Archivum

Archivum Hotel
An inspirational hotel is not just about space. We offer you more than space.

Archive / Archivum
Location : Town of La Isabela, Dominican Republic.“The practice of history in its modern mode is, in one view, just one long exercise of the deep satisfaction of finding things.” (Carolyn Steedman) These Archivum provide a vibrant, exuberant description of inspirational desire in action. Inspirational Hotel is, in effect, the burning and generative desire to chase the boundaries of the architecture itself — whether to catch them or to drive them off. And those boundaries are generic, as well as thematic.

Archive / the first church
The first mass in the first North America church was celebrated on 6 January 1494. Founded by Columbus during his second voyage in December 1493, La Isabela was named after Queen Isabella I of Castile. Columbus’ settlers built houses, storerooms, a Roman Catholic church, and a large house for Columbus. When little gold was found, Columbus proceeded to enslave the people of the island.

Archive / La Isabela
The church of La Isabela was originally built in 1494 and demolished in the late twenty century, then it has been built again by the local people. It can be seen as the origin of American first replica church architecture from 1500 years of development, as a conquer symbol to indigenous culture. In order to atone the slavery crime committed in this very place, and also celebrate the church architecture which originally developed in Spain and the Mediterranean. The Inspirational hotel (Archivum) offer fifteen representational studios for visitors to stay, not only to be a memorial to the history but to immerse in the interpreted space. These studios are inspired by the ancient architecture across Europe, in which as a respective ritual to the La Isabela church.

Archive / postmodernism
Theme parks like Disneyland are popular, others like ‘Thames Town’ and ‘Las Vegas’ in China followed the same principle. They are the most ”post-modern” town in the world, signs and symbols are meant to trick people fall into a fantasy. Moreover, ‘The White House’ in Washington D.C. is copied from ‘The Leinster House’ in Dublin (the Irish parliament). To a degree, “These classical and extraordinary works move away from us at great speed, in a continually accelerated fashion. They burrow into the past at a distance more and more comparable to that which separates us from archaeological digs.” (Derrida) In fact, we are still live in the era of post-modernism, ironic, and ‘copy and paste’. The Pomo period that would never end.

Archive / parallel space
Chapels / pulpits / tombs / aisles / altars / arches: the interiors of religious architecture are populated by many smaller elements. These elements and forms within larger spaces and forms linked specific period with different need. These space are created to calm visitor and generate infinity and sacred feel, as well as creating an unexpected, surreal and intimate experience inside an otherwise monumental space. There is certainly evidence that the construction of religious buildings over the centuries helped artistic movements develop, both because of the money lavished on their construction and decoration, and the resulting visual spectacle they provided. They were symbols of the powerful place religion held in society. All through the history of the United States immigrants have built places of worship as an integral part of their assimilation process. It is a way of announcing their arrival in a foreign land as they carry with them their customs, culture, art, languages, and music. The proposal creates a linear grand hallway in the central to connect each studio on one side. On the other side, it links the community space, silence room, group room, library, and gallery. The studio space is correspondence to fifteen chosen church, which can be traced back to Genesis time. They are designed and assembled from element to element, space to space. The project describes this nested condition as one of the monumental intimacy, therefore, to creates a familiar space to encourage creativity.

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