Built form and regional identity: eco-tourist resort in Moab, Utah

There is a fundamental relationship between formal attributes, experience of place, and regional identity. Architecture should be designed through the understanding of these relationships, which can be further divided into built form, natural form, social interaction, and cognitive processes. In this way an authentic sense of architecture and regional identity can be revealed. The Eco-tourist resort is an exploration of this idea. It will meet the growing niche of the educated tourist seeking truth in experience as an alternative to the "Disneyland" atmosphere of the west created by early twentieth century predecessors. It equates built form and natural form with formal attributes, social interaction with program and path, and cognitive processes with elements of perception. The social interaction between the local and the tourist will inevitably change how each views their identity and the program will address this through the examination of the needs of the eco-tourist culture and local identity. This examination also impacts the site choice, which in turn will have a reciprocal effect on the program and on the built form as well. The culture and architecture of twentieth century tourism has helped define the national view of the west as a region and as a myth. The view of the west was largely idealized and simulacrum architecture was used to help convey this ideal to the consumer. During the early nineteenth century, tourism of the West developed as an elite pastime in the United States due to "the growth of a leisure ethic, the emergence of adequate modes of transportation, and the establishment of unique attractions" (Shaffer, 123). In 1905, the slogan "See America First" was conceived, and in 1906, the See America First Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah began to establish a new propaganda of the West, where "true" Americans appreciated the natural wonders, ancient ruins, and scenic landscapes of the West. In 1910, the Great Northern Railway adopted this slogan for their own multimedia advertising campaign aimed at attracting tourists to Glacier National Park, selling this natural attraction as the preferred "American" alternative to European travel. The Railway reconstructed and packaged the park with an emphasis on an idealized version of the American frontier and thereby set "a sense of western identity grounded in the intersection between the West as region and the West as myth" (Shaffer, 125). Instead of responding to the true environment, they created a representation of western wilderness intertwined with European architecture; Blackfoot Indian décor combined with Swiss chalet sensibility. "In this way, tourism reshaped the built environment of the United States and transformed the symbolic value of American landscape and in the process, influenced the way in which people defined themselves as American " (Shaffer, 123). Today a new leisure ethic is evolving where vacationers have a different interest in outdoor pursuits. The traveler has the desire to experience the west and its cultures in an authentic state. Ecotourism is a postmodern version of tourism, which consists of responsible travel to an undisturbed environment with the objective of studying and admiring the scenery, flora and fauna, as well as the indigenous culture (Sheller and Urry, 32)". This culture attempt to set themselves apart from the common tourist by choosing destinations and activities that involve education and self-improvement, by creating self-identity through play versus occupation, and by switching from mass tourism to more independent forms of experiencing place. The program reconciles the relationship between the identity of the chosen local culture, Moab Utah, and an imported one, the tourist. Truth and fragmentation of identity are implicit in the new western identity as it both conserves the natural environment and turns it into a commodity.

JEFF SCHINDEWOLF BUILT FORM AND REGIONAL IDENTITY ECO-TOURIST RESORT IN MOAB, UTAH THESIS PROJECT YEAR 2005-2006 F M BUILT FORM AND REGIONAL IDENTITY PREFACE---------------------- ---FALL 2005--- THESIS STATEMENT-------- PROGRAM STATEMENT--- SITE STATEMENT------------ REGIONAL DIAGRAMS---- SITE DIAGRAMS------------- PROGRAM DIAGRAMS---- PRECEDENTS---------------- ---SPRING 2006--- PLANS------------------------- ELEVATIONS------------------ SECTIONS--------------------- AXONOMETRICS------------ SEASONAL RESPONSE---- VIEWS------------------------- REGIONAL RESPONSE DIAGRAMS------------------- MODEL PHOTOS------------ BIBLIOGRAPHY-------------- JEFF SCHINDEWOLF BUILT FORM AND REGIONAL IDENTITY ECO-TOURIST RESORT IN MOAB, UTAH THESIS PROJECT YEAR F 2005-2006 M BUILT FORM AND REGIONAL IDENTITY THESIS STATEMENT There is a fundamental relationship between formal at-tributes, experience of place, and regional identity. Archi-tecture should be designed through the understanding of these relationships, which can be further divided into built form, natural form, social interaction, and cognitive processes. In this way an authentic sense of architecture and regional identity can be revealed. The Eco-tourist re-sort is an exploration of this idea. It will meet the growing niche of the educated tourist seeking truth in experience as an alternative to the "Disneyland" atmosphere of the west created by early twentieth century predecessors. It equates built form and natural form with formal attributes, social interaction with program and path, and cognitive processes with elements of perception. The social inter-action