Future Hostel: Living and Working

For this project I have designed a three floor future co-working and living hostel. It includes a café, work spaces, short, mid and long stay rooms as well as some extra amenities and details of interest.

I have produced a floor plan for each floor, a long section and a short section. I have also produced an axonometric plan of a space, a perspective view and a few smaller serial views.

Each drawing or image has been digitally crafted and rendered by using a mixture of AutoCAD, Sketchup and Adobe Photoshop. These software’s have all played a huge part in my projects journey and have helped me produce my final designs in a clear and understandable manner.

Throughout my design process I have had ups and downs due to a number of reasons. However, I have managed to produce a proposed final design that I am happy with. My design includes elements of biophilic design (plant wall partitions and a variety of potted plants) as well as keeping to the brief and including a variety of co-working spaces (meeting rooms, workshop and hot desks).

I have learnt that practising certain software’s really does help in the long run and a better understanding of it can really improve your designs.

In order to focus on certain areas within my design to the fullest I created a 3D SketchUp model of my proposed design. I focused on certain areas of interest to fully show my ideas.

The first area I zoomed in on was the ground floor hallway and workshop space. This includes details such as vending machines, potted indoor plants, plant partition walls and part of the workshop space’ puzzle piece tables.

I then moved to the first floor hallway which further includes vending machines, potted plants as well as a slight view of the glass screens which surround the central void.

I also looked further at my short to mid stay accessible room on the first floor – which is accessible via a lift. The accessible room offers a large bathroom – including a bath, sink and a toilet with rails. The bedroom includes a double bed and a wardrobe whilst still allowing enough room to move.

During this activity I realised that by zooming in on sections within a 3D representation of a design allows a deeper understanding and analysis of your design. I found this really quite helpful and will be continuing to create digital 3D representations of my future projects to help me make further decisions on my design ideas by seeing them in a better and 3D view.

This week I made a 1:25 scale model of an area in my proposed design. I chose to make a model of my workshop space. I chose this space because it really emphasis’s my design aims and style. Creating this area as a model allowed me to show off my concept of ‘Grow Together’ in the form of puzzle piece shapes. It also shows some biophilic design elements within my design, such as plant partition walls.

I carefully crafted my model out of foam board and card to showcase how this space will work within the building. The foam and card both allowed flexibility within my model making as well as still providing enough structural stability.

During the construction of my model I came across a few difficulties. I wanted it to show some of the atmosphere and elements in a simple way, this caused some difficulties as I struggled to find a meeting point between showing off the design elements and atmosphere in simplistic way. The aim of having a simple model was because I believe the design of my proposed building is simple yet effective and I wanted to convey that in my model without it being too simple.

I believe this aspect of my design process went well however, I possibly could have used paint and pens on top to add a tiny bit more depth.

After many different floor plan options and layouts I finally managed to decide on the one I deem to be the best option. My final proposed floor plans clearly show each space and its contents within the building.

The above, 1:100, floor plans are of my final proposed floor plans.

I decided to keep all of the public use zones on the ground floor – this includes the café, the workshop, toilets, meeting rooms and hot desks. I have included two meeting rooms, both of which will accommodate a maximum of twelve people sitting. The hot desks consist of ten singular desks and a four person desk as well as three separate desks which are enclosed to allow a more private working space. Within the café I have included multiple two and four person tables as well as a couple of ‘cosy corners’ which consist of leather sofa’s by a window. The workshop has been separated from the hot desks with the use of plant partition walls which will help absorb the sound and cause a slight separation whilst still keeping an open plan design.

My first floor consists of a number of short and mid stay rooms as well as a more accessible room. The short stay rooms consist of a simple bathroom as well as a single bed, a wardrobe and a small table with a kettle. Whereas the mid stay rooms contain a simple bathroom , a small double bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a small table with a kettle and microwave on it.

The second floor solely includes two long stay rooms and a space for playing some pool. The long stay rooms are more equipped due to the residents having more requirements long-term. The rooms contain a bathroom with both a shower and a separate bath, they also contain a king size bed accompanied by a desk, and a small kitchenette which contains a small hob, a kettle, a microwave and an under the counter fridge.

