Here's the deal: We only have this week and next week before spring break, meaning I am starting to get nervous about this progress. I started on my floor plan. I'm going to make an outdoor dining patio next to my restaurant to utilize some of the space created by corners in the building, and also to cover up where I will be replacing a large garage door with floor to ceiling windows. In this patio, I'll be using the typical Italian wrought iron fencing with lots of beautiful foliage winding through the iron. I'm also thinking about makeing one of the existing built rooms into a coat closet for the restaurant. In my atrium-like hotel area, I'm going to design bridges to run from one side of each floor to the other. They will be modern, with classic touches. I have an idea for space dividers in the restaurant. These, if used, will be custom designed pieces. Also, I'm thinking of chaning the name from an Italian word, to 'Haven on the Corner' or 'Haven at the Corner'. I was taking the name from the theme of my design, but I thought about it and realized the name doesn't really fit into the Bowling Green area and just because it will have an Italian design theme does not mean EVERYTHING about it has to revolve around an Italian theme. I really like the new name possibility and think it would create a good starting point for my boards.

Well it's been a while. We had critiques yesterday. I decided that I definitely want to stick with my modern italian theme and just roll with the pale yellow tile. We saw the actual building we are preserving and turning into our hotel/restaurant/spa last week. Although it is a large space, it still was not as large as I was picturing. I found out I need to have approximately 30 hotel rooms (of different sizes for different needs). I definitely want to do the atrium in between the buildings and possibly a very narrow atrium/skylight-like area through the middle of the hotel building. I think it would be a great way to bring in some natural light. I would like to have a shallow narrow pool running the length and width of the skylight above. I may incorporate wrought iron into this design (possibly light fixtures and in the spa area as well). idea: wrought iron spiral staircase. alright, for now I'll stop writing and keep working.

Lists

Today, I have felt very scatter-brained and like I just don't know where to go from what I have. It's been a week since I last even looked at this project, and I think I kind of lost my train of thought. That being said, I have tried my best to do a little more researching and look into the essential elements that I will need, along with the elements that I would like to implement into the design. I have some questions regarding guidelines: Does guest parking need to be included in our design (the area we've been given to work with)? Is the storage building on the plan drawing no longer there, and therefore can be eliminated? Are the hotel rooms required to have an exterior window for a fire exit? Can I design different types (sizes) of rooms? I would like to have the standard room, along with suite style rooms available to allow multiple-guest parties to be able to stay within the same general area/living space. Can I create an "atrium-styled" hotel area? Because beautiful landscaping is an important aspect of Italian design, I would like to incorporate that into the hotel part the space that would provide guests on all floors to view this on the inside of the hotel, just outside their rooms. My last big question still remains: can I successfully create a Modern Italian design with the existing materials?
I have researched and found the following things/spaces that I will need to plan for: offices for managers, laudry and housekeeping with possible laundry shoot and housekeeping office, employee entrance, employee bathrooms and lockers, employee dining area, lost and found storage room for guest possessions that have been left behind, a small meeting room, storage, concierge, check-in/check-out area, vending machines, and possibly a small fitness center located near or within the spa.
I need to begin working on my floorplan during next class, but until then, I'll be thinking about my questions and hopefully find the answers.