Slide 1
Reception. A new set of stairs penetrates an old wall. The adjacent wing is still under construction.
Slide 2
The Lounge. A gradation of patina to pristine. The structural remnants of a plaster lathe become a wall and lighting feature.
Slide 3
The Bar. A partial remnant of the old dilapidated bar is reflected in mirrored panels of the new space. A syncopation of rustic and luxurious textures creates a kaleidoscopic effect.
Slide 4
The Restaurant. A gutted space reveals the original timeworn structure. An airy double-height space is created. Humble building materials are treated as finished surfaces.
Slide 5
Hotel Rooms. A layered membrane of fabric cocooning, draping, and knotted create a sequestered freshness within the faded and worn.
Slide 6
Slide 7
The Passage. A stairway descends to the deep-end of the pool, providing a privileged view of the growing conservatory. The Deep End. A clear acrylic sheet holds a shallow pool above, giving the impression of being underwater. This uncanny atmosphere serves as the non-center of &R.

ENTROPIC DECADENCEA Retreat In Time

The pretense of perfection in the composed interior relies on the illusion of stepping outside of Time, when in truth, at the very moment of completion, it begins to age and decay. This project proposes an interior informed by the temporal nature of space and celebrates the inevitability of deterioration and change. Beyond nostalgic stagecraft, it explores the materialist and formalist qualities of entropy as a way to encourage a meaningful re-connection with natural rhythms – incomplete, imperfect, and impermanent.

The project - &R - is a careful re-inhabitation of a mid-century resort, long ago abandoned. Instead of denying the sublime power of the ruin and its entropic decadence, the design embraces the temporal cycles of growth and decay and the allegorical weight of its derelict glamour. The interior renovation unfolds at a pace equal to that of the deterioration already underway. The retreat is in a constant state of gradual change. As it builds up, it continues to breakdown. Finding comfort, beauty, and stimulation in both the unfinished and the timeworn, visitors to this ruin retreat are given a space to contemplate the unknown future, precarious present, and didactic past

Thesis Advisor: Peter Wheelwright