During this stage in my design process I found that researching a bit into the difference between hotel rooms and studio apartments really helped me realise and focus on the different requirements people will have depending on how long they will be taking residency in a place. Whether it’s a one night stay for a concert or a faraway meeting or if it’s a few weeks to months for a work placement or to study, everyone will have different requirements. This meant it was my job to decide what the best amenities to include would be.

During the design process, one of the most important actions to carry out is the linking of different spaces. The important things to remember during this process are; what must have a direct link to each other, what doesn’t need to be close at all and what would work as a blended space.

Below is one of my first diagrams in order to visually look at the possible links between the required spaces.

From this I decided that the co-working space, the workshop and the meeting rooms could all be separate parts of one large working space. The work spaces must also be fairly close to both the toilets and café. The café and toilets need to be linked however they don’t need to be directly next to one another.

I originally linked the residential rooms to the toilets as I had originally thought about a shared toilet/ bathroom space however I decided that this wouldn’t appeal to many people at all so quickly changed my plan to include private bathrooms and toilets in all the residential rooms. I did the same thing with the kitchen/diner. I decided that instead of a shared space I would make sure that each room had enough amenities depending on the length of stay.

During this process of linking spaces I drew up some initial layout designs.

Each of these layouts reflect my initial and very rough ideas. At this point in the design process I am still playing around with many options and ideas. However, I believe my current layout ideas are certainly promising.

Existing Structure

The current structure is split into retail, café and residential spaces.

The ground floor consists of a coffee shop and a charity shop, whereas the second and third floors are all residential.

The ground floor is a 400sqm space with a floor to floor height of 4.2 mattress.

The first floor is a 125sqm space with a floor to floor height of 3 metres.

The second floor is a 125sqm space with a floor to floor height of 3 metres.

In order to assist my design ideas I need to change the existing structure slightly. The ground floor will remain the same structurally but I’ll be removing the centre wall which currently sits along 6 structural columns.

I will also be extending the first floor from 125spm to 400sqm so it will be the same shape and size as the existing ground floor. However, even though the level will take up 400sqm the actually floor won’t be 400sqm of area as there will be a central void which will allow those on the first floor to look down and see the co-working spaces.

This void will also be accompanied by skylights in the upper level which will emphasise the natural sun light and allow it more opportunities to travel throughout the building.

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Whilst looking at the existing structure and planning to make a few changes I managed to increase the natural sunlight throughout the building as well as including aesthetic features such as;

An indoor void and balcony

Skylights

A number of cosy seating areas with window views

A variety of different partitioning walls

I believe each of these features will work along side my co-working and living spaces quite well. I just need to focus on getting the structural elements to how I need them in order to then work on links and layouts.

After finding a concept which has lead me to have many promising ideas for my project, I needed to find some relevant precedents. This would allow me to see how other people have successfully produced similar projects.

The first precedent I looked at was ‘Second Home Hollywood Office’ in Los Angeles, America. It was designed by an architecture studio called Segascano.

Second Home Hollywood was designed to create a better and healthier co-working space. It incorporates a mixture of nature and work spaces in order to blend the exterior to the interior.

Second Home Hollywood was designed to create a better and healthier co-working space. It uses biophilic design to incorporate a mixture of nature and work.

The second precedent I researched was ‘Beyond The Family Kin Housing’ in Spain, designed by Ignacio G. Galan and OF Architects.

This project was designed for an older couple to be able to integrate living day to day life as easily as possible as well as including extra space to allow visitors to stay and help out.

This building blends various living arrangements spread over three floors, each with different levels of independence between them.

The ground floor is established as a one bedroom apartment that the couple could rent to increase their monthly income. The first floor contains a number of spaces for aging couples with increasing mobility difficulties. The second floor incorporates a pair of rooms neighbouring a living space which is designed to host the couple’s regular visitors.

From my research of these precedents, one combining biophilic design and co-working and the other focusing on co-living, I have noticed that linking spaces is everything. How each person is able to move through a building between different spaces matters.

I further realised that creating a space that fits the desired specifications and that links well is the best way to achieve a successful completion.

Whilst trying to find a concept for my project I tried to link co-living and co-working with biophilic design.

Some words I came up with whilst thinking about..

Co-working and co-living:

Busy

Compromise

Cabin-fever

Teamwork

Biophilic design:

Nature

Calming

Stimuli

Healthy

Both aspects are so different yet work perfectly together. Once I realised how each of these topics would work so well I figured out the perfect concept – Grow together. Growing together combines the growth of nature as well as the co-operation of co-living and working and enables them to fit together like a puzzle.

