Mastering Hotel Design From Beginning To End

4 Pages 986 Words

A developer’s vision for an out-of-this-world resort is often much grander than the real-world budget will allow. This hard reality demands a hotel design team capable of making the vision affordable.
A key step in making a project affordable is involving the major design team members at the very outset of the project. When an experienced architect joins with a developer from the beginning, the team can develop a cohesive concept and establish a suitable
budget.
The ideal situation is to involve the design team in the development of a master plan. The design firm is responsible for—and compensated for—generating ideas for utilising the site, accommodating future growth and expansion, and phasing of development.
IN THE BEGINNING
Hotel developers often have in-house staff capable of producing conceptual plans for hotel and resort projects. Such drawings need to be examined carefully to make sure the program is complete. An architectural firm with considerable hospitality expertise can review conceptual drawings with an eye for programming and point out what is missing. Once any programmatic or area adjustments are made, the preliminary concept can be refined into a schematic design.
It is critical that the architect is brought in as early as possible, even with a fully defined program. Failing to evaluate both the program and the developer-provided conceptual design means that time and money will be lost as problems surface later in the design process.
CAN YOU VISUALIZE IT?
Project imagery boards help all participants visualise design direction. After meeting with the client and listening intently, the architect can begin researching and gathering images that reflect the developer’s vision for the project. Image boards with architectural, landscape and furniture depictions convey the atmosphere and aesthetic of the project. The development team can determine if these images represent their ideas about the project, or if ...