GRAFT WINS MOUNTAIN RESORT COMPETITION

GRAFT, in collaboration with engineering firm Buro Happold, has won first place in a competition to design a “premium common good resort” in Lofer, Austria.

“Building in the Alps means building within a proud cultural landscape and its deep-rooted identity,” GRAFT stated. “Therefore the design must shape the link between old and new while keeping the balance between nostalgia and change.”

“All buildings are innovative architectural sculptures that are reminiscent of the traditional larch facades and the history of the local timber constructions.” Each respond uniquely to the “urban genius loci,” while “each distinct transformation of the local gabled roof allows a full-scale adjustment to the surrounding village context.”

The resort will include a hotel complex, staff building, workshop based on “the economy for the common good,” “café villa” and a premium residence area. GRAFT’s design was highly lauded by both the client and locals, all of whom were fully involved in the decision process.

“The building is designed to meet the needs of a hotel without harming soil, air or water. Energy and water consumption is minimized through the “lean -mean- green” strategy, where modern technologies and renewable energy sources come into use. Apart from the ideal use of rain, snow and sun, also the façade and the building measure up to specific sustainability criteria” says the architects.

GRAFT WINS COMPETITION TO RESTORE AND EXTEND YOUTH HOSTEL

The Bavarian association of German youth hostels invited five architecture studios to design the modernization of one of Germany’s oldest hostels located in the city center of Munich.

GRAFT won the First Prize with a concept that is developed around the idea of “Experiencing Community”: above all the modern architecture for the youth hostel will enable exchange and communication. At the same time it alludes to established traditions of simple traveling, youthful curiosity and the thirst for encounter. 

Particularly in the interior the local iconography of wooden buildings is combined with innovative design. Facing the challenges of modern habits and practices, the new youth hostel builds a bridge between origins and departure.

The main entrance of the new youth hostel will be relocated to the square “Winthirplatz” where the stylistically calm cubature and façade naturally close the gap in the building block, respecting the characteristics of the district. 

A carved, two-story lobby turns into a lively “experience-space”and serves as“formal business card” of the architecture. Natural elements of the square and the inner courtyard are translated into an amorphous and landscaped architecture that ties together interior and exterior spaces. Due to the selection of materials, the “architectonic dream world” of the inside relates to regional construction methods. 

The complex is big enough to host a large number of visitors at the same time and thus symbolizes the basic idea of “Experiencing Community”: the design intentionally combines functions of the lobby, the dining room and the seminar spaces in a joint interior square. For the modern youth in particular, community does not only take place in the built environment but also and increasingly in virtual spaces. 

Therefore, the lobby is not only formally but also virtually a “cloud” where simple devices support the interaction between the guests:A modern “black board” of Graphics, QR-codes, mini screens and projections of maps, as well as Facebook and Twitter pages are part of this communication space. 

The rooms are the second strong identifying attribute for a new generation of youth hostels, where modern design and flexible interaction of rooms are combined with robust functionality. The façade of the historic old building at the Wendl-Dietrich-Straße will be renovated according to official preservation orders.

In addition to that, the distinctive entrance arches will be made usable on the inside through a delicate glass front system. The entire space of the youth hostel is handicapped accessible so that all spatial qualities are available to everybody.
 
Location: Munich, Germany
Architects: GRAFT 
Year: 2014
Competition: Modernisierung der Jugendherberge München-City
Award: First Place

MYRTLE GARDEN HOTEL BY GRAFT LAB & PENDA

The hotel is located in the outskirts of Xiangyang / Hubei and sits on a small hill within the largest Myrtle Flower Garden throughout Asia.

The design of the hotel was primarily focused on providing a soothing harmony between architecture and its natural environment. Designed to blend into its surrounding typography, the hotel is partially inserted into the slope of the hill and offers a varying appearance depending on ones point of view.

Where else the hotel is read from the north as low to the ground and has a continuity to its surrounding  landscape, the complex opens up towards the South introducing the business area to a nearby already existing restaurant by the lake. A drop­off lane wind itself through and underneath the circular volumnes and offers a certain level of urbanity to the hotel's natural surrounding.

The lower zone of the hotel hosts all public areas, which are divided in 3 parts: culinarity, relaxation and  business, each represented within one form­difining circle. The lobby stretches between the business and culinarity area combining them to the main public zone of the hotel. Seperated by the drop­off lane, the Spa area gets connected to the Myrtle Tree Park and offeres a more private atmosphere.

The upper part of the hotel accomodates the private areas with 146 guest­rooms offering a unique view on the surrounding myrtle tree park.  Each circle offers a park with ponds and vegetation in its centre supporting a natural ventilation system throughout the hotel. Being constantly surrounded by the courtyards, the walk to the hotelroom is experienced as a walk through the park, which guides the guests naturally to their room.

Being situated within Myrtle Tree Park, the layer of balkonies serves as a connecting element between the  Interior of the Hotel and the vegetation of the park. Smaller Trees growing on and within the facade layer  underline the relation between the articial balcony structure and its natural environment.

The facade­ layer varies in depth, depending on the orientation of the rooms and provide natural lighting for the interior. This variation creates small balkonies on the narrower zones which exend to large terraces on the deeper parts offering a panoramic view to the surrounding typography.

Paying respect to its natural surrounding, the hotel also boasts a variety of sustainable design mechanisms  that reduce its environmental impact. The balcony layer with the integrated vegetation offers natural shading  and reduces heat gains during the hot summer months.

Every room throughout the hotel is surrounded by the Myrtle Garden on one side and a courtyard on the other, which provides natural air ventilation when needed.  Rainwater gets collected on the hotels roof and passed on to the 3 courtyards, where it is stored in tanks and  can be used for flushing and irrigating plants.

These sustainable aspects within the nature ­inspired design result in a harmonic structure which blends into its surrounding and offers its visitors a unique, luxurious and ecological get­away from citylife.

Location: Xiangyang, China 
Partners: Graft lab & penda 
Area: 16.800 sq.m 
Hotel height: 19.8m 
Room number: 146