Project: Heart of the District
Designed by ZA Architects
Architects: Arina Agieieva, Dmitry Zhuikov
Client: Tablet Hotels
Location: New York City, New York, USA
Website: www.zaarchitects.com
ZA Architects have designed a competition entry for a hotel located in New York City that occupies the space above a street and hangs between two existing buildings. With it's unique form this proposal has won a second prize in an international competition 'Heart of the District'.
More images and architects’ description after the break.
From the Architects:
Our proposition implemented on the existing NY quarter -23 street 100-134 with proper buildings, functions and street profile.
Concept. In order to achieve main task of the competition we’ve developed a few new principles of hotel organization.
-Instead of separating visitors from the environment we are intending to embed their lives in local city life. For this reason there is no hotel building itself, instead it we propose hotel rooms placed in existing buildings (offices, residential) connected with web of hung pathways.
-To inhale life in this place we are creating a new type of space – half street/half building, it is a vibrant suspended volume enclosing a number of public activities which will attract and serve not only locals and hotel visitors, but also other curious tourists and city inhabitants. It will inspire vivid public life around the hotel. It is a heart of the district.
Organization. Hotel doesn’t have its private services. All facilities (laundries, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, etc.) are used by hotel visitors and locals mutually. There are a range of entities already on the street – as theatre, gym, trattoria,etc., which will be used along with new, located inside heart, as part of the hotel services. Hotel visitors are provided with “all inclusive” card, which allow to use all aforesaid functions for free.
Mixing & Acquaintance. All communications and people streams conduct through the heart. In which visitors can get via moving ramps and elevators right from the street. Heart itself contains: playground, shop, exhibition space, café, bar, hotel reception, lounge zone, small cinema, library, conference hall. From the inside this volume gives a lot of interesting viewpoints that allows to peek on someones window, or observe the scenery of the street traffic, cityscape and so on. Main function of the heart is to draw folks in and mix, acquaint them inside its tight spaces, while they busy with varied activities.
Habitation. From the heart levels visitors are able to get to the pathways hunged to the existing building facades, which lead to hotel rooms scattered on the old buildings. Neighbouring office workers and tenants can inlay doors to these balcony-ways and use them and all given public facilities as well. From the rooms mounted, for instance in the office block, it is possible to take a glance on the everyday life of it workers through the small circular windows in the partition. It is also possible to make a door and way out of the room through existing building.
Conclusion. Thus, visitors are brought very close to the natives, yet without losing the comfort. Besides, new public hub going to improve quality of life in this local city area, attracting more habitats, tourists and eventually – money. It is not unlikely that it is can become one of the NY iconic objects.
