idea for the 4th floor was to hold as many hotel rooms as possible. With this concept, I started with a plan that has 13 rooms on that floor. But as the hotel design went on, i noticed that the initial concept was unacceptable, as the room in the central area will have absolutely no windows.

Initial F4 concept (rooms are separated by walls, green areas are resting areas)

Hence, i decided to arrange some thing else into that place. The site research of The Scott hotel gave me an idea for the design. Inside The Scott hotel, though the old architectural space for the hallway is narrow, they still arranged several tables and couches into their ground floor corridor. Not like their restaurant space, where usually holds long time dinning, these tables serves as a place for breakfast and a quick cup of drink. They were frequently used by people and also provided a public space to rest. These features can be useful for a floor that is filled with hotel rooms and as it is the central area that needs to be rearranged, placing a public space there will provide all the residents on that floor a convenient access. Therefore, i removed one room and utilized that space to created a central brunch area.

Brunch area on the ground floor of The Scott HotelEdited F4 plan

As the interior building structure of the west side of 4th floor is basically the same as the 5th floor, the arrangement of the west part of the 4th floor stays the same, 5 private hotel rooms and 1 staff room for hotel storage (Arranged into storage space because of the staff from The Scott Hotel always complains that there are not enough storage space). The east side of the 4th floor was a bit harder to handle, only 1 room on that side is in a standard square shape, others were either too long or with a weird shape. In order for the room plan to fit into these spaces, multiple adaptations were made. For the longer and thinner rooms, couches and tables were planned behind the bed. As they are next to the window, room structures do not need to be changed, and the user experience will not be influenced. For the weird shaped rooms, the downside of them is that it is hard to plan, but the upside of them is that it is much larger than the standard rooms. Hence, i decided to design them to premium rooms. These rooms have larger windows inside them, and the size of them are competitively larger.

The longer and thinner roomsPremium room (facing the castle)

In week 5, due to the need for larger interior spaces, the overall design was being expanded from 30 square meters to 45 square meters. Five square meters were added to the bedroom area, providing a wider path between the bed and the piano set. This approach also increased the space for couches and the study desk, making these furniture more adjustable.

The expanded floor plan(without furniture)

The other 10 square meters were added to the bathroom, the changing room and the hallway. As there are more spaces, the overall furniture placement in the changing room and the bathroom leaves enough space so that the user can access all furniture without feeling restricted. The longer hallway enhances the stage-like space feature, giving the user more sense of contrast when passing through the hallway.

The expanded floor plan

However, due to the extension of the hallway, i noticed that it is not convenient for the user to access the changing area when entering the room. As taking off the outerwear is usually the first thing people do when entering a interior space, the wardrobe should be placed near the entrance. Hence, i decided to solve this problem by creating a wardrobe that opens on both sides. I started by removing parts of the the right hallway wall, making the back of the wardrobe exposed. Then, a second cabinet door is added to the exposed back of the wardrobe, making it accessible from the hallway. The exposed wardrobe can also be hided by the decorative curtains on the hallway wall, making it invisible if necessary.

Designed wardrobe that can be accessed on both sides

As the design progresses, i noticed that the projector that was used to solved the TV issue can be a problem as the pendant light will block its ray. I tried to find a piano product that has a screen on its back, but no results were found. Therefore, i designed a integrated piano set that can contain a TV screen in side its back. The piano set will be controlled electronically, the screen can be expanded and retrieve at the users’ will.

3D model of the piano set

In week 4, multiple changes were made to the plan for making it more accessible and characteristic. The old wall that is holding the TV screen is now being removed, as this wall actually sacrificed the overall atmosphere for only one furniture. In consideration of the lack of the key item of the film (the piano), the space that i got from removing the wall is being used to place a piano set. The place that it is located will make it the first thing that the user sees when entering the room, giving the user a clear sense of the musical theme of the film. As the wall is now removed, the entire bedroom area is an open space, and can now be separated by the curtains with no impede, making the bedroom area more like a stage. Also, because of the piano set is protruding from the bedroom area, this feature can cooperate with the separation curtains to make the accessing experience more immersing.

