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The Tribeca neighborhood of New York is a bustling, shifting, changing and dynamic place. Nothing stays the same for long and the energy of change can be felt around every corner. It is not often that buildings seek to embrace this change; they often seek to stamp their permanence on the shifting landscape. However, Karli Molter’s proposed hotel embraces the change and expresses it throughout the structure.

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The project explores the interplay and relationships of the various interior elements and then expands that system throughout the entirety of the hotel, including the exterior skin.   “I was really interested in creating transitional zones and interstitial spaces as a way to break down the system into interior and exterior conditions,” explains Molter. “This thinking was translated into the facade system, connecting atriums of different public amenities to open up the section, and the design of the rooftop”. The result is a building that responds to the dynamic urban fabric, embraces the change that surrounds it every day, and enables diversity and social interaction.

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The arrangement of the program is also a result of the technique of shifting elements. The areas of the hotel that are open to the public are used as vertical endpoints to the building: retail space, a restaurant and bar at ground level, and a rooftop bar and pool on the top level, overlooking the neighborhood. Connecting these two public zones are a series of semi-public spaces that are open to the hotel occupants along the rear of the building that then connect and shift again to re-emerge on Varrick Street as a public spa. The interplay of the public, semi-public and private spaces mirrors the way these elements play off each other in the larger neighborhood as a whole. This interaction creates vibrancy and a sense of discovery for the guests and visitors.

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The site is a very narrow plot in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City, directly across the street from the Franklin Street Station. The building is  slightly taller than the neighboring buildings to take advantage of the views from the rooftop pool and bar.

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The hotel project was completed through a studio taught by Hina Jamelle at the University of Pennsylvania. The focus of the studio was on part to whole relationships and systems thinking.

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