Vacancy Motel (2001)

This was a development project for a new type of business and building with the primary goal of supporting unstructured social activity. The resulting situation is the real art of the project- a sort of social theatre that is intended to transform the philosophy of luxury and disseminate subtle social change through the wider culture. Everything- the architecture and the service- is designed as a flexible framework to support a continuous party. It takes off from Lefebvre and the Situationists (who remained somewhat rooted in a Marxist viewpoint), to make something that works within the capitalist luxury economy to introduce change through open-ended social activity. I believe very strongly in the power of unstructured fun and open-ended experience to influence the broader culture. In practice this has led to a delicate balance between minimalist restraint, physical and psychic comfort-space, and indeterminate functionality. Not a heavy-handed program, or social engineering, just a designed–in ability to support social interchange when it occurs. The project is a real enterprise and was introduced through museum shows using forms that are typical to the business culture- a fundraising architectural model and a business plan which includes marketing analysis, cost estimates, and financial projections.