MACHINE OF ACCESS

Project Information

Academic Project: Cornell University, Spring 2012

Location: Berne, Switzerland

Project Team: Ryan Glick

Professors: Marilí Santos-Munné , Arthur Ovaska

Description: Bridging the gap between city and water this hotel operates as a machine of accessibility for the public of Berne. Allowing the building to grow out of the landscape and utilize the natural rock face creates a symbiotic relationship between built and natural form. 

An exterior plaza adjacent to one of the busiest corners in Berne marks the entry to all three circulation paths. Separation between public and private is key to keeping a functioning hotel and conference center and a public circulation path with unrestricted access.

Exiting the public circulation paths through the last remaining remnants of the historic city wall denotes leaving the project intervention. Similar to the public plaza marking the entry to the project, the historic stone structure identifies the end of the circulation through the project.