HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTRE, AWKA

HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTRE,
AWKA
(A study on functional circulation in a
hotel facility)
M.Sc. (ARCH.) THESIS REPORT
By
AKAH CHARLES C.
PG/MSC/08/53497
SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES,
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE,
FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES,
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, ENUGU CAMPUS
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc.) IN ARCHITECTURE.
JUNE, 2012
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TITLE PAGE
HOTEL AND CONFERENCE
CENTRE, AWKA
(A study on functional circulation between
spaces in a hotel facility)
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CERTIFICATION
AKAH, CHARLES C., a post-graduate student of the Department of Architecture
with registration number PG/M.Sc/08/53497 has satisfactorily completed the
requirements for the course and research work for the degree of Master of Science
in Architecture. The work embodied in this report is original and has not been
submitted in part or full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other
University.
……………………..................................................................................
AKAH CHARLES C.
DATE
Author
…………………………………………………………………….…………………
.
ARC. (DR.) UZUEGBUNAM F.O.
DATE
Supervisor
……………………………………………………………………………..………..
ARC. OSEFOH F.C.
Head, Department of Architecture
DATE
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My heart-felt gratitude goes out to the myriad of individuals that have contributed
in one way or the other to the success of this work. Space will be inadequate for a
full list of their names. However, key amongst them are the following:
•
Arc. (Dr.)Uzuegbunam F.O.my lecturer and supervisor;for his fatherly
guidance throughout the course of this work. I will be eternally grateful through
my architectural practice for the knowledge I have acquired from this exercise.
•
Onyekachi Ejimofor., for helping me print a huge chunk of this work at a
time without pay. Only God can reward such an act of kindness.
•
The authors of the books and other literature materials I consulted in the
course of writing this work. My writing would have been mere verbosity if they
had not carried out earlier studies in this area. My gratitude cannot be
overemphasized.
•
Librarians at the UNEC library, for making the process of book borrowing
less bureaucratic.
•
My parents; Mr and Mrs C.O. Akah; for their moral and financial support
throughout my M.Sc. programme. May you live long to see the fruit of your
labour.
I will remain grateful to these and several innumerable others. God bless you all
richly.
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DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to the loving memory of Arc. Ikechukwu ―Iyke‖ Ifeanacho.
A colossus who was cut off too soon.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE......................................................................................................................... i
CERTIFICATION ..................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................iii
DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. ix
LIST OF PLATES ..................................................................................................................x
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................................. xiv
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ xv
Chapter 1
: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1
1.0
BACKGROUND OF STUDY ...................................................................................... 1
1.1
STATEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEM ..................................................... 4
1.2
AIM OF STUDY ........................................................................................................ 5
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY .......................................................................................... 5
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .............................................................................. 5
1.5
MOTIVATION .......................................................................................................... 7
1.6
STATEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEM ....... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.7
LIMITATION OF STUDY .......................................................................................... 9
1.8
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 9
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 12
2.0.
OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................ 12
2.1.
HOTELS AND HOSPITALITY ................................................................................ 12
2.2.
HISTORY OF HOTELS AND HOSPITALITY .......................................................... 13
2.3.
CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS .............................................................................. 24
2.3.1.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SERVICE COST .................................................. 25
2.3.2.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON STAR RATING ................................................... 26
2.3.3.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SCOPE OF SERVICES RENDERED ................... 29
2.4.
2.4.1.
CONFERENCE OR CONVENTION HALLS ............................................................. 30
SOCIAL GATHERINGS IN ANCIENT TIMES ..................................................... 31
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2.4.2.
2.5.
SOCIAL GATHERINGS IN MODERN TIMES ..................................................... 32
ARCHITECTURAL (SPACE) PROGRAMMING ...................................................... 33
2.5.1.
BRIEF BACKGROUND ....................................................................................... 33
2.5.2.
TYPES OF PROGRAMMING .............................................................................. 35
2.5.3.
THE ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAMMING PROCESS ........................................ 37
2.5.4.
THE STEPS IN ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAMMING ........................................ 38
2.5.5.
RELEVANT CODES AND STANDARDS ............................................................. 46
2.6.
SPACE SYNTAX...................................................................................................... 47
2.6.1.
BACKGROUND ................................................................................................... 47
2.6.2.
MEANS FOR DESCRIBING, EXPLAINING, PREDICTING AND DESIGNING .... 48
2.6.3.
SPACE SYNTAX AT THE URBAN SCALE .......................................................... 49
2.6.4.
SPACE SYNTAX IN INTERIOR SPACES ............................................................ 50
2.6.5.
WHY AND WHEN TO USE SPACE SYNTAX ..................................................... 51
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................... 52
Chapter 3 : GENERAL GUIDELINES AND ISSUES RELATING TO THE DESIGN ............ 54
3.1
OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................ 54
3.2
SITE CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................................... 54
3.3
GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN HOTEL CIRCULATION .............................................. 56
3.3.1
BACK OF THE HOUSE (BACKGROUND SERVICES THAT KEEP A HOTEL
RUNNING) ......................................................................................................................... 57
3.3.1.1
Laundry facilities .............................................................................................. 59
3.3.1.2
Housekeeping department............................................................................... 59
3.3.1.3
Food and beverage service............................................................................... 60
3.3.1.4
Mechanical spaces ............................................................................................ 60
3.3.1.5
Administrative area .......................................................................................... 61
3.3.2
FRONT OF THE HOUSE (MAIN HOTEL AREAS AS SEEN BY GUESTS) .......... 61
3.3.2.1
Guest registration ............................................................................................. 62
3.3.2.2
Advance reservation ......................................................................................... 63
3.3.2.3
Mail and keys..................................................................................................... 64
3.3.2.4
Cashiers, ATM and POS terminals ................................................................... 65
3.3.2.5
Administrative area .......................................................................................... 67
3.3.2.6
Restaurant facilities .......................................................................................... 68
3.3.2.7
Hotel lobbies ..................................................................................................... 69
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3.3.2.8
Elevators ............................................................................................................ 69
3.3.2.9
Guest floor corridors ........................................................................................ 70
3.3.2.10
Guest rooms closets ...................................................................................... 71
3.3.2.11
Banqueting facilities ..................................................................................... 71
3.3.3
3.4
3.4.1
3.5
GUEST ROOMS .................................................................................................. 72
SPACE ALLOTMENT IN A HOTEL ........................................................................ 76
GENERAL DATA ................................................................................................ 78
GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN CONFERENCE CENTRE DESIGN .............................. 81
3.5.1
GUIDELINES AND SPACE REQUIREMENTS IN CONFERENCE HALLS .......... 81
3.5.1.1
SIGHT LINES ...................................................................................................... 81
3.5.1.2
PLAN .................................................................................................................. 83
3.5.1.3
SECTION ............................................................................................................ 86
3.6