between the local and the tourist will inevitably change how each views their identity and the program will address this through the examination of the needs of the eco-tourist culture and local identity. This examina-tion also impacts the site choice, which in turn will have a reciprocal effect on the program and on the built form as well. The culture and architecture of twentieth century tourism has helped define the national view of the west as a re-gion and as a myth. The view of the west was largely ideal-ized and simulacrum architecture was used to help convey this ideal to the consumer. During the early nineteenth century, tourism of the West developed as an elite pastime in the United States due to "the growth of a leisure ethic, the emergence of adequate modes of transportation, and the establishment of unique attractions" (Shaffer, 123). In 1905, the slogan "See America First" was conceived, and in 1906, the See America First Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah began to establish a new propaganda of the West, where "true" Americans appreciated the natural wonders, ancient ruins, and scenic landscapes of the West. In 1910, the Great Northern Railway adopted this slogan for their own multimedia advertising campaign aimed at attracting tourists to Glacier National Park, selling this natural attraction as the preferred "American" alternative to European travel. The Railway reconstructed and pack-aged the park with an emphasis on an idealized version of the American frontier and thereby set "a sense of western identity grounded in the intersection between the West as region and the West as myth" (Shaffer, 125). Instead of responding to the true environment, they created a rep-resentation of western wilderness intertwined with Euro-pean architecture; Blackfoot Indian décor combined with Swiss chalet sensibility. "In this way, tourism reshaped the built environment of the United States and transformed the symbolic value of American landscape and in the pro-cess, influenced the way in which people defined them-selves as American " (Shaffer, 123). Today a new leisure ethic is evolving where vacationers have a different interest in outdoor pursuits. The traveler has the desire to experience the west and its cultures in an authentic state. Ecotourism is a postmodern version of tourism, which consists of responsible travel to an un-disturbed environment with the objective of studying and admiring the scenery, flora and fauna, as well as the indigenous culture (Sheller and Urry, 32)". This culture attempt to set themselves apart from the common tour-ist by choosing destinations and activities that involve education and self-improvement, by creating self-identity through play versus occupation, and by switching from mass tourism to more independent forms of experiencing place. The program reconciles the relationship between the identity of the chosen local culture, Moab Utah, and an imported one, the tourist. Truth and fragmentation of identity are implicit in the new western identity as it both conserves the natural environment and turns it into a commodity. 1 between the tourist and the local community. The envisioned Eco-tourist resort reinforces the idea of built form as identity maker. In relation to this, the pro-gram is seen as a connection and orientation between inhabited space and the natural environment as well as between the local community and the tourist other. This manifests itself in the progression of spaces as well as the way the building touches the ground and sky. The scale, form, and materials will address the similar cognitive, but social differences between the shared identity of the tourist and local. The Eco-tourist resort explores the post-modern idea of fragmentation of identity and self-defini-tion through experiences. This idea is made explicit by the combination of program elements and the progression through them. This can also be viewed as a pilgrimage for the eco-tourists who are seeking to define or reinforce their identity through the resort and its environs. The architecture of tourism has an impact on the identity of both the tourist and local community. The eco-tourist resort has the responsibility to enable an authentic defini-tion of the community, region, and tourist identity. It does this through the examination of the significance of place, community, and tourist culture. The program becomes an important part of designing the types of social interac-tions that these two cultures encounter. In the proposed eco-tourist resort the program creates an urban room where the local community and guests meet with mutual respect in order to experience, learn, and teach each other about the significance of the western regions environ-ment and cultures. It also provides opportunities for both parties to contemplate this knowledge in the seclusion of the region by providing a transactional connection between the urban environment and the natural environ-ment. The spatial diagrams and room type descriptions demonstrate these relationships between the eco-tourist resorts concept, program, and form Within the town of Moab a similar ideology as the eco-tourist is present, however local needs are different. The proposed program responds to this by blending the tour-ist traveler and the local host, the here and the away. This blending of tourist, host, and environment begins at the arrival of the eco-tourist resort. The lobby along with the culture museum, restaurant, community center, local mar-ket atrium, and recreation information forms the public core or urban room of the