I then started to look at how I could project my concept within my design. I looked at making some of the rooms the shape of a puzzle piece and joining them together , as well as possibly having some puzzle piece shaped tables.

I did struggle with trying to come up with a concept as I honestly did not know what I wanted to do. I looked at different ways I could incorporate a natural and biophilic concept but I also wanted to include the aspect of working and living together - and after a large amount of research and brain fog I figured it out and could not be happier with it.

During my research and thought process I decided that not all of the aspects of co-working and living are positive and not everyone is fond of working or living with others. This means that I will need to include some partitioned areas in order to accommodate many preferences. I am going to look into plant partition walls as well because plant walls are known to help absorb noise which would be extremely helpful in a shared working space.

The site is situated on the south coast at 39-41 Palmerston Road in Southsea, Portsmouth.

In order to carry out my site analysis of the current site I took a trip to see it in person. This way I knew I’d be able to get the most accurate analysis by exploring the interior as well as the surroundings.

The existing building is currently split into a coffee shop and a charity shop. With a private residential area upstairs.

The charity shop has a fairly small, basic interior in order to suit its needs, whereas the coffee shop is very spacious which allows enough room for seating areas, tables, toilets and a counter. The coffee shop has a beautiful, rustic yet modern interior including skylights, timber accents, patterned tile floor and leather sofas, etc.

During my analysis I discovered that there is minimal vehicle access to the site. The access that there is, is either disabled parking, loading only on permit holders only. This means that if the people who stay in the proposed plans then they will need to apply for a permit or use a short term permit. Despite this lack of vehicular access there is still a large amount of noise pollution near the site due to neighbouring roads.

During my case study research I looked at multiple co-working and co-living spaces all over the world. I was after something specific, something different. I wanted a case study that I could use as inspiration and that linked to some of my own ideas for my project.

The case study I decided to research further was the Three-Generation House in Amsterdam. It was designed by BETA, an architecture studio based in Amsterdam, for a couple with young children who was planning on moving in with one of their parents. They needed something inclusive for all three generations of their family to live together.

As said on ArchDaily, “(Text description provided by the architects.) Contemplating care between generations, a family comprising of two households decides to build a house together. While the younger couple already lives in the city, the grandparents live in the countryside and are keen to move back to the proximity of urban amenities”.

The Three-generation house was designed to suit three generations of a family so that they could comfortably live together. It has accessibility factors which suit the elderly couple as well as office spaces to suit the new parents.

This building includes many different aspects from the central stairs and lifts to the open day-rooms which have direct access to outside. This concept helps connect the in and out for a more open and brighter interior. By allowing the outside access in it can create a calmer and positive place to be due to the fresh air, natural light, noises and smells.

By looking at the Three-generational house I realised that it only takes the small things to follow a brief or a clients requests and create something so unique and amazing. I feel as though I have discovered so much from just the concept and layout of my case study. I am now able to think more into my ideas and concepts and incorporate my findings into this project as well as future projects.

Some of these fascinating ideas include:

How the building is open plan at the south and then separate and enclosed at the north.

The “in-formal” balcony layers which separate areas of the same floors without walls.

The fact one building can be so contrasting at each end.

References:

For my interior architecture second year, teaching block 2 project I am looking at re-purposing an existing building (which is currently split into a cafe and a charity shop with flats on the floors above) and converting it into a co-living and co-working hostel. Within the brief I have been asked to include a café, a shared office/hot desks, a workshop space, some meeting rooms and a variety of short-stay, mid-stay and long-stay accommodation. For each different length of stay accommodation room I have considered including different items and furniture. For example a short-stay room may include a kettle whereas a long stay room may include a hob and a fridge, etc.

Below is a mind map of some design ideas and themes that were mentioned in the brief that I have done some research into.

After looking at the brief I did some research into adapt and re-use, biophilic design as well as co-living and co-working.

By re-purposing a building, rather than knocking it down and re-building something else , you are creating a new and modern space which requires less materials meaning a small carbon footprint as the structure is already standing.

Re-purposing buildings is becoming more popular due to the current climate and economy. It is a more sustainable option.