OTHER ISSUES RELATING TO CONFERENCE HOTEL DESIGN ......................... 87
3.6.1
WATER SUPPLY ................................................................................................ 87
3.6.2
DRAINAGE AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL .............................................................. 88
3.6.3
WASTE/REFUSE COLLECTION ........................................................................ 89
3.6.4
COMMUNICATION ............................................................................................ 90
3.6.5
HEATING VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING ...................................... 91
3.6.6
SECURITY .......................................................................................................... 93
3.6.7
FIRE SAFETY ..................................................................................................... 93
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................... 96
Chapter 4 : CASE STUDIES ............................................................................................... 97
4.1
NICON HILTON (TRANSCORP) HOTEL, ABUJA .................................................. 97
4.2
SHERATON (HYATT REGENCY) HOTEL, ABUJA............................................... 111
4.3
THE KIGALI CONVENTION COMPLEX ............................................................... 121
4.3.1
BACKGROUND ................................................................................................. 122
4.3.2
THE CONVENTION CENTRE .......................................................................... 122
4.3.3
THE CONVENTION HOTEL............................................................................. 124
4.3.4
CRITICAL APPRAISAL..................................................................................... 126
4.4
4.4.1
EKO HOTEL AND SUITES ................................................................................... 126
CRITICAL APPRAISAL..................................................................................... 133
Chapter 5 : SITE LOCATION AND ANALYSIS ................................................................ 134
5.1
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF NIGERIA ......................................................... 134
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5.2
5.2.1
5.3
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF ANAMBRA STATE ......................................... 137
KEY FACTS....................................................................................................... 139
BRIEF BACKGROUND ON ANAMBRA STATE ................................................... 140
5.3.1
POPULATION................................................................................................... 141
5.3.2
ECONOMY ........................................................................................................ 141
5.3.3
PHYSICAL FEATURES ..................................................................................... 141
5.3.4
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS ................................................................................. 149
5.4
MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN ANAMBRA STATE................................... 159
5.5
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF AWKA ............................................................. 163
5.6
SITE LOCATION STUDY ...................................................................................... 166
5.6.1
SITE SELECTION CRITERIA ........................................................................... 166
5.6.2
SITE LOCATION STUDIES............................................................................... 171
5.7
SITE CHARACTERISTICS AND ANALYSIS ......................................................... 176
REFERENCES................................................................................................................... 181
Chapter 6 : DESIGN SYNTHESIS..................................................................................... 183
6.1
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY ......................................................................................... 183
6.2
DESIGN CONCEPT ............................................................................................... 183
6.3
SPACE REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................................... 186
6.4
SPACE REQUIREMENTS AND ALLOCATION .................................................... 199
6.5
CRITERIA FOR MATERIAL SELECTION ............................................................ 207
6.6
CHOICE OF MATERIALS ..................................................................................... 208
6.7
CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 209
REFERENCES................................................................................................................... 211
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2:0-1: Hotel star ratings and their interpretation .......................................... 27
Table 2:0-2: Hotel star ratings continued ............................................................... 28
Table 3.4.1-1: Relationship between number of elevators and the number of rooms
in a hotel ................................................................................................................. 80
Table 5.3.4-1: Summary of the highest total rainfall amounts and the number of
rain days for two months ...................................................................................... 155
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LIST OF PLATES
Plate 2.2-1: Grapical illustration of the growth in the hospitality industry during the
ancient times ........................................................................................................... 15
Plate 2.2-2: The rebirth of the Hospitality industry after the renaissance era. ....... 16
Plate 2.2-3: The Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Japan is the world's oldest hotel still
in existence. It started operations in 705 AD. ........................................................ 17
Plate 2.2-4: Drawing of the old Tremont hotel. a hotel with many "firsts"............ 18
Plate 2.2-5: Auguste Escoffier, French culinary genius who changed the art of
hotel cuisine ............................................................................................................ 20
Figure 2.4.1-1: The Colosseum in Rome, a conference and meeting arena in
ancient times ........................................................................................................... 32
Plate 2.5.4-1: Phantom corridors and tares in a typical office floor layout ............ 45
Plate 3.3.1-1: Example of a layout of background services in a hotel ................... 58
Plate 3.4-1: Relationship between front office space and the number of rooms in a
hotel. ....................................................................................................................... 77
Plate 3.4-2: Graph showing the relationship building height and number of guest
rooms in a hotel ...................................................................................................... 77
Plate 3.4.1-1: Graph showing relationship between typical guest floor area and the
number of guest rooms in a hotel ........................................................................... 79
Plate 3.4.1-2: Graph showing relationship between the total number of elevators
and the number of guest rooms in a hotel............................................................... 79
Plate 3.4.1-3: Graph showing relationship between the guest rooms per floor and
the number of guest rooms in a hotel ..................................................................... 80
Plate 4.1-1: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Properly Landscaped Dual Carriage
Entrance .................................................................................................................. 99
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Plate 4.1-2: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Ground Floor Level ............................. 100
Plate 4.1-3: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Second Ground Floor Level ................. 100
Plate 4.1-4: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Mezzanine Level ................................... 101
Plate 4.1-5: NICON HILTON ABUJA- ARIAL VIEW ...................................... 101
Plate 4.1-6: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Main Entrance and Drop-Off with External
façade .................................................................................................................... 102
Plate 4.1-7: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Service Road and ―Back of House‖ ..... 102
Plate 4.1-8: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Conference Hall Kicked off the Tower 103
Plate 4.1-9: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Piano Lounge Very Spacious(Source:
ng.hilton.com, 2012)............................................................................................. 103
Plate 4.1-10: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Presidential suite ................................. 104
Plate 4.1-11: NICON HILTON ABUJA-King Deluxe Suite ............................... 104
Plate 4.1-12: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Royal Bath ........................................... 105
Plate 4.1-13: NICON HILTON ABUJA –Recreational Facilities ....................... 105
Plate 4.1-14: NICON HILTON ABUJA -Imo and Rivers meeting hall .............. 106
Plate 4.1-15: NICON HILTON Abuja -Kaduna meeting hall .............................. 106
Plate 4.1-16: NICON HILTON ABUJA -Capital Bar .......................................... 107
Plate 4.1-17: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Congress Hall .................................... 107
Plate 4.1-18: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Leisure Village .................................. 108
Plate 4.1-19: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Fulani Pool Bar.................................. 108
Plate 4.1-20: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Leisure Pool....................................... 109
Plate 4.2-1: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Perspective View ......................... 115
Plate 4.2-2: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Lobby Bar .................................... 116
Plate 4.2-3: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Papillion Top ............................... 116
Plate 4.2-4: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Classic Room ............................... 117