resort. This portion of the resort is envisioned as an orientation and connection between the local community as an inhabited space and the natural uninhabited landscape. Here the building will blend with the local architecture both in scale and proportion echo-ing what has come before. It will utilize newer sustainable materials and building technologies that respond to the local and tourist ideology and promote a vision of west-ern identity other than that of an appropriated one. The lobby will be the most prominent space in the urban room program and located near the entry of the local market atrium while the restaurant and other public spaces will be located further in the atrium. This will create the feeling of a larger urban room by borrowing adjacent spaces and enliven the experience of the newly arrived guest as well as the local. The idea of these adjacencies is to move both the guest and the host from the center of interactivity, in the community and the resort, out toward more con-templative spaces such as the guest room or garden, and finally to the secluded meditative space of the adjacent wilderness. There will be a distortion of here and away, resident and non-resident within the urban room as the tourist and local community become familiar. The guest room becomes the new away and the town becomes the new here. In this way the resort will challenge the current resort methods of providing services solely for the tourist. This trend, even among eco-tourist resorts, hurts the local economy by keeping the tourist within the confines of the resort and neglecting the authentic social interaction 3 PROGRAM Site selection 1. immediate connection to community and wilder-ness important 2. give sense of environment quickly a. public facilities prominently view the main attrac-tion- the region b. orientation made easy for tourists/guests c. provide way finding points of reference 3. remediation potential 4. improve local comunity Lanscaping 1. display regional flora and fauna/ xeriscaped a. still as transition like Versailles/ formal public out toward natural (cairn) b. treatment of water as precious resource- regional dilemma c. utilize in ground lighting and down lighting to mini-mize light pollution d. walk ways to be permiable Building connection to site 1. blur indoor outdoor 2. provide f and b pavilions? 3. grounds can accommodate weddings and local cel-ebrations 4. integrate with site and community/ scale and mate-rials Accessability and circulation 1. Entrances to be visible 2. vehicle and pedestrian circulation to be separated a. underground parking, berms, walls, sunken b. stalls are 9' wide by 18' long c. 350 s.f. per vehicle includes lanes ramps etc. d. guest versus service entrances? e. Shuttle buses to popular sites to minimize car traffic. Guest rooms 1. typically represent 65%-85% of resort floor space a. eco-tourist resort should be different due to differ- 2. views are important 3. control solar gain/cooling 4. corridors min 5' bathrooms back to back/ wet wall 5. ada rooms on main floor and near vertical core 6. internal organization of rooms secondary to site of building and auxiliary rooms s well as tent sites a. views of environment b. many structures reduce perceived scale tent- guest spaces 1. simple/ sit on sight lightly a. transient 2. located in different micro environments 3. self-sufficient/ solar, wind, siting Resort rooms 1. suites and regular rooms mixed not separated 2. rooms able to connect creating suites 3. label by bed type, room number, and amenity terms key = rentable rooms guestroom bay = guest module structural bay = dimension between two structural points. Typically one or two guest bays suite = combination of bedroom and living space 4. bedroom width relation to structural bay and carries into other building spaces 5. a major space for guests influences include bath-room size, width and length of room 1. guest room functions are sleeping, relaxing, enter-taining, working, and dressing a. sleeping is most prominent function Public space 1. local market atrium is the central orienting space a. spaces organized around this include classrooms, recreation info, restaurant, retail, etc. b. this borrowed space creates the whole of the urban room and gives variety in scale and levels of activity c. transparent elevators add animation to the space d. balance visual impact and functions e. integrate with outdoor space 2. restaurant 16 s.f. per seat .7-1.2 seats per room 3. front desk lobby 6' s.f. per room 4. lecture hall 8'-10' s.f. per person 5. culture museum to be determined 6. retail spaces 400 s.f. 7. recreation information center a. divided by activity category- mountain biking, hik-ing, rock hounding etc. b. bays to be similar to retail bays 8. Guest cairns to be smaller 12'x19' 9. parking .7-1.2 cars per person 10. environmental/cultural education class rooms 12 s.f. per seat 12800 s.f. Community center space-------------------------------- 750 s.f. Lobby--------------------------------------------------- 750 s.f. Kitchen------------------------------------------------- 725 s.f. Public baths------------------------------------------ 500 s.f. Entry---------------------------------------------------- 5000 s.f. Artist/farmers market----------------------------- 4000 s.f. Tour shops------------------------------------------- 1070 s.f. Bar----------------------------------------------------- 750 s.f. Cafe----------------------------------------------------- 600 s.f. Auditorium-------------------------------------------- 120 s.f. Reception---------------------------------------------- 11800 s.f. Attached suites----------------------------------- 3600 s.f. Detached rooms----------------------------------- 2500 s.f. Tent sites--------------------------------------------- 2000 s.f. Museum--------------------------------------------- 250 s.f. Administration--------------------------------------- Auxiliary spaces: 500 s.f. Laundry 500 s.f. Mechanical 30000 s.f. Parking -----------Total s.f. 80345 SITE - MOAB UTAH "The wild requires that we learn the terrain, nod to all the plants and animals and birds, ford the streams and cross the ridges, and tell a good story when we get back home." Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild Unlike most eco-resorts in the third world countries, the Mi Vida eco-resort is placed nearer the town rather than in untamed wilderness. The location of the resort was chosen to provide immediate access to the wilderness as well as the local community. In this way the resort already begins to define an authentic architecture, which truly benefits the community as well as the tourist identity. It is also located on land, which has been disturbed by dump-ing and mining. This provides remediation potential and benefit to all parties involved. Again the site choice begins to promote an identity and will be carried through the ar-chitectural form, support local desires, and respond to the new eco-tourist ethic. This ethic has evolved from the nineteenth century "Amer-ica first" model which provided the tourist a repackaged, idealized version of the American West. A form of this evolution is the postmodern view of the Eco-tourist, who is interested in an authentic interactive experience with the culture and the environment of the region in which they are touring. The Eco-tourist chooses remote destina-tions with the intention of pursuing activities that involve education and self-improvement. This group defines self through experience rather than occupation and prefers in-dependent forms of experiencing place, such as mountain biking, rather than mass forms of tourism. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines eco-tourism as " responsible travel to natural areas that con-serves the environment and improves the well being of the local people." My project explores the impacts of built form on the tour-ist culture and its relation to the Western Identity. Within these confines it examines the ideas of authenticity of place and identity as defined through built form, therefore the resort program is envisioned as a node for the pilgrim-age from active built environment to meditative wilder-ness. The criteria for selecting the site for the eco tourist resort are also implied in these aforementioned subjects. GEOLOGY/ENVIRONMENT Moab Utah provides an environment for the exploration of these ideas. This region of the Western United States is geologically unique and defined by sandstone rock cliffs that have developed over a time of 500 million years. Sur-rounded by high desert terrain, Moab is the seat of Grande County Utah, located in the heart of the Colorado Plateau and sited next to the Colorado River. The La Sal Mountains reach elevations of over 12,000 feet and are 18 miles to the east. The alpine flora and fauna of the La Sal Moun-tains provide a contrast to the panoramic view of the des-erts and canyons below. This region attracts tourists from around the world and has enabled Moabs' pursuit of the tourist industry. Public lands including Arches National Park (NP), Canyon-lands NP, Dead Horse Point State Park, Behind The Rocks Wilderness Study Area (WSA), Negro Bill Canyon WSA, Mill Creek Canyon WSA, and Sand Flats Recreation Area sur-round the town of Moab. Over 90 percent of Grand County is public land, administered by the Bureau of Land Man-agement, the USDA Forest Service, the State of Utah, the National Park Service, and State Parks. Many groups such as mountain bikers, hikers, cattlemen, river runners, and OHV users utilize these lands. REGIONAL HISTORY - (excerpts from the Moab Master Plan) Pre-history to the present inhabitants of the Moab Region have always been tied to the land. Evidence of habitation in the Moab area is found as early as 300 B.C.; however the best known of these ancient cultures are the Ances-tral Puebloan, the Anasazi, who did not inhabit the region until approximately 900 A.D. The Moab region was the northern limit of Ancestral Puebloan habitation. Sometime between 1250 and 1300 A.D., they disappeared from the area. While there is some dispute regarding modern Na-tive American entrance into the area, the Utes were the dominant Native American group in the 18th century. By 1855, Navajos were also living in the region of Spanish Valley south of Moab. That same year Mormon pioneers settled an area near Moab but because of conflicts with native peoples, they did not remain long. It was not until 1874 that the first group of cattlemen arrived, and by 1881, there were 16 families residing in the valley. Ranching, cattle grazing, and farming were the main modes of sur-vival. By the late 1800s and early 1900s there was news of award-winning peaches, apples, pears and grapes, but the expense of pumping irrigation water and unpredictable freezes prevented Moab from ever becoming a major ag-ricultural area. Moab made some major strides at the end of the 19th century. In 1890, the Utah Legislature created Grand County and on December 20, 1902, Moab became incorporated as a town. In the Early 20th century the major local economic activ-ity was mining. Vanadium was first identified in 1912 near Cisco. By 1920, Southeastern Utah had produced up to 2.5 