DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Localizing
The Aurora Hotel is located in San Antonio, Texas. The specific location is approximately twenty minutes east of the downtown area in a more secluded and private area. This gives the hotel the opportunity to play up the characteristic of intimacy in its location while still being local to many essential places and popular tourist spots.
Shown left is an image of the building shell and site map. The site is intended to remain natural around the building with native plants and foliage. Designing with the ecosystem in mind will link the hotel with the surrounding community. This will also continue to enhance the intimacy and romantic elements within and outside the hotel design.
Schematic Design
Designing the hotel interior began with determing the essentail spaces to be included on the first floor and their desired adjacencies. Knowing that theaters have a focal point in their design (the stage), I wanted to emphasize a particular space as the focal point to the hotel. The decided focal point of the hotel is the hotel bar. Based on hotel research, several boutique hotels are memorable in the guests eyes for having a statement bar area that can serve as a destination for convenient, personal cocktail hours and a perfect date night-in.