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Plate 4.2-5: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Luigis Restaurant ......................... 117
Plate 4.2-6: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Obudu Restaurant ........................ 118
Plate 4.2-7: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Conference Facilities ................... 118
Plate 4.2-8: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Water Body/Greenery Within the
courtyard ............................................................................................................... 119
Plate 4.2-9: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – ARIAL VIEW .............................. 119
Plate 4.3.2-1: Interior view of the 2600 capacity convention hall showing the effect
of the translucent roofing...................................................................................... 123
Plate 4.3.2-2: Exterior dome of the convention hall ............................................. 123
Plate 4.3.2-3: Foyer of the convention centre ....................................................... 124
Figure 4.3.3-1: Pool area of the convention hotel ................................................ 125
Plate 4.4-1: Perspective view of the hotel ............................................................ 129
Plate 4.4-2: External Façade with good Views from Balconies ........................... 130
Plate 4.4-3: Properly Planned Car Lots and Delivery Bay ................................... 131
Plate 4.4-4: The Pool bar ...................................................................................... 131
Plate 4.4-5: Interior of the presidential suite ........................................................ 132
Plate 5.1-1: Map of Nigeria showing the 36 states and the FCT (Abuja) ............ 134
Plate 5.1-2: Map of Nigeria Showing Climate ..................................................... 135
Plate 5.1-3: Map of Nigeria showing annual average Temperature ..................... 135
Plate 5.1-4: Map of Nigeria Showing Rain Distribution ...................................... 136
Plate 5.1-5: Vegetation map of Nigeria ................................................................ 137
Plate 5.2-1: Location map of Anambra ................................................................ 138
Plate 5.2-2: Map of Anambra state showing the 21 local government areas ....... 139
Plate 5.3.3-1: Soil zones in Nigeria showing Anambra State............................... 148
Plate 5.3.4-1: Mean Annual Temperature Distribution in Nigeria ....................... 151
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Plate 5.3.4-2: Dry Season Winds and Rainfall Pattern ......................................... 153
Plate 5.3.4-3: Total Annual Rainfall in Nigeria ................................................... 154
Plate 5.3.4-4: Relative Humidity (January) .......................................................... 158
Plate 5.6.1-1: Picture showing the site overtaken by shrubs and grasses ............. 171
Plate 5.6.2-1: Awka Capital Territory (Base Map) showing Greenwoods Layout
.............................................................................................................................. 172
Plate 5.6.2-2: Awka plan, showing the proposed site (bounded by red lines) ..... 173
Plate 5.6.2-3: The proposed site (bounded by) red lines showing possible access
roads and neighbouring facilities.......................................................................... 174
Plate 5.6.2-4: Uncompleted private estate south of the proposed site .................. 175
Plate 5.7-1: Site location....................................................................................... 177
Plate 5.7-2: Roundabout intersecting Nnamdi Azikiwe Ave. and Awka-Nibo Ring
Road ...................................................................................................................... 178
Plate 5.7-3: Awka-Nibo Ring Road...................................................................... 178
Plate 6.3-1: : Diagram showing space configuration of typical hotel room and
bathroom ............................................................................................................... 191
Plate 6.3-2: Diagram showing relationship between functional spaces and service
roots ...................................................................................................................... 193
Plate 6.3-3: Diagram showing relationship between services and guest room .... 193
Plate 6.3-4: Diagram showing interrelationship between rooms on hotel ground
floor ...................................................................................................................... 198
Plate 6.3-5: Diagram showing relationship back of house circulation ................. 199
Figure 6.4-1: Diagram showing showing area requirement per hotel room ......... 200
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustration 5.7-1: Site analysis ............................................................................. 176
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ABSTRACT
Currently, Awka, the capital of Anambra state is a long way behind most of its
peers in infrastructural development. One of the facilities the town lacks is a
suitable venue for holding conferences of international standards. This therefore
gives rise to the need for a conference hotel that will provide a venue for holding a
broad array of meetings as well as accommodation for attendees of such meetings.
Circulation and functionality are the major problems with the design of a facility of
this nature. This study therefore aims at identifying the relationships between the
spaces in a conference hotel and having a good understanding of how circulation
between these spaces can be achieved to form a functional building. Objectives
that were taken to achieve this aim include; having a clear understanding of the
functional requirements of each space in a typical hotel and conference centre,
studying the relationships between these spaces and how they function integrally
and making use of tools such as space syntax to establish a background which can
be adopted in the design of future hotels and conference centres. The use of case
studies was the main research methodology in this study and this helped to
establish a clearer understanding of the subject matter from the study of preexisting facilities.
In the end, the study helped to establish a pattern for the planning of a conference
hotel facility that will foster circulation and free flow of human and vehicular
traffic.
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Chapter 1 : INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The classical architect; Vitruvius is famous for asserting in his book De
architectura that a building must exhibit the three qualities of firmitas, utilitas, and
venustas – that is; it must be structurally sound, functional and beautiful(Vitruvius,
1960).It is interesting to note that in the ancient Roman era in which Vitruvius
lived, there must have been a myriad of issues which would have been competing
for a pride of place in the mind of a building designer in the course of carrying out
his work. Vitruvius was however able to narrow them down to three, amongst
whichutilitas(or functionality) was by no means the least. This is an indication that
even in the early days of architectural development, the functionality (or usefulness
for the intended purpose) of a structure had been a major factor of consideration in
its design.
This belief in the supremacy of functional considerations in building design has
been carried through the various eras of architectural development– albeit in
varying forms. One of the most recent examples of these was when,in the early
years of the 20th century, Chicago architect Louis Sullivan popularized the phrase
'form follows function' to capture his belief that a building's size, massing, spatial
grammar and other characteristics should be driven solely by the function of the
building. The implication is that if the functional aspects are satisfied, architectural
beauty would naturally and necessarily follow(Forty, 2000). Also toeing the same
line was the gothic revival architect; Augustus Welby Pugin. Pugin stated in one of
his many lectures on his functionalist views that; ―there should be no features
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about a building which are not necessary for convenience, construction, or
proprietyandall ornament should consist of enrichment of the essential
construction of the building‖(Pugin, 1956). Put simply, Pugin was of the view that
any element of a building which had no obvious function should not be in the
building in the first place.The ideologies of men like Sullivan and Pugin eventually
became the founding creed of a movement in architecture known as
―functionalism‖, whose followers believe inthe principle that architects should
design buildings based solely on the intended purpose of the buildings in question.
While making sure not to give an express endorsement to the views of
functionalists, it will be fair at this point to state that architecture, as expressed in
the design of any singular structure, would be incomplete if the structure in
question lacked an intrinsic ability to withstand and permit the carrying out of the
functions for which it was intended. In other words, one can tell a good building by
assessing the ability of the building to function as one. A good hospital,for
example,should function as a place for healing, a good residential building should
function as a home, a good hotel should meet the requirements of all the functions
taking place within it, and so on.
Functional considerations become more complex and intertwined as the
complexity of the building increases. This is evident in buildings such as hotels.
Traditionally, a hotel can be defined as an establishment that provides paid lodging
on a short-term basis, a building where travellers can pay for lodging and meals
and other services(Lewis, 2007). Over the years however, more emphasis has been
placed on these ―other services‖. Modern hotels are ascribed star ratings based on
the variety and quality of other services they can offer in addition to lodging. These
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can range from conference facilities, gymnasiums and spas, to indoor games, night
clubs and casinos amongst others.In the face of competition and modernization,
hotels keep adding more functions to their repertoire.So much so, that some have
been known to boast of being a home away from home where one can live in for a
long time without needing anything from outside the hotel premises(Wikimedia
foundation, 2011).