million dollars in uranium; however, this was only the first of a boom/bust cycle for uranium mining. Potash and manganese mining have also played a role in the min-ing industry in Moab, along with oil and natural gas. By the end of World War II, the area was also getting a small amount of attention in the media as a tourist destination and a fair amount of use from the film industry. In the early 1950s, fueled by the Cold War, the uranium industry became the major economic force in the region. Charlie Steen, a down-on-his-luck prospector, made a dramatic uranium strike south of town and Moab became the cen-ter of activity for uranium mining. During the 1960s and 1970s the demand for uranium decreased and many of the mines were abandoned. In the early 1980s the ura- 5 nium-processing mill closed. Beginning in the 1970s, the community began seeing tourism as the only salvation for Moab's economy. Inter-state 70 was completed between Floyd Wash and Crescent Junction making access to this part of the country easier. In 1975, there were 313,000 visitors to Arches National Park. In spite of the promise of an economic safety net on the horizon, Moab saw a 15 percent unemployment rate in 1984 due to the loss of local mining company employ-ment. At the same time the population of Moab decreased by 23 percent. By the end of the decade, tourism was viewed as the future of Moab and a whole-hearted effort was made to promote Moab as a tourist destination. Today, resource extractive industries such as oil explora-tion may continue to boost the local economy, but Moab has predominantly a tourist-based economy. SITE SPECIFICS After a three-hour drive that passes through Spanish Fork, Price, and Green River you enter into Moab valley along the two-lane highway 191. As you enter into the valley the entrance to Arches NP greets you on your left and the At-las Super Fund site on your right. A little further down the road and you cross the new Hayduke trail that travels 831 miles through this region passing through seven national parks and one town, Moab. After crossing the Colorado River you come to the proposed Eco-tourist resort site, which sits directly across from the Motel8 and next to the Riverside Inn. Highway 191 turns into Main Street as you go further south the walk from here to old town is about thirty minutes. Once in town the major modes of transpor-tation are bicycles and walking, however bike paths and sidewalks are sporadic until you get into Moab proper. The Eco-tourist site sits between old town to the south and the Hayduke trailhead to the south. Highway 191 runs along its western border and the Sand Flats Recreation area, also known as Slick Rock, borders it along the west side. From the frontage the site looks like a plain dirt hill and there is nothing that would strike the casual pass-erby as special, however upon further investigation one finds that standing on the hill and looking west there is the most spectacular view of the Moab valley and the red rock cliffs beyond. These cliffs are also known as the "por-tal" where the Colorado River passes through them. The Hayduke trail turns off of highway 191, in front of the site, and down 500 West on its way through to the portal and beyond. Following the gully east and deeper into the site one passes remnants of old tractor-trailers and pieces of the "Bee Brand" potash industry. This site belongs to the Mi Vida Company, which was started by Charlie Steen and owns much of the land in this area. The site has been ne-glected for a long time and other trash has been dumped here. Despite all the trash and neglect the geology, views, flora, and fauna are still very vibrant. There is a small seep-ing spring a liitle deeper in the gulch with three small pools one of which holds a bullfrog. The potential for this site is great because it is located adjacent to old town and a building here can help to pull some of that character along highway 191, turning it Main Street. It can also act as a direct connector the Slick rock trail and an orienting node for the Hayduke trail. As stated in the eco-tourist ethos improving the site is important and that opportunity exists here. The proposed site in conjunction with the built form is also suitable to exam-ine the ideas of authenticity of place as viewed through the transient nature of the tourist and the relatively stable geological environment. moab region N O R TH mivida eco-resort moab city reference urban developemen 7 N O R TH highway 191/main street 500 west street zoneing N O R TH residencial commercial trail systems N O R TH 18 mileslick rock trail loop 827 mile hayduke trail roads urban parkways N O R TH highway191/main street pedestrian distances N O R TH 30 minute walking distance from center to edge 9 public lands N O R TH blm lands national parks atlas tailings pile sand flats recreation area arches national park behind the rocks wilderness study area scott m. matheson wetlands preserve views from site N O R TH more view less view portal view topography and waterways 11 N O R TH colorado river and wetlands mill creek - - geology N O R TH Qal Alluvium - a variety of fill and terrace gravel Jk Kayenta formation - irregularly beddedred to gray, fine to course sandstone with some conglomorate and red to lavender shale Jw Wingate sandstone - massive cliff forming buff sandstone Cp Paradox formation - interbedded gypsum and black shale Moab Val ley Jw Ch Cp Ch _1 __ •• --- Section along lioe 13 moab seasonal temperature human comfort zone wind pattern solar path TOWARDTHEWILDERNESS 001- wood slats and aluminum 003- core 10 steel