VA | Design

This is a collaborative group project, focusing on Hospitality. A group is assign a unique location and site with which they must consider activities, housing and programming as well as unique attributes of the country and local conditions. 

This is a project by Veronika Avloshenko, Charlene Lam, Joyce Esquenazi, Kaycee Park, Zhiying Hu, Coco Zang, Ke Chen and Yang Xuezhou

Our hostel is traditional Chinese courtyard house, siheyuan, located near the Forbidden City in Beijing. These old neighborhoods have narrow alleyways, hutongs, which create an tight community and an intimate fabric.  Our design seeks to be minimally intrusive to the existing building structure and blend into the neighborhood. We take inspiration from traditional Chinese architecture and furniture joinery, to introduce new constructions with allow relationships between new and old as well as movement, to create different boundaries defined by guests.  We want the new constructions to feel as if it had always been there. We also take a look at one of Beijing's issues – water. Nearly 60% of China’s groundwater is hard water. Taking this into consideration, we want our project to encourage water conservation by incorporating grey water and filtering systems into our water based programs.

Some of the major changes that we bring is an introduction of a storefront facade with flippable seating in the laundry area which is also open to the public and the neighbors. 

EPHEMER is a new type of hospitality, bringing together aspects of community and local businesses into sharable spaces between residents and visitors. The hotel strives to create awareness of the location and define what its like to live in the city- a place where permanence is temporary, by applying to user's momentary needs via deconstruction. 

When picking a fashion designer to propose a lighting design for a boutique, I immediately thought of Valentin Yudashkin. I was really captivated by the contrast and linery of his designs. There was something organic, yet mythical about them. The collections share similar feelings as fairy tales, fables and magical. It has a sense of elegance and a bond between man and nature. Pattern and Reflection. By eliminating some of the textural elements and color while focusing and varying light and shadow, the dramatic theatre effect is still present, yet the attention immediately falls towards the clothing. 

The space would have reflective surfaces, to allow gradual transfer of light, while the overall interior and furniture are minimalistic, making the collection its emphasis. The boutique would have a clean, dark and elegant look.  The partitions are to be outlined and patterned with traditional design, hinting on the inspirations for collections and lit up from the ceiling, bringing a warm, soft glow which can be adjusted to fit every season.

The experience that I’m trying to achieve with light is rather dramatic, in reference to theater and expense as well as accents, pointing and emphasizing the collection and cultural aspects. The light serves as a guide for the eye, moving through the dark forrest. The goal is to cause curiosity and focus strictly on the product, minimizing distractions through light and interior. 

Wandering through the whiteness of the airport halls, bright linearly organized interior directs her towards Chipotle, giving o a welcoming, urban feeling through the reflective surfaces in the kitchen, and warm deep red marmoleum. Passing by the seats and tables which look as if embedded into the wall, covered by smooth, so strips running throughoutthe interior : from wall, to door, to ceiling. She walks towards the cashiers as the stripes guide her, creating a unifed ow. Taking a seat, she tucks her suitcase underneath the stool in the individualized table, enjoying a quick meal before going on a plane.