As the size and variety of services offered in hotels increase, the problem of proper
functional integration of these, sometimes conflicting,activities also increases.This
study focuses on a hotel with an integrated conference centre. It starts by
determining all the spaces that will be required in a facility of that nature and the
relationships between them, at least on a superficial basis. It then proceeds to use
techniques such as space syntax and space network analysis to try to establish a
background for a more functional relationship which can be adopted in the design
of future hotels and conference centres. All these will be done without losing touch
with the context and peculiarities of the site of the proposed facility – Awka,
Anambra State.
Awka is the capital of Anambra State, Nigeria, with an estimated population of
301,657 according to the 2006 Nigerian census. The city is located about 600 miles
east of Lagos in the centre of the densely-populated Igbo heartland in south-eastern
Nigeria (Wikimedia foundation, 2011). Since its creation as a state capital from the
old Anambra state in 1991, Awka has found it difficult to stand its ground as a real
state capital in comparison with other capitals around Nigeria. This is evidenced by
its wanton lack of basic infrastructure and planning. The basic infrastructure of the
city was built at a time when the town was much smaller and this has deteriorated
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in the last decade with poor roads, intermittent electricity and a non-functional
water supply system becoming the norm due to tremendous graft at all levels of the
government. The population of the city has grown significantly since 1991 but the
city infrastructure has not improved in equal measure. Today, there are virtually no
well-designed facilities that can handle recreational and corporate events – hence
this study.
1.1 STATEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEM
Amongst cities in Nigeria, Awka, the capital of Anambra State is not a prime
destination for conferences and other social events. This is not because there are no
venues that purport to support such activities but because these venues are
oftentimes not adequately suited and properly designed for such events. At the
heart of the inadequacies of these venues is a fundamental failure of their
architectural designs especially as it relates to functionality. Examples of these are
strewn all over the Awka metropolis but the author will love to refrain from
naming any to avoid goring anyone’s ox.
This study attempts to provide an architectural solution to this dilemma. It focuses
on understanding the functional relationships between spaces with different
uses and applying this knowledge to the design of a hotel and conference centre
befitting of the status of Awka as a Nigerian state capital.The key words here are
―functional relationship‖ and ―space‖. The spaces to be created in the project will
be carefully analyzed to establish the functional relationships between them and in
turn the results obtained will be used in planning a scheme for a functional hotel
and conference centre.
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1.2 AIM OF STUDY
This study aims at identifying the relationships between the spaces in a hoteland
conference centre and to have a good understanding of how circulation between
these spaces can be achieved to form a functional building.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The objectives encompass the following;
1. To have a clear understanding of the functional requirements of each space
in a typical hotel and conference centre especially as it relates to the Awka
locality.
2. To study the relationships between these spaces and how they function
integrally.
3. To make use of tools such as space syntax and space network analysis to
establish a background for a more functional relationship which can be
adopted in the design of future hotels and conference centres.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
There is no need to re-emphasize at this point the obvious lack of well-designed
infrastructure within the Awka metropolis. The capital can be classed amongst the
set of new state capitals that ―just happened‖. This is evident in the unabashed
manner of random development taking place in the town.Housing and other real
estate developments are carried out in most cases without a clearly defined master
plan. As a result, the town is sprawling with tons of urban problems ranging from
poor drainage systems to a poor urban road network.
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Following decades of neglect and poor urban governance in Anambra State, the
Government of Peter Obi forged a technical cooperation agreement with The
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) in 2007 to
provide technical assistance in the preparation of structure plans for three cities in
Anambra State, namely Awka Capital Territory, Nnewi and Onitsha(UNHABITAT, 2009). The proposed Capital Territory stretches across six local
government areas Anaocha, Awka North, Awka South, Dunukofia, Njikoka, and
Orumba North. An area with an estimated total population of 1,000,911 (according
to the 2006 census). The Structural Plan calls for proper land use planning, water
supply systems, industrial development, road networks, drainage, waste disposal,
efficient transportation systems and overall city beautification in Awka Capital
Territory.
This study aligns itself with this new government agenda. The proposed
government structural plan for Awka aims at transforming the city into a more
modern one with infrastructure that can compete with those existing in the best
areas of Nigeria and beyond. If this goal is achieved, Awka will be transformed
into a destination of choice for both tourists and business people alike. The design
of a hotel and conference facility that will cater for the needs of this anticipated
throng of visitors and residents is the crux of this study. The study aims at using
the principles of space planning in architecture to arrive at a hotel and conference
centre that will rival any such facility currently in existence within the Awka
metropolis.
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1.5 MOTIVATION
The fundamental motivation for this study was the desire to give the Awka capital
territory a face-lift. Anambra state as a whole has become notorious in recent times
for spawning things bordering on the negative. From election thuggery to armed
robbery and unchecked conversion of state funds for personal use by the political
class. These have no doubt rubbed off on the general appearance of its cities and
towns. Onitsha, the biggest city in Anambra state, was once a well laid out city and
a shining centre of commerce well renowned in West Africa. Today, it is a very
dark shadow of its former self. The piles of refuse that litter the city are just a
precursor to an environmental disaster waiting to happen in the near future.
This study was born out of a strong desire by the author to ensure that the
relatively nascent Awka metropolis does not go the way of Onitsha.Being a state
capital entails that the city should be able to play host to a wide range of
government and private sector events ranging from the corporate and formal to the
leisurely and informal.A well-designed hotel and conference centre will achieve
the two-pronged goal of providing a venue for events on the one hand, and offering
accommodation for people who will be staying in the city for more than a day on
the other hand. Although one has to admit that no singular structure can change the
face of an entire city, the author hopes that this study will set a precedent for
similar projects that will come to dot the Awka landscape in the near future and
eventually transform the city into a modern state capital.
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1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The aim of the study is to provide a functional hotel and conference facility for the
Awka metropolis. The scope will therefore cover the functional design of all the
main and ancillary buildings that will be necessary for such a facility. The major
buildings for the proposed facility will include the following:
A Hotel
The facility will include a hotel with a minimum of three (3) star rating that will
provide accommodation and other services for guests. The other services provided
in the hotel will include – but not be limited to – a laundry, a functional restaurant,
conference room and an internet café.The hotel will be able to function
independent of the conference centre to cater for guests who are not in Awka for
any conference activity.
A conference centre
A conference centre with a main auditorium capacity of at least one thousand
(1000) people.The conference centre will also have other ancillary facilities key to
its proper functioning. Like the hotel, it should be able to function independently
and still be seamlessly integrated with the hotel in one site.
These facilities will be designed with proper attention being paid to their functional
relationships at every point along the course of the study. In addition, site facilities
such as recreational facilities, parking lots and other landscape features will be
incorporated in the design for a proper functioning of the design.
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1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY
Thisstudy is limited by certain factors which are inevitable.For example, proper
research methods require thatone travels to different countries especially the
developed nations, where one can physically observe first-hand solutions,
techniques and research methodologies that have been used to solve the stated
problems. Due to financial constraints however, all international case studies
required will be conducted via the internet.
This research is also limited to the problem of inadequate data in the local
environment. As a result of the blatant mediocre standards of Nigerian hotels, most
of the literature used in this research will be pegged towards data and concepts
more relevant to developed nations.
1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study will employ both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
However, more emphasis will be laid on the qualitative approach in which personal
observation through case studies and interview with professionals will be analysed.