well 002- corrugated steel 004- rusted 1970's subaru 005- steel water tank 006- rusted wheels 007- aluminum icecream truck 008- industrial tractor trailors 009- tractor trailor chasis 010- hardened potash in bags 011- exploded single wide 012- stacked potash bags site properties N O R TH 258,349 S.F. (5.93 ACRES) PERIMETER = 2448' MAIN STREET FRONTAGE = 431.0' minor disturbance of natural site major disturbance of natural site mine shaft dirt road seeping spring site properties- refuse documentation15 001- wood slats and aluminum 002- corrugated steel 003- core 10 steel well 004- rusted 1970's subaru 005- steel water tank 006- rusted wheels 007- aluminum icecream truck 008- industrial tractor trailors 009- tractor trailor chasis 010- hardened potash in bags 011- exploded single wide 012- stacked potash bags c c b b a a section aa section bb section cc north mivida site SITE SECTIONS SITE PLAN mivida site 17 SITE ELEVATION SITE PLAN north , typical building sample west elevation east elevation N O R TH old town - d . - • . - . , . t r a n s i e n c e - - - - - - - - - - - - - p e r m a n e n c e E X P E R I E N C E 19 . F O R M A L A T T R I B S CO G N AT I V E P R O C E S S E S , , N T I T Y U T E I D E T I O N Christian Norberg Schulz believes the relation of man to place is a much deeper process of identification. " To be long to place means to have an existencial foothold in a concrete everyday sense." According to Schulz place has a unique character that humans identify with and the purpose of architecture is to understand "the vocation of place." He believes that in this way we protect the earth and become ourselves part of a totality. The Eco-tourist resort is defined in a similiar way. The Eco-tourist resort is part of the environment, defining it and defined by it. It translates identity into form through attributes such as space, material, and structure. These are the formal at-tributes by which the tourist and local experience Schulz "existencial foothold" in place. The Eco-tourist resort connects the identity of place through the aforemen tioned idea of defining one-self through experiences. The experience comments on the transiaency of natural forms, the local community, as well as the tourist. It equates built form with formal attributes, social interac-tion with place, and cognative processes with path. PROGRAM - FORMAL, SOCIAL, COGNITIVE PROGRAM - RELATION OF MAN TO PLACE B U I L T F O R M P L A C E P A T h Identity of a region and a place has been theorized in many ways. Kevin Lynch is credited with develop-ing afield of research called cognitive mapping in which" the concept of place identity is the interela tion of cognitive process, social activity, and formal attributes." In the Eco-tourist resort the cognitive process can be seen as the eco-tourist ethos of sustaining the environment in which they interact. The social activity is seen as the interaction between, tourist, local, and place. Within this, the cognitive process is supported. The formal attributes are seen as the natural environment, initially spawning the the eco-tourist cognitive process, and the built form. The built form supports both the social interaction and the cognitive process by respecting and en hancing place. 12800 s.f. convention space-------------------------------- 250 s.f. administration--------------------------------------- 725 s.f. public baths------------------------------------------ 600 s.f. auditorium-------------------------------------------- 3600 s.f. detached rooms----------------------------------- 500 s.f. entry---------------------------------------------------- ----- 2000 museum--------------------------------------------- ---- - - - s.f. museum 750 s.f. lobby--------------------------------------------------- 2500 s.f. tent ssites--------------------------------------------- 750 s.f. kitchen------------------------------------------------- 1070 s.f. bar----------------------------------------------------- 5000 s.f. artist/farmers market----------------------------- 750 s.f. cafe----------------------------------------------------- 120 s.f. reception---------------------------------------------- 4000 s.f. tour shops------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- 11800 s.f. attached suites----------------------------------- --- 800 s ----- - - - suites The Eco-tourist resort reinforces the idea of built form as identity maker. Here the program is seen as a connection and orientation between inhabited space and the natural environment as well as between the local community and the tourist other.This manifests itself in the progression of types of spaces as well as the way the building touches the ground and sky. The scale, form, and materials will address the similiar cognative, but social differences between this shared identity.The Eco-tourist resort explores the post-modern idea of fragmentation of identity and self-definition through experiences.This is implicit in the idea of an eco-tourist resort, however is made explicit by the combiniation of program elements and the progression through them.This can also be viewed as a pilgrimage for the eco-tourists who are seeking to define or reinforce thier identity through the resort and its environs.This idea of personal and environmental self-commodification is also explored through such program elements as the convention space as well as the artist/farmers market. 