EBB Hotel
By Gary Todd Architecture
Client Brief
The brief was to explore and determine the best use for a small, narrow, level, vacant site zoned for commercial use. The existing streetscape consists of 2 storey retail buildings adjoining a residential zone of traditional houses to the West. A retail mall with car parking 5 storeys high is across the road from the site to the East located on the fringe of the Dunedin City CBD.
The client sought medium density residential apartments with car parking that could be sold for an early return on investment. The client however was also open to other development options that could provide a greater return on investment such as a mixed use development or a hotel.
Creative Solution & Design Features
A hotel was considered the most appropriate development to interface best with all existing buildings and the public realm to contribute to streetscape vibrancy and the mix of commercial and residential uses adjacent to the site. The economic model of a Hotel is the creative solution that can deliver a continued and higher return on investment with increased capital gain over a longer term with the brief amended to be a boutique hotel that meets a demand in the market.
Dunedin’s history of the site is the inspiration for the design of this hotel. Contextual research revealed the site was once a stones throw of the original shoreline of the Otago Harbour when Maori canoes first discovered Dunedin. Therefore it was important to reference this historical site, achieved by engaging local artist Simon Kaan to provide an image to portray a cultural heritage context of this location and reflect a sense of place. The images are contemporary interpretive artwork to convey a Dunedin theme of sea, land and sky used to inform the architecture and the interior design.
The resulting artwork is colour printed on a grid of curtain glass panels for the 3 uppermost levels of the building street façade, courtyard façade and car park façade all suspended above steel frames behind clear glazed facades at street level. The semi-transparent printed glass panels are designed to semi-screen views from within hotel suites to the surroundings plus provide privacy for hotel guests. The view from outside of the hotel is of activated façades of intrigue with blurred movement of colours, lighting and silhouettes from hotel suite use and social activity use of the hotel cafe and reception.
Photo Credit - Gareth Harvey
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EBB Hotel
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EBB Hotel
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Gary Todd Architecture
About the
Professional
For us, architecture is about creating special places in context with their natural and built environment for the enjoyment of people who live in them, work in them, or experience them. Every project, regardless of scale, we consider is a unique opportunity to create something amazing for our client, community and society.
Our architectural practice is humble however operates with confidence because we are experienced in a variety of building types and styles with a proven track record. Our projects vary from Otago to Central Otago, Southland and Canterbury and wider afield than New Zealand to Australia, Fiji and France.
Every project is unique and emerges out of a specific client brief, budget and site that we may challenge and offer options if we consider there is a need to think deeper before proceeding further. These considerations inform the design and build process where our experience on projects to create that point of difference is more likely to be achieved with our valued professional guidance and expertise assisting you as with our many prior clients.
We have been collaborating with our clients, consultants, contractors and councils to provide excellence by offering our trusted experience, innovation and professional guidance to all aspects of a project with vision, planning, documentation, contracts, construction, interior fit out, landscaping and project management from concept to completion as a full project approach under sole leadership to get the best outcome.
We know that each project brings different client requirements and that our response can be to guide that project through a collaborative process to success, whether it is small or large, simple or complex with us as your design lead. The end result is to create inspirational spaces with architecture that could meet and exceed the client and public expectation and be fully in context with the natural and built environment.
Our practice is green minded and actively incorporates innovative sustainable design and construction with an environmental awareness that can contribute to our future. We support ethical and sustainable practices. We believe our architecture can reflect who our clients are and their aspirations.
With the experience of Gary leading the team, we specialise mainly in new or altered residential or commercial projects. We have been involved in over 1000 building projects over more than 25 years and have been acknowledged by over 90 New Zealand Architectural Design Awards in the process which is testament to the quality that you can expect given to each project.
- Year founded1993
- ArchiPro Member since2017
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