Grand Motel
and other luxuries of a scenic Irish journey
L. Egorova (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Salomon Frausto – Mentor (TU Delft - Berlage)
Ido Avissar – Graduation committee member
Olaf Gipser – Graduation committee member
T. Weaver – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Berlage)
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Abstract
Using the value of scenic landscape of the West coast of Ireland, the project proposes a construction of the new type of territorial tourism, called the Grand Motel. The Grand Motel explores the idea of luxury. It does so through the XIX century Grand Hotel- type and the grandeur of landscape as an authentic form of Irish luxury, synthesised with the model of the Motel, articulated through a sequence of touristic architectures along the stretch of the West Irish coast.
The Grand Motel literally deconstructs an old model of luxury, as it was framed in the architecture of the Grand Hotel, through the context of Irish landscape. It is designed as a touring route composed of five self-sufficient day stretches around the remote county of Donegal. The vast lobby,
bar, pool, shop, private room and even the ballroom are seen here as the support structures for the experience of different types of physical landscape. These structures together with a new system of service aim to unfold the authentic Irish luxury, providing conditions for an active process of engagement with nature.
What does luxury mean for architecture today? It has no fixed formal definition. Thus, it is interesting to rethink its meaning yet again. “Elegance is refusal”, argued Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. And I think I agree. In these terms, true modern luxury could be seen to reside in an appreciation of its absence. Its idea is not about extravagance, but rather about reduction. And in this way, the Grand Motel takes a critical attitude towards the shifting ideas of luxury, landscape, service and economy.