12800 s.f. convention space-------------------------------- 750 s.f. lobby--------------------------------------------------- 750 s.f. kitchen------------------------------------------------- 725 s.f. public baths------------------------------------------ 500 s.f. entry---------------------------------------------------- 5000 s.f. artist/farmers market----------------------------- 4000 s.f. tour shops------------------------------------------- 1070 s.f. bar----------------------------------------------------- 750 s.f. cafe----------------------------------------------------- 600 s.f. auditorium-------------------------------------------- 120 s.f. reception---------------------------------------------- 11800 s.f. attached suites----------------------------------- 3600 s.f. detached rooms----------------------------------- 2500 s.f. tent sites--------------------------------------------- 2000 s.f. museum--------------------------------------------- 250 s.f. administration--------------------------------------- auxilary spaces: laundry 500 s.f. mechanical 500 s.f. parking 30000 s.f.-----------total s.f. 80345 According to Herbert Blumer " as far as objects have meanings, they must enter into the human group consiuosness." According to Chris Abel author of Architecture as Identity This thought process must take into account the physical environment in the evolution of the mind. He believes that there are no artifacts in the human realm without meaning incuding buildings and says " We do not have architecture...rather a part of us is architecture." Because humans place meaning on everything, identity is inhheret with that placement.The use of a particular object can reinforce an individual, cultural, or social identity. Such is the case with architecture and the Eco-tourist resort.The unique The unique identity of place and the local and tourist culture will be interpreted through program, material, and structure. The International Eco-tourist Society ( TIES) defines eco-tourism as " responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of the local people." Respect for identity and place is inherent in the eco-tourist, although the social interaction between the local and the tourist will inevitably change how each views thier identity. As aforementioned the built form is part of and reinforces a social, cognitive identity of place and culture. The program will be addressed initially through the concept of the eco-tourist culture and local identity. These will also impact the site choice, which in turn will have a reciprocal effect on the program on the built form as well. PROGRAM - OBJECT AND MEANING PROGRAM - FRAGMENTATION OF IDENTITY 21 725s.f.publicbaths------------------------------------------ 3600s.f. detachedrooms----------------------------------- 12800 s.f. convention space-------------------------------- --------------- 250 s.f. administration------------------- administration--------------------------------- 600s.f. auditorium-------------------------------------------- ---- ---------- ----- ---------- 20020000sfmuseum---- 00sfmuseum---- ----------------------------- ------ - ----------- - - ------ ----- -- - ---- - - 2002000s.0s.f.museum -- - 2500 s.f. tent sites--------------------------------------------- 750s.f.kitchen------------------------------------------------- 1070s.f.bar----------------------------------------------------- 750s.f.cafe----------------------------------------------------- 120s.f. reception---------------------------------------------- 500s.f. entry---------------------------------------------------- 750 s.f. lobby--------------------------------------------------- 4000s.f. tour shops------------------------------------------- 5000s.f.artist/farmersmarket----------------------------- 11800s.f. attached suites----------------------------------- TOWARD THE WILDERNESS site and program proof N O R TH site plan EXPLORA ATACAMA - HOTEL, HORSE STABLES,HOT SPRINGS SAN PEDRO, CHILI GERMAN DEL SOL ARCHITECTS 1998-2000 SITE 1. entry 2. parking 3. stables 4. existing house 5. hotel 6. water treatment plant 7. sauna 8. pool site plan- objects in environment circulation transactional space/geometry public/private EXPLORA ATACAMA - HOTEL, HORSE STABLES,HOT SPRINGS SAN PEDRO, CHILI GERMAN DEL SOL ARCHITECTS 1998-2000 ground floor plan 12 12 12 HOTEL 1. entry 2. music 3. meeting 4. chapel 5. boiler 6. laundry 7. guest room 8. exhibition 9. storage 10. staff bedroom 11. staff living room 12. plaza trail built vs natural built touching riparian zone EXPLORA ATACAMA - HOTEL, HORSE STABLES,HOT SPRINGS SAN PEDRO, CHILI GERMAN DEL SOL ARCHITECTS 1998-2000 25 elevation interior path environmental response EXPLORA ATACAMA - HOTEL, HORSE STABLES,HOT SPRINGS SAN PEDRO, CHILI GERMAN DEL SOL ARCHITECTS 1998-2000 building section aa structure public vs private transactional space/horizontal structure EXPLORA ATACAMA - HOTEL, HORSE STABLES,HOT SPRINGS SAN PEDRO, CHILI GERMAN DEL SOL ARCHITECTS 1998-2000 room section private space/transactional space structure identity- anasazi 27 identity- tourism identity- tourism 29 identity- tourism identity- tourism 31 identity- industry .. ..:r.... ... 33 ,[ ~f.E. S. elIJ.!'!. P..!;; W. Q.L!' '"Strol linll<.lll, it .e<.111. to me ' hallh~ j,lrun~~s and "'undt.-r \If e_~I"tlll~ Ire L,nphasizcd h,Te, ill the .... ~n, by !he campanili"" ~P lrs ll!, oflt.c flon. WJd (nUll,: 11 ft' nol CTOI,d.."Cl upoo hf~ I~ In OIher pla'X3 but SI:$ltcr.:d _broad In sparcncn and slm­pli~\ ly, willi. 8(1K"I'WS gifl OJSpKC forCich hem and bush .nd troX, Clch ll:m of grass, iO !llIl the h~ing organism ilallds ()I.It bold and brave and \'i~­Id llgIinst the lifelcSi land lI1d batr:n ~k . •• l)~5crt SOlitaire by I::dward AI»:~' · ENTRY · WILDEItNESS SURV1V .... L · OUT[I()()R TOURING · BAI HKOM · MECHA;.l ICAL · Sl.NSl'ACI: . LOI3I1,( .I'i.)KI JLU , U:CTUItI:: n " , · FMI'I 0,(1:1\ 1100 1<; IM; · (OI . I:<;T I 101 IS!'