Dunedin’s history was the inspiration for the design of this hotel. Contextual research revealed the hotel site was once near the shoreline of the Otago Harbour where travellers first arrived in Dunedin. Therefore it was important to reference this historical site and this was done by engaging local artist Simon Kaan to provide an image to visually portray a cultural context of the location and sense of place. The resulting artwork image was colour printed onto curtain glass façade panels of the building. These semi-transparent printed glass panels were designed to screen views from within the hotel suites of the commercial surroundings and provide privacy to the hotel guests. Looking from the outside in, the Hotel becomes an activated façade with the blurred movement of colours, lighting and shadow from hotel occupants and room usage. This creates an ever-changing visual scene intended to enhance the public realm with the combination of art and architecture.
The hotel is designed as a modernist building primarily of concrete, steel and glass construction with a scale considerate to and yet juxtaposed in composition to the heritage precinct commercial and residential buildings adjacent, offering respect to the past and a modern influence for the future.
Above a concrete base, an exposed steel structure is visible through clear glazed walls on the street level. This visually links the Main Entry and Exit to the Hotel Reception, Parking and Café. These revolve around a central Courtyard and atrium extending 4 storeys upward to a louvred roof and sky above. The street-level courtyard features horizontal and vertical gardens.
The Café adjacent to the courtyard is designed to interact as a permeable buffer and link between street life and the central court where visitors and guests can meet and socialise over food and drink.
The building layout offers clear wayfinding for people within the hotel with walkway walls on the upper levels used as an Art Gallery featuring New Zealand artists, referencing the exterior layer of printed art on the glass wall facades.
The 3 upper levels are private hotel rooms connected to balcony walkways overlooking and part of the central atrium core with a lift and stair to the South. There are atrium lounges on each level for hotel guests, which have a printed glass façade providing filtered light and shadows through to the atrium.
The architecture is aimed to be reflective of time and place as an enduring modernist building with references to the past.