The quantitative method involves the analysis of data collected through
questionnaires. These methodologies will enable the research to be carried out
comprehensively and the details on the result of these research methods will be
discussed in chapter four. These research methods will gather information from
both primary and secondary data sources. The data sources to be used are
expatiated below:-
Primary data collection will involve collection of physical data through means
such as;
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-
Oral interviews with professionals and laymen
-
Carrying out physical case studies by visiting hotels and conference
facilities especially where these have been successfully integrated onto one
site.
-
Taking of photographs
Secondary data sources will involve the gathering of information from books,
newspapers and magazine, the internet, encyclopedia, and other published and
unpublished materials by authors on the same area of study.
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REFERENCES
Books
Forty, A. (2000). "Function", Words and Buildings, A Vocabulary of Modern
Architecture. New York: Thames & Hudson.
Lewis, A. (2007). Wordweb dictionary. Cambridge: Princeton press.
Vitruvius, P. (1960). The Ten Books on Architecture (translated by Morris Hicky
Morgan). New York: Courier Dover Publications.
Journals and other materials
UN-HABITAT. (2009). Structure plan for Awka and satellite towns. Nairobi:
United Nations Human Settlements Programme.
Unpublished material
Pugin,
A.
(1956).
The
true
principles
of
pointed
or
Christian
architecture.Unpublished
Website
Wikimedia foundation. (2011, September 23). Awka. Retrieved October 2, 2011,
from Wikipedia Online encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awka
Wikimedia foundation. (2011, September 6). Hotel. Retrieved September 8, 2011,
from Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel
P a g e | 12
Chapter 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0. OVERVIEW
This study focuses on the finding out ways of creating a hotel and conference
centre whose individual spaces are well integrated in a functional manner that in
the end will smack of architectural unison and aesthetic appeal. The key items of
note are the general concepts of hotels and hospitality, conferences and
conventions, space integration and space programming. In this section, a good deal
of effort will go into trying to decipher the fundamental rudiments of these
aforementioned concepts. A critical look will be taken at the concept behind hotels
and hospitality in general and their evolution through the ages. The same will be
done for the concept of conferences and conventions as a part of the human
culture. These will be done against the background of an architectural study that
will look into how these functions have been considered in the assignment of
spaces in buildings over the course of history.
2.1. HOTELS AND HOSPITALITY
The English word; ―hospitality‖ is derived from the French word ―hospice‖ which
means to provide for the weary or to take care of those travelling. In its simplest
form, a hotel basically is an establishment that provides lodging paid on a shortterm basis (Wikimedia foundation, 2011). The Merriam-Webster dictionary goes a
step further to define it as an establishment that provides lodging and usually
meals, entertainment, and various personal services for the public (MerriamWebster, 2012). From the foregoing, it is clear that a hotel’s basic purpose is to
cater to the lodging needs of people who are away from home. In so doing
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however, they cater to a wider range of needs that over time have evolved to be
considered amongst the minimum requirements of a good hotel. Some of these
requirements that have evolved to become considered a basic requirement of hotels
include conference facilities. Before taking a critical look at this area which is the
crux of this study, it will be good to take a look at the evolution of hotels over the
ages.
2.2. HISTORY OF HOTELS AND HOSPITALITY
The history of hotels is intimately connected to that of civilization itself. Evidence
of hospitality emerged in the early Greek and Roman cultures as early as 40 BC.
There is even a mention of it in the Code of Hammurabi which dates back to
1772(Wikimedia Foundation, 2012). The Greeks developed thermal baths in
villages designed for rest and recuperation. Later, the Romans built mansions to
provide accommodation for travellers on government business. The Romans were
the first to develop thermal baths in England, Switzerland and the Middle East.
Early travellers were warriors, traders or people in search of knowledge. This was
before the advent of hotels as we know them today. Thus, warriors and conquerors
pitched their tents for accommodation, while traders and people travelling for
knowledge placed a high value on hospitality and sometimes traded their
merchandise for lodging. Inn-keeping can be said to be the first commercial
enterprise, and hospitality one of the first services for which money was
exchanged. Evidence of hotels and the hospitality industry have been recorded as
far back as biblical times when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem during the
census. As the Bible depicts, Mary and Joseph were refused accommodation
because there ―there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). Inns of biblical
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times offered only a cot or a bench in a corner. Guests stayed in large communal
rooms with no sanitation and privacy. The rates were, of course, reasonable. The
company was rough and travellers often shared the same quarters with their horses
and animals.
In the third century AD, the Roman Empire developed an extensive network of
brick-paved roads throughout Europe and Asia Minor, and a chain of roadside
lodges was constructed along the major thoroughfare from Spain to Turkey. This
encouraged travelling to a large extent and led to the rapid growth of the
hospitality industry during the Roman Empire. This rapid growth however gave
way to a prolonged lull in the general rate of growth and advancement of
civilization in Europe. This was during the period referred to in European
historiography as ―The Dark Ages‖. The Dark Ages were the years immediately
following the fall of the Roman Empire. The period was marked by a sharp drop in
the advancement of civilization as was seen during the heydays of the Roman
Empire. Like every other area of civilization, the hospitality industry was also
hard-hit. There was no significant growth in the industry during this period.
Instead, there was a decline in the nascent hospitality business. This stagnation
during the Dark Ages however gradually gave way to another rapid growth in the
industry during the Middle Ages.
The period saw the rapid expansion of the Islamic empires which eventually
conquered much of the Holy Lands, North Africa and Southern Europe.Pilgrimage
to the Holy Lands around Jerusalem was a major source of revenue for these
Islamic states and the hospitality industry was a key factor in this revenue
generation. The money generated from hospitality was so immense that it was a
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major issue of contention between the Muslims conquerors of the Holy Lands and
the Europeans who wanted a controlling share of these revenues. The disagreement
between these parties was one of the major causes of The Crusades during the
Middle Ages(Asbridge, 2005).
Plate2.2-1: Grapical illustration of the growth in the hospitality industry during
the ancient times (Source: Author, 2012)
After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was till around 1500 that civilized tourism
began to re-emerge in Europe during the Renaissance Era. However, the hospitality
industry had, in the same period, started to thrive in the Far East, especially Japan.
Hotels such as the Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Yamanashi Prefecture and the
Hoshi Ryokan in the Awazu Onsen area of Komatsu, in Ishikawa Prefecture were
founded in 705 AD and 717 AD respectively. The hotels are the oldest hotels still
in operation according to the Guinness World Records (Guinness World Records,
2012). This is an indication that in the 8th century when they were originally
established, they were designed with a taste that is still relevant in modern times.
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Plate2.2-2: The rebirth of the Hospitality industry after the renaissance
era.(Source: Creditdonkey.com, 2012)
Tourism and hospitality began to pick up in Western Europe during the Mediaeval
Era but the culture of inn-keeping and hotel accommodations was not in common
practice. Instead, travellers and sojourners stayed in monasteries kept by catholic
monks and clergy. The monasteries offered services which were similar to modern
day hotel services. Services rendered included lodging and ancillary services such
as laundry and catering. Monasteries were major contributors to the hospitality
business in Europe till around the 1500s when King Henry VIII of England
proclaimed the dissolution of monasteries as part of his feud with the Papacy and
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the Roman Catholic Church(Wikimedia foundation, 2012). This royal declaration
put an end to monasteries in Britain and other areas ruled by Henry VIII. It also
marked the beginning of the end of monasteries as hospitality centres across
Britain and much of Western Europe.