\I(; . I'IJ1l1,IC n.o.TII · OPI:N TO nr;. J)W · '\j ·\TURM PRr:srRvr: , 5r.""SOI\,' L f'ONr> " I. " SITe PLAN 'B-, , ' , -' 35 .--------_/ L I --~-~. 2\ · NORTH ELEVATION SOUTH ELEVATION EAST ELEVATION WEST ELEVATION 37 SECTION BB SECTION AA FLOOR PLATES HIGH MASS( RAMMED EARTH) WALL RAMMED EARTH COLUMNS TRUSSES GLAZING STAINED CONCRETE ROOF 39 AUGUST21 AT NOON MARCH 21 AT NOON DECEMBER 21 AT NOON ef AUGUST 21 AT 4:00 PM MARCH 21 AT 4:00 PM DECEMBER 21 AT 4:00 PM VIEW A VIEW B 41 -- VIEW C 43 -- .- - ~ ~ : "-- 45 47 49 SUBJECTS: AMERICAN WEST ARCHITECTURE ECOTOURISM ETHNOGRAPHY IDENTITY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE URBAN PLANNING ENVIRONMENT Bruner, Edward M. Culture on Tour; Ethnographies of Travel. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005. Ethnography Bruner discusses the United States as a culture of tourism, a reinterpretation of the historical view of tourism as a participatory dialogue and debate within culture instead of a hi-erarchal image or representation of the culture being toured upon. Bruner states that tourism is not only seen as interaction of players, but also must be seen in larger political and economic context as mediating between global and local identities. Rothman, Hal K., ed. Reopening the American West. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1998. American West Rothman provides the history of the emerging tourism culture of the West and how it impacts western and national identity, which was crucial to my research in that it provided a comparison between tourism of the West in the past with my research on the ecotourism culture today. Sheller, Mimi and John Urry, eds. Tourism Mobilities: Places to play, places in play. New York: Routledge, 2004. Ecotourism Sheller and Urry define ecotourism and describe the typical ecotourist. This information is necessary for my research because it provides a basis for the design of my resort, the people it caters to, and site selection. McHarg, Ian L. Design with nature. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. Environment/Landscape Architecture/Urban Planning McHarg discusses the relationship between design and environmental analysis. His analysis technique was helpful in informing how I looked at regional qualities as well as site spe-cific analysis. Henderson, justin. JungleLuxe. Massachusetts: Rockport Publishers Inc., 2000. Remote Resort Design Henderson showcases some of the premier resorts around the world including some eco-resorts. This book provided me with information on my precedent of the Hotel Explora en Atacama, Chile. 51 Vickers, Graham. 21st Century Hotel. New York and London: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2005. Hotel Architecture Vickers displays new trends in hotel architecture such as the blending between lodgeing, lifestyle, and living theater. His topics include Traditional Reinterpretations, Mainstream Experiments, Original Ideas, Designer Hotels, and Architectural Significance. The topics were useful to me as they provided me with valuable precedents in eco-tourist resorts and there relationship to new forms of tourism. Showalter, Rick. Street map of Moab and the Spanish Valley. Moab: Canyon Country Publishing, 1997. Road and hiking trail map Showalter provided a resource describing the street layout as well as the local trails of the Moab and Spanish Valley region. Huffadine, Margaret. Resort Design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. Resort Design: planning, architecture, and interiors Huffadine provides an all-inclusive guide for the architectural design of vacation retreats. The book provides strategies, checklists, cases tudies, feasibility studies, etc. This book was helpful as it provided a very practical look at resort design including determining square footages etc. Rutes, Walter A. Penner, Richard H. Adams, Lawrence. Hotel Design, planning and developement. United Kingdom: W.W. Norton and Company, 2001. Hotel Design: planning and developement Hotel Design describes different hotel types such as downtown hotels and resort hotels. It also has a design guide portion, which includes topics such as site and master planning, public space, and guestroom design. Hall, Derek. Roberts, Lesley and Mitchell, Morgan., Ed. New Directions in Rural Tourism. Vermont: Ashgate publishing limited, 2003. Authenticity - tourist experiences in the Norwegian periphery The chapter on authenticity discusses different perceptions of authenticity. The authors describe these types as objective, constructive, and existential authenticity. By interpreting tourists answers to questions the authors were able to convey a subjective quality of what a tourist perceives as authentic. Huntoon, Peter W., Billingsley, George H. Jr. and Breed, William J. Geological map of Canyonlands and surrounding area. Washington D.C.: Williams & Heintz Map Corporation, 1982. Geologic descriptions and rock types of Moab region The map provides soil descriptions of the Moab area. It also records the faulting ion the region. This map helps me understand the geology of the area as well as the specific soils of my site. Sheller, Mimi. Urry, John. Tourism Mobilities. New York: Routledge, 2004. Tourism/ cultural studies/ sociology Using case studies and interviews the book describes tourisms new ‘mobilities' as changing processes of leisure, authenticity, and risk. It describes the social context of eco-tourism and its impacts on the tourist culture.