Hotel and Tourism Management Training Institute with associated Training Hotel
Construction, functional performance, design, and technical equipment of the Hotel are intended to provide an innovative contribution to the development efforts in the tourism sector.
The building is planned as a prototype of a low-energy structure, and the elements of the technology for the building itself and for the construction required for the desired standard will be adapted to the requirements of this type of design.
During the project planning, the basic elements of Bhutanese profane architecture will be incorporated, while the construction materials used and the design selected accord with the criteria of environmental compatibility and regenerability.
The intention is that knowledge acquired from this project can be applied, on the basis of the close co-operation between Bhutanese and Austrian project planners, to the other buildings which are to be erected in the future.
The spatial arrangements of the hotel include 17 standard double rooms with an area of 27 to 30 m2 each, as well as three “de luxe” suites of 40 to 45 m˛ each, of the national “First Class” category.
A Reception Area with adjacent Lounge and a 50-seat Restaurant, as well as adjacent kitchen and service areas complete the spatial arrangements. The technical and personnel areas are located in the basement of the building.
The intention is that a piece of park-like land located in Mothithang north of the capital Thimphu should be developed, in the course of adaptation work on an existing building dating from 1974, two new buildings are designed to complete the functions of the school.
The whole complex, consisting of the school wing with training and professional hotel kitchen, a hostel and a new banqueting hall is to become a hotel training and management training institute (HTMTI) for around 90 students.
The new hotel structure is located south-west of the college building, which will make joint use of the operational infrastructure of the college and also of the banqueting hall which is likewise to be newly constructed.
The heating plant, the updated transformer and the STP are located on the property and used by all facilities.
The maximum (compact) surface area specified by the clients, of about 1,800 m˛, the optimisation of energy consumption by creating a multi-storey design, and, at the same time, the small external surface area, led to the arrangement of the rooms around a central corridor area, which has the spirit of a compact village square.
Thanks to the corridor arms, which pass between the rooms to the outside, guests have the opportunity of looking to all four points of the compass.
Parts of these corridors are two-storey and three-storey air spaces, in which the light from the roof can be conducted downwards.
Such areas can be designed in the manner of winter gardens and used as daytime leisure areas.
Draft design motif report
Starting point for the draft design process was a study and analysis of Bhutanese farmhouses. These exhibit a relatively compact, stocky stone core, to which balconies and verandas are added, as required, which we refer to as backpacks. On top of this assemblage of rooms and other areas is a roof, extended broadly outwards at the edges and designed with the monsoon months in mind, and beneath which people can take their ease in summer during the recurrent rain showers.
This spatial concept has been drawn on for the Hotel.
The relatively compact core, with the lifts and main staircases in the centre of the block-like carcass of the building, has the rooms grouped around it, in the fashion of the “backpacks” referred to earlier.
The two storeys of rooms located above one another project slightly above the edge of the ground floor, on which the general hotel areas are located, such as the Restaurant, Lobby, Reception, and the Lounge.
The use of solar energy, which in Bhutan, by contrast with Europe is available almost without restriction in the winter in particular, has led to a differentiation being made in the facade apertures.
To the east, south, and west, large window openings predominate, while to the north the tendency is for somewhat smaller apertures.
This different facade arrangement also determines the character of the rooms:
- Open (extrovert – sunny)
- Closed (introvert – closed – cosy)
The roof, projecting well outwards, offers protection not only against the rain but also against strong sunshine in the summer and spring/autumn months due to the high position of the sun. On the roof there is a specific arrangement for the collection of rainwater with controlled drainage instead of peripheral rainwater gutters.
The solar panels are also installed on the roof, which are used for generating hot water.
Glass sheds pointing northwards provide the roof area with light and, via the open spaces, also the ground floor and the first storey.
A number of special features are intended to make the rooms additionally pleasant and provide special spatial qualities.
One suite on the south-east side has two-storey sections, in which the seating area is arranged.
Three of the rooms on the second storey each have a private access to a part of the open attic area, in which the guest can make use of a private stone bath.
From the stone bath and the terrace area associated with it, the scenery can be enjoyed, and even in summer, when the rainy season has set in, the sheltered roof area is still a fine place to spend some time.
Most of the rooms have a corner view, from which at least two and even three points of the compass can be viewed.
This alignment in several directions is intended not only to provide superb views of the surrounding scenery but also to set the mood to different daylight conditions in the rooms themselves.
The aim of improving the standard of thermal insulation and minimizing the use of energy in operation is taken into account by the use of new building materials:
An insulated two-leaf masonry structure is used in such areas, which on the inside provides the concrete load-bearing structure and on the outside features smoothed natural stone or plastered clay masonry, where the weight of the double-shell masonry structure can be introduced directly into the foundation.
In the area of the projecting room areas on the south, west, and east sides, it is intended that a lightweight timber structural system should be used, which provides as the outermost skin a rear-ventilated wooden shell or facade panels, and, as the situation requires, also a loam rendering surface on a carrier plate.
The position of the property has been selected in such a way that the outstanding location with the view to Thimphu and the Thimphu Valley running north-south can be enjoyed to the full by guests, without restriction, in particular in the Restaurant and on the terrace located in front of it.
The Institute is located on a carefully-selected construction location, which is not in an area where it can be directly overseen or overheard.
The open area on the ground floor has been designed in such a way that the Restaurant and Lounge/Bar area can also be used by guests from outside.
Deliveries are made from the north side, with the main entrance for guests being on the north-east side.
Renderings: Urs Bette