Plate2.2-3: The Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Japan is the world's oldest hotel still
in existence. It started operations in 705 AD.(Source: Guinness World Records,
2012)
The loss of monasteries was however the gain of the hotel industry. The years
following Henry VIII’s declaration, saw a rapid increase in the number of inns
across Europe which offered the hospitality services previously offered by
monasteries. By the 16th century, there was a very high demand for inns across
Europe. Most inns were initially private homes, but in 1788, the first hotel; Hotel
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de Henry IV was built in France at a cost of $17,500 in those days. The hotel had
60 rooms and marked the beginning of the modern day hotel business.
The late 18thand early 19thcentury was a period of culinary evolution in Europe,
especially in France. The French mastered the art of cooking and chef-craft and
were a lot ahead of other Europeans in this area. During and shortly after the
French Revolution (1789–1799) however, many French immigrants came to The
United States of America. Most had experience in culinary arts.
Plate2.2-4: Drawing of the old Tremont hotel. a hotel with many "firsts" (Source:
www.en.wikipedia.org)
Thiswas also the period when The United States of America freshly gained
independence from her British colonial masters and began to emerge as a leader in
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global innovative thought. It is therefore not surprising that most of the changes
that the hospitality industry began to experience from this time on came from the
USA. An example of an American hotel that led in innovations is The Tremont
House. The Tremont House was a four-storey, granite-faced, neoclassical building,
located at the corner of Tremont and Beacon Streets in Boston, Massachusetts,
with its main entrance on Tremont. It incorporated many hotel "firsts" which
include: indoor plumbing, indoor toilets and baths, a reception area, locked rooms
for the guest, free soap and bellboys(Sandoval-Strausz, 2007). Despite this long list
of innovations, it is probably best known as the first hotel with indoor plumbing
and running water. The hotel's water was raised by steam-powered pump to a
storage tank on its roof, where it fed by gravity to the taps. Eight water closets
(toilets) were provided on the ground floor. Bathrooms for bathing were located in
the basement, and served by cold running water. Bathtubs were copper or tin, with
local gas heating for the tub's water. Running water was also provided to the
kitchen and laundry. A simple system removed the waste water to the sewage
system(Sandoval-Strausz, 2007).
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Figure 2.2-5: Auguste Escoffier, French culinary genius who changed the art of
hotel cuisine (Source: www.en.wikipedia.org)
Cuisine however continued to play a major role in the growth of the hotel industry
as the 19th century unfolded. The legendary figure during this time was the
Frenchman; Auguste Escoffier, who was a world famous chef. Born in VilleneuveLoubet, France, he rose to become a famous chef, restaurateur and culinary writer.
One of his contributions to the Culinary Industry is the organization of chefs in a
kitchen. This hierarchy of cooks is known as the Brigade System. Each category of
chef has a specific title which when used today we know exactly what types of
food he/she is responsible for producing/supervising(James, 2003). Another
contributor to the improvement of the culinary aspect of hotel industry was another
Frenchman; Boulanger. Boulanger was an early vendor of food. During his time
there was not a name for the type of business that he had. He sold a soup based
food that he called restorantes (which translates into ―restore the body‖). It is
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believed that the popularity of his soups led to the term restaurants, which today
are businesses that restore the body with food. Escoffier’s system together with
some other bits of input from other well-renowned chefs across Europe brought a
new phase to the hospitality business. A good hotel could no longer serve just any
food; it had to be prepared by a renowned chef. Culinary expertise became a basic
requirement for a good hotel and more attention had to be paid to hotel kitchen
design and layout.
As hotels competed with each other over who would serve the best of food and
drinks, they hired the services of the best chefs and kitchen staff. Competition for
the finest of services soon grew out of the kitchen-place however. It was not too
long before luxury and high taste began to be a minimum requirement of a good
hotel. On the 6th of August 1889, English impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte opened
the Savoy Hotel in London and set an unprecedented global standard of quality in
hotel service, entertainment and elegant dining. The Savoy attracted royalty and
other wealthy guests and diners what hotel luxury should be. It also boasted a lot of
―hotel firsts‖ such as: electric lights throughout the hotel, electric lifts, bathrooms
inside most of the lavishly furnished rooms, constant cold and hot running water,
among many innovations. Carte hired Auguste Escoffier as the chef and Cesar Ritz
(who later began his own luxury hotel chain) as the general manager(Wikimedia
foundation, 2012). From this point on, innovations in the hotel business focused on
pushing the limits of luxury and high-class service.Across the Atlantic in the USA,
many luxury hotels began to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These
include the Waldorf-Astoria hotel which opened in New York in 1893. It is wellknown for being the first hotel to offer room service. One innovator who broke
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from this tradition however, was the American businessman and hotelier;
Ellsworth Milton (E. M.) Statler.
The first Statler hotel was designed by August Esenwein and James A. Johnson
(architect) and built in Buffalo, New York in 1907. It offered 300 rooms and
bathrooms (it was later expanded to 450 rooms and baths). The hotel was
successful and led to a chain of hotels in other cities. Statler's intent was not to
compete with the luxury hotels, but rather to provide, clean, comfortable and
moderately priced rooms for the average traveler. Statler was the first major hotel
chain to have a bathroom in every room. His innovative Statler Plumbing Shaft is
still used in modern construction. From providing paper and pens for
correspondence (prominently bearing the Statler name) to a light in the closet,
Statler brought the average traveler a level of luxury that was otherwise
unaffordable(Wikimedia foundation, 2012).Rooms were originally available at
what seemed a very cheap price, leading many other hoteliers to predict the failure
of the Buffalo hotel. The opening night price was as low as $1.50 for a guest room,
leading to the slogan "A Room and a Bath for a Dollar and a Half." The hotel had a
$500,000 line of credit available, but successfully maintained positive cash flow
and Statler never used the line of credit.Each of the subsequent Statler Hotels built
upon this formula for success. Reflecting the era's enthusiasm for scientific
management, Statler took pride in how he applied standardization to questions of
room design. His hotels had a minimum of wasted space, particularly on the
guestroom floors, and he strove to have room layouts that would maximize
efficiency and profitability (Miller, 1968).
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Statler’s innovation crashed the price of hotel luxury and gave the bigger hotel
chains a good run for their money. It was also what the general populace needed at
the time of the early 1900s. These were the years of the Great Depression that tore
the economic fabric of the USA and many European countries. The global hotel
industry experienced a decline as did most other sectors of the economy. The
depression continued until after the Second World War ended in 1945. As soon as
the industry began to pick up, other luxury hotel chains saw the Statler brand as a
major threat and it was not too long before one of them; the Hilton Hotel Group,
snapped it up. The Hotels Statler Company, Inc. was sold to Conrad Hilton's
(Hilton Hotels) in 1954 for $111,000,000 in what was then the world's largest real
estate transaction(Wikimedia foundation, 2012).
