




Architecture - Projects By Professionals
The Cocoon Hotel by Dodeca Architects

Cocoon Hotel by Dodeca Architects
A "soft" hotel designed to shelter guests from a "hard" industrial environment, the new hotel not only provide accommodations but an expanse of new green spaces for the public to enjoy. The new hotel also connects to its sister hotel - a recycled silo - and features rooms on the perimeter called "skins," some of which double as galleries overlooking a state-of-the-art amphitheater, creating a new cultural pole complete with vertical gardens, a passive cooling system and more. Located on the roof of a building in an industrial environment, the green spaces soften an otherwise hard space to make guests feel more comfortable.
The Cocoon and Silo hotels provide shelter to visitors of the nearby ampitheatre and exhibition center, creating the ultimate multipurpose building in an industrial environment.
The perimeter of the building is wrapped in a tensile fabric that is operated by each guest electronically. This allows the building to breathe.
The Cocoon Hotel is connected to its sister Silo Hotel via an elevated umbilical cord.
A rendering of the amphitheater - certain rooms double as galleries.
The cube rooms are ideal for professionals seeking a quiet, high-tech space in which to work, unimpeded by the amphitheater events
This design diagram demonstrates the entire layout of the two hotels, the ampitheatre, and the nearby exhibition center
The outer skin rooms are wrapped in a tensile fabric that allow the entire building to breathe. Each guest can operate their own “skin” electronically, opening and closing it according to their needs. Completely private, this outrules the necessity of either curtains or blinds. This “living” skin also reduces heat gain during hot African summers and wards off cold air in winter, while acting as a “greenhouse” for each room’s vertical garden. Situated in the timber-decked terraces, the gardens are designed to provide oxygen, passive cooling, and humidification for the entire structure.
Green spaces located between adjoining rooms gives guests the sense that they are in a corner room with two glass sides, and cylindrical showers jutting out into the garden provide a private outdoor shower experience. These rooms are also aerated through the adjacent, perforated floors.
The cube rooms comprise an entirely different environment better suited to high-tech artists, designers and other tech-savvy professionals. Here three 3x3x3 meter cubes are chained together to create a bedroom, full bathroom and an office. When the guest inserts their card, the room lights up. When they exit, the entire room – like a giant computer – shuts down, thereby reducing energy consumption. These rooms are also soundproof.
Although not every guest is required to participate with what is happening in the ampitheatre, booking one of the 20 box rooms that teeter over its edge is certainly an option.
Links:
Dodeca Architects
Via: Inhabitat
Architect Information
Name: Dodeca ArchitectsWebsite URL: http://www.dodeca.co.za/
Email: concepts@dodeca.co.za
Contact Name: Dodeca Architects
Country Name: USA
Project Information
Name Of Project: The Cocoon Hotel by Dodeca ArchitectsLocation: The Cocoon Hotel
Design Team: Dodeca Architects
Project Type: Hotel
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Cost of Construction: 0
Date of Completion: 0000-00-00
Construction and Consultant Information
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Concepts Section
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