A Room for Londonis a competition for temporary demountable hotel
room for up to two guests on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London during
the Olympic year of 2012.
It is a boundary structure
floating in space between ground and sky. Our proposal employs the dialectical
contrast of active OR passive. Escape from noisy / busy / dynamic / active city
TO noiseless / quiet / still / calm / peaceful / passive retreat - an isolated
“island” to relax / sleep among city of insomnia. Our ROOM connects to 21st century urban life through contemplation
/ withdrawal. We suggest the replacement of “live” by “overlook / contemplate”.
A Room for London plays an ambiguous role: it is a focal point / flagship /
visible object to look at AND in the same time its guests can view / overlook /
contemplate the British capital.
Hotel
room is occupied mostly at night and
is critical how it functions at night. It hosts different experiences,
responds to changing moods and has to be many-sided. The short stay in a hotel room gives
it a sense of motion.
We
propose a natural / biomorphic / sheltering “eggshell" to land on
top of unnatural / angular / brutalist / dark concrete / existing concert hall.
Our ROOM is designed in 2 modules to ease transportation and installation
process. Each module is 4m wide to fit on flat-bed truck. The structure will
sit on top of existing building which drives the use of lightweight but durable
material like FRP [Fiber Reinforced Polymer]. Mechanical equipment goes in
attic space on top of the bathroom.
Our project provides gradation from indoor room through transitional space [between
in and out, suitable for London climate] of covered patio / terrace to open air
rooftop. We apply the same concept of gradation from enclosed to open also in
the bathroom. We induce the development of certain habits like dining or
working on computer while lying in bed by combining bed / sofa / desk / coffee
table / bedside table / shelf into all-in-one hybrid furniture piece. The guests of the ROOM can
manipulate the light by playing with the secondary skin / light filter.