Big, Fancy, and Junk Space?

When people go on trips, a fancy hotel can be a luxury, sought after and coveted. They are supposed to make your trip that much better with all the amenities and pretty things. Take a look at those hotels though and ask yourself, what are they contributing to architecture? The old, historic hotels allow people to take a trip back in time with modern luxuries and I think that is a great way to preserve beautiful architecture. However, so many new hotels are modern volumes rising into the skies of our cities and disrupting the urban flow with their inward focused expanses that aim to offer anything you need without leaving. For example, John Portman’s Hyatt in San Francisco, California. The lobby is a beautiful space to walk into; the soaring height lets in natural light and the geometric form created makes it somewhere I want to stay a while. When I was there on my visit to San Francisco I was amazed by all the things to do inside and all the places to go. Outside though, the behemoth of a building is not something people wanted to interact with unless they were going there. I observed people walking to the opposite side of the street and avoiding it even though it was along the main thoroughfare to the Ferry Building. So is this building junk space? Do all the functions inside give enough value to discount people’s discomfort outside? I initially would not have labeled it as junk space because I was so taken with the interior, but architecture is not just for those that enter the building – it impacts everyone that sees it and walks by it.

Exterior of the Hyatt, San Francisco (https://singleflyer.com)

Interior lobby space of the Hyatt, San Francisco (portmanholdings.com)