Bedroom area with the TV wall removed

Due to the changes in the bedroom area, some details were also improved. Firstly, the bedroom floor is now in the same level with the hallway floor. In order to highlight the stage-like bedroom, the floor in that area was lifted up in the previous plans. But in consideration of making it accessible for all groups, the steps are now removed for wheelchair users. Secondly, a projector is added as a replacement of the TV. As this device can be fixed on to the ceiling, this solved the old TV fixing issue, providing the user an alternative way to watch digital medias.

The edited room plan

In order to making the space more stunning, some decorations were also added to the plan. Now not only the bedroom area has curtains for separation, the hallway walls are also being decorated with curtains. This makes the space more unified, and enhanced the feeling that whoever is passing the hallway is entering a stage. The hallway curtains are also being used to hide the floor light behind it, so that these atmosphere boosting lights can blend with the surroundings. Besides of the curtains, painting and lighting were also added into the bedroom area, filling the blank white wall with more colour.

View from the hallway (3D model)

In week 3, more attempts at adding the film’s spacial feature into the plan was practiced. Reflecting at the previous week 2 plan, i found out that though features like the ‘stage-like space’ and the curtain separation was introduced, these features are still limited due to the domestic facility arrangement.  As the accessibility for cleanness and changing  is crucial when entering a hotel room, the changing area and the bathroom need to be located near the entrance. This limited the design of the hallway, making it less engaging. Hence i decided to generate an alternative plan for the design which can displays the features better.

The alternative plan

Unlike the previous plan, the entrance in the new plan is now designed to be on the longer side of the room. I did this because the rich width that this arrangement provided can give me more space to create a more complicated hallway. As more space is planned for the hallway, different parts of the room is now connected by an U shaped corridor. On the side of the corridor branches, a bathroom and a changing room can be accessed through a sliding door. These doors match well with the corridor wall’s curved shape, and as accessing them do not requires push and pull, the space within the two rooms can be maximum utilized. If followed the corridor to its end, two sets of curtains will be there to separate the bedroom area with other spaces. This approach is for enhancing the ‘soft-separation concept’ while also making the bedroom area more like a stage. Though i wanted to design the bedroom area to be opened like a stage, a solid wall that faces directly to the bed was still retained. This is mainly for providing a upholder for the TV.

3D model of the design(showing the wall holding the TV screen)

On the sides of the bed, a study desk, two couches and a small coffee table were introduced next to it. These furniture can be reached easily when the user is in the bedroom area, making them more accessible and more corresponded to the 70s domestic open living room feature.

In general, the overall concept of the design is still relevant to the previous plans, simple and modern architectural interiors with old-fashioned furniture to enrich the interior colour. After experimenting through making 3D models and researching 70s design examples, i found out that antique furniture is the best for my design. As they are usually colourful, but the colours are not bright, perfect for enriching the colour for a hotel room which needs to be relaxing.

Colourful but dark antique furniture

In week 2, based on the initial research that i have done, i created an abstract 3D hotel room in SketchUp. As the design is abstract and do not have to suit with the real site, i chose a classic 30 sqm room as the starting point of my design. The initial idea for the design is to create a narrow hallway that leads to the open living space while introducing curtains as a soft separation. For the hallway, i tried to use straight walls to map out the hallway, but the result is less exciting. Hence, i decided to use two curved surface to create a hallway. The unique shape of the hallways can provide the space more sense of depth and allowing me to plan the living space easier.

The initial plan that i made for the model

After generating my very first plan, i noticed that facilities like TV can not be accessed if the user is on the bed and the use of curtain separation will be limited if the living area is planned like this. The view for the bathroom is also a problem, as the bathroom is isolated by walls. Therefore, i made some changes to the plan. The old wardrobe was changed into a small changing room, so that the curved surface can be more visually striking when users are entering the room. The king-sized bed  is moved to the top-left part of the room, allowing me to add glass to the bathroom wall, providing a clear view to the outside when bathing. The curtain separations can be more useful in the new plan, the user can access the changing room, the living area and the bed easily as these areas are connected next to each other without solid walls and doors. If the connection is not needed, the user can simply close the curtain to isolate these areas with other spaces.

The second plan that i generated

The second plan with more detail

3D model of the second plan