Project Objective: To design a small 5-room hotel and pubic restaurant. The hotel was to be limited to specific clientele, reserved by the city of Ann Arbor, and was not open to the public. The restaurant on the other hand was open daily to the public. The site for the building is located in heart of downtown Ann Arbor, occupying a small rectangular lot between two other buildings. Since the lot was small I planned to use the entire space determining the volume of the building to a rectangular shape. This allowed me to focus on designing interior space into a restricted area. Analyzing the restrictions at the beginning of a project helps me consider the possibilities.

This was the second building design project assigned during Design Studio 1. I further solidified my understanding of design principles discovered during the first building project. These principles allowed me to connect spaces, allowing light to penetrate deep into the building. Skylights in the roof allow light in, not only to the top floor, but all the way down to the first. Scaling vertical walls connect spaces between floors allowing me to simplify the overall building design, connect spaces for intuitive navigation and allow light to penetrate all over the interior space. This trait has been further refined and carried over into later design projects.

During this project I further refined my skills at building architectural models. After experimenting through physical models evolving towards a solidified design, I set out to craft my final model.