The Representation of Domestic Space
The Permanent Hotel
Master’s Degree Project
2023
What defines a territorial dynamic is its inherited dualities. On the one hand, the interests are driven by the extraction of resources and, on the other hand, by the sense of belonging and displaced identities in a town that depends on its industry. Moreover, the relationship between the industry and the inhabitants situated in the region makes for a dynamic that constantly renews itself. Where does the seasonal worker position himself in this setting?
The seasonal worker is not the one that is forced to leave his home nor the reason for the demolition of others. It becomes a question of how one relates to the place and what social, economic, and political interests shape the territory, a matter of exploitation and displacement. The seasonal worker dwells in the in-between; he finds himself in a "Fly in, Fly out" relation to his work while his family and private life are put on hold elsewhere. Simultaneously, the permanent residents of company towns often feel exploited and that the culture comes second.
Therefore, architecture should strive to become a prototype that brings forth collective value and culture through community cohesion, bringing together different groups of people and cultures. The Architectural proposal explores the possibilities for utilising the non-place and anthropological place by becoming something that could be a surrogate for an architecture that nourishes and fosters a stronger sense of belonging. The architectural prototype is named, The Permanent Hotel. A domestic model that serves the seasonal workers and temporary dwellers by carefully choreographing social interactions using the public living room as a spatial apparatus to achieve a collective identity.
The Permanent Hotel is perceived as a journey through a series of room types that are fragmented interpretations of their domestic precedents. When the fragments are understood as a whole and give a new reading of domestic architecture, diverse neighborhoods and unique social constellations appear. A Spatial Narrator choreographs the series of fragments in the form of a playful orange handrail that constantly guides you to the public living room.
Who is the new dweller of this domestic prototype? What new way of life does the Permanent Hotel produce? What difference does it make if you stay for a week or live here for a lifetime?
Studio 11: Radical Domesticities – Swedish Standards
Studio teachers: Daniel Movilla Vega (Studio coordinator), Mette Harder
The Notion of a Neighborhood
The Dwelling Unit
The Spatial Narrator
The Fragments
The Public Living room