After the Second World War, the hotel industry again began to pick up in the
1950s.This was spurred by a lot of factors. Firstly, there was pent-up demand
following a long period of inactivity in the industry. There was also an increase in
international tourism brought about by faster and cheaper means of international
travel. The civil aviation industry kicked off immediately after the Second World
War and made it possible for previously inaccessible places to be reached by a few
hours’ flight. This created a lot of desire for travel in people and helped the growth
of tourism and the hotel industry that provided accommodation for tourists.
Another factor was the improved economic position of most families after the war.
Two-income families became common as more wives chose to work instead of
being just housewives. Average income of most households was therefore higher
than they had been since the turn of the 20th century and the hotel industry
flourished as a result. The period saw the proliferation of more luxury hotel chains.
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Key figures in this period include men like; Conrad Hilton of the Hilton Hotel
chain, J. Willard Marriott of the Marriott Hotel chain and Hyatt von Dehn of the
Hyatt Hotel chain. These men built hotel brands that are still among the world’s
best and largest till date. This period also saw the rise of franchising as a method of
hotel brand expansion. Individual investors bought into existing hotel brands with
popular names. These led to the rapid expansion of many luxury-hotel chains.
Examples of these include the Transcorp Hilton and the Sheraton Hotels and
Towers in Nigeria. They are Nigerian-owned hotels with international brands.
With the turn of the 21st century, luxury and expansion was no longer the crux of
the focus of the hotel industry. The industry focused more on using technology to
improve services in the business. With the onset of the internet boom, online
reservation has become a standard for most hotels. Rooms are booked from the
comfort of any location for a specific period of time by simply logging on to the
internet. Hotels also benefit from data mining in understanding the preferences of
their prospective customer base and existing clientele. Internet research of
customer databases helps to establish patterns that help hotels in planning better
services that meet exact customer needs. Technological advances have also led to
the improvement of the building and construction industry. This has led to the
opening of novel and previously impossible-to-construct designs for hotels around
the world. An example is the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
2.3. CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS
Modern hotels are classified based on a broad array of criteria based on what the
aim of the classification is. Classifications oftentimes help customers to know the
level of service to expect from the hotel in question. It also provides a basis for
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comparing one hotel with another. Some of these classifications will be examined
in this section.
2.3.1. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SERVICE COST
The budget type hotel
The Budget typehotel is targeted more towards providing a holiday
accommodation with the basic necessities that include a bed and a shower. These
types of hotels are targeted towards travelers who seek to minimize their expenses.
These fall in the range of one to three stars based on the star-rating classification.
The business type hotel
These types of accommodation are targeted towards business travelers and the its
rooms include the basic necessities like bed and bathroom, internet connection,
ironing boards, coffee machines, hairdryers and daily delivery of the newspaper to
the hotel's respective rooms.
The luxury type hotel
A luxurious hotel will have more than just basic necessities and will be the most
expensive but the most comfortable. A luxury hotel will have ballrooms, pools, and
indulging relaxation facilities like spas. The hotels' rooms would be full of
comforts, beautiful rooms with comfortable beds, bigger bathrooms and separate
sitting area. As outlined earlier, these types of hotels are more expensive and the
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more central the area, the more expensive the hotel is. The more luxurious it is, the
higher the star rating it has.
2.3.2. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON STAR RATING
The classification of hotels based on star rating is about the most popular method
of hotel classification. Hotels are assigned stars based on the size and quality of
services they render. The tables below show the different star ratings ascribed to
hotels and what they stand for.
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Table 2:2.3.2-1: Hotel star ratings and their interpretation (Source:
www.en.wikipedia.org)
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Table 2:2.3.2-2: Hotel star ratings continued(Source:
www.en.wikipedia.com)
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2.3.3. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SCOPE OFSERVICES RENDERED
Hotels are also classified based on the major services they can render or on which
they concentrate. Based on this classification, hotels can be grouped into any of the
following classes:
Conference and resort hotels
These often contain full-sized luxury facilities with full service accommodations
and amenities for hosting conventions and conferences.
Historic Inns and boutique hotels
They often contain luxury facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings
with full service accommodations. Typically boutique hotels are furnished in a
themed, stylish and/or aspirational manner. Boutique hotels are often individual
and focused on offering their services in a comfortable, intimate, and welcoming
setting, so they are therefore extremely unlikely to be found amongst the
homogeneity of large hotels. Guest rooms and suites may be fitted with telephone
and Wi-Fi Internet, air-conditioning, honesty bars and often cable/pay TV, but
equally may have none of these, focusing on quiet and comfort rather than
gadgetry.
Select Service hotels
These are hotels that focus on specific areas of service, rather than providing allround facilities. Examples may include: holiday inns and golf resorts.
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Extended Stay hotels
Extended stay hotels are a type of lodging with features unavailable at standard
hotels. These features are intended to provide more home-like amenities. These
types of hotels typically have self-serve laundry facilities and offer discounts for
extended stays, beginning at 5 or 7 days. They also have guestrooms (or "suites")
with kitchens. The kitchens include at a minimum usually: a sink, a refrigerator
(usually full size), a microwave oven, and a stovetop. Some kitchens also have
dishwashers and conventional ovens. Extended stay hotels are popular with
business travellers on extended assignments, families in the midst of a relocation,
and anyone else in need of temporary housing. They are also used by travellers
who appreciate the larger space a typical suite provides.
Timeshare
A timeshare is a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term
used to describe such properties. These properties are typically resort
condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and
each sharer is allotted a period of time (typically one week, and almost always the
same time every year) in which they may use the property. Units may be on a partownership or lease/"right to use" basis, in which the sharer holds no claim to
ownership of the property.
2.4. CONFERENCE OR CONVENTION HALLS
A conference hall is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where
individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests (Wikimedia
foundation, 2012). Conference centres typically offer sufficient floor area to
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accommodate several thousand attendees. They typically have at least one
auditorium and may also contain concert halls, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and
conference rooms. Large resort area hotels usually include a convention centre.The
main purpose of a conference centre is to provide a fitting venue for social
gatherings. These gatherings can range from meetings to academic or other social
events.
2.4.1. SOCIAL GATHERINGS IN ANCIENT TIMES
Social gatherings had been a part of the human culture as far as human history can
be traced.Recent findings about the ancient Stone Age have shown that man was a
social being in those days. It is this innate human characteristic that has over the
years, necessitated the erection of edifices dedicated to hosting social events.The
ancient Egyptians for example, had a rich and diversified culture that fostered
social interaction. Music, drama and dance were part of their religious worship and
most of these activities were held in specially built venues. The Greek were
however the first set of ancient people who developed specially designed buildings
for the purpose of meetings and other forms of entertainment. The Agora in ancient
Greece was a melting pot for all forms of social activities in those days. It
contained all the essential ingredients for the people of that time to conduct their
lives. In addition to shops, baths and law courts, it also had halls for public
functions with colonnades and meeting places for people holding public office
(akin to a House of Assembly of today). The Greeks saw the need for specially
designed halls for different types of meetings and several generations of
succeeding generations have followed suit.
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The Romans took this a step further. They had buildings for every type of social
activity in their very advanced culture. The Romans were the first to have a
legislative arm in the form of a Senate. The Roman Senators held their meetings in
a Senate House known as the Curia Julia (Wikimedia foundation, 2012). It was
built in 44 BC by Julius Caesar. The Romans also built amphitheatres for a variety
of social gatherings. Most notable of these was the Colosseum (also known as the
Amphitheatrum Flavium). It was the venue for a lot of social events ranging from
workshops to entertainment and sports.
Figure 2.4.1-1: The Colosseum in Rome, a conference and meeting arena in
ancient times (Source: www.en.wikipedia.com)
2.4.2. SOCIAL GATHERINGS IN MODERN TIMES
The culture of specialized buildings for conferences and conventions continued
into the modern times. Advances in architecture and civil engineering have
continually pushed the very limits of conference venues in terms of span and
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capacity. Modern conference centres range from the small wedding halls to the
sprawling convention centres that host major conferences. Advances in technology
have made it possible for public address systems to deliver good quality audio in
very expansive interior spaces. As conference centres have grown, the necessary
ancillary facilities that go with them have also continued to grow in equal measure.
Modern conferences are usually held over a long period of time. The need to
provide temporary accommodation for conference attendees therefore arose
naturally. Modern conference venues are usually resorts that feature a traditional
convention hall together with ancillary facilities which can range from
accommodation facilities to sport and other recreational facilities.
2.5. ARCHITECTURAL (SPACE) PROGRAMMING
2.5.1. BRIEF BACKGROUND
Architectural programming began when architecture began. Structures have always
been based on programmes: decisions were made; something was designed, built
and occupied. According to the American architect and academic, Gary J.D.
Gingras, ―Architectural programming is a structured research and problem-solving
process used to identify, examine, and elaborate upon the various needs underlying
a design project. The architectural program is the foundation for a creative,
meaningful, and - ultimately - useful architectural solution‖ (Cherry & Petronis,
2009). Suffice it to say therefore that space programming, is the crux of
architectural design.Today, we define architectural programming as the research
and decision-making process that identifies the scope of work to be designed.
Synonyms
include
"facility
programming,"
"functional
and
operational
requirements," and "scoping." In the early 1960s, William Peña, John Focke, and
Bill Caudill of the architectural firm Caudill, Rowlett, and Scott (CRS) developed
P a g e | 35
a process for organizing programming efforts. Their work was documented in
Problem Seeking, the text that guided many architects and clients who sought to
identify the scope of a design problem prior to beginning the design, which is
intended to solve the problem.In the 1980s and 1990s, some architectural schools
began to drop architectural programming from their curricula. The emphasis of the
Post-Modern and Deconstruction agendas was instead on form-making.
Programming and its attention to the users of buildings was not a priority. Now,
several generations of architects have little familiarity with architectural
programming and the advantages it offers viz.:

Involvement of interested parties in the definition of the scope of work prior to
the design effort

Emphasis on gathering and analysing data early in the process so that the
design is based upon sound decisions

Efficiencies gained by avoiding redesign and more redesign as requirements
emerge during architectural design.
The whole essence of a programme-based design approach is "to create a
successful high-performance building." To achieve that goal, we must apply the
integrated design approach to the project during the planning and programming
phases. People involved in the building design should interact closely throughout
the design process. The owner, building occupants, and operation and maintenance
personnel should be involved to contribute their understanding of how the building
and its systems will work for them once they occupy it.
P a g e | 36
2.5.2. TYPES OF PROGRAMMING
Architectural programming is a broad area that deals with virtually every area of
planning that comes into play before a building’s execution. It is therefore divided
into several areas which include the following: interior space programming, site
selection programming, furniture programming and budget programming (Wong ,
2011).
Interior Space Program
This refers to an accounting of interior spacesbefore planning and design of a
project. It is an essential pre-planning tool on projects that range from medium to
large scales due to their complexity. The primary purpose of aninterior space
program is to determine the space, furniture, equipment and special needs of a
company for movein and the future.The space program is the foundation of the
designer's work. It acts as a guide during the study and the preparation of space
layout. It is also a communication tool between the designer and the client. During
the development of the program, the programmer will solicit detail information
from the client about the company's history, organization, operations, policies,
personnel and group requirements that make up the company. Much of the
programming effort focuses on quantitative calculations using basic unit take-off
that derives from revision of existing space standards from the company or from
industry standards.The final program book includes overall space summary for
movein, personnel and space projections for future, building feasibility analysis,
space distribution analysis and planning recommendations for the new space. Some
programmers generate additional company space statistics by comparing the types
and usage of spaces between the company's organizational units that are
P a g e | 37
meaningful to identify growth patterns and planning directions. The statistic aims
to provide interior planners with additional information that will influence space
layout decisions.
Site SelectionProgram
When sites are not given, one of the other program responsibilities for the
programmer is to assist the client in finding an appropriate site. This requires the
comparative analyses of different sites. It may include:neighbourhood analyses,
demolition cost comparisons, cost for land if the intention is to build, analyses of
building facilities, analyses of building systems, analyses of future expansion
accommodations, lease terms and durations and cost for improvements.
Furniture Program
This is a standard program for all interior services. It is the analysis of existing
inventories as well as identification of the need for purchase for the new project.
Responsibilities include:

Collect and analyse existing inventories identifying the size, quantities,
conditionsand cost for recondition.

Collect information on sale to refuge on existing inventories.

Collect information on discount structures from furniture manufacturers since
more purchase will result in higher discount structure.

Identify new furniture programmes based on methods of reuse and budget
allowance and establish budget comparisons between different methods.
Budget Program
P a g e | 38
There are two types of budgets for contract work; the general construction budget
and the furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) budget. The budget estimate will
be established early on at the beginning of the project. It will be reviewed and
updated as the project progress and more decisions are made. The realistic budget
will not be firmly established until after the generation of the contract document
and the contractors has been selected (Wong , 2011).
2.5.3. THE ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAMMING PROCESS
According to standard architectural contract agreements, programming is the
responsibility of the building owner. However, the owner's programmatic direction
can vary from vague to very specific. In some cases, the owner does not have the
expertise to develop the program and must use the services of a programming
consultant. Most programming consultants are either architects or have
architectural training, but others have become skilled through experience. Many
architects perform programming as an additional service to their standard
contracts. Programming may happen for different purposes and may impact the
level of detail of investigation and deliverables. For instance, programming at the
master planning level is more strategic in nature—providing information to
building owners to make decisions regarding current and projected space needs and
rough budgeting for implementation. Programming at the individual project level
provides specific, detailed information to guide building design (Cherry &
Petronis, 2009).
Programming is intended to provide a clear process for conducting the research
and decision-making that defines the scope of work for the design effort. It is
imperative that the major decision-maker—the client-owner—allows participation
P a g e | 39
of all the stakeholders, or the client-users, who are affected by the design.
Experience has shown that client-users' involvement in the programming process
results in designs that can be optimized more efficiently. Prior to the beginning of
the process of programming a project, the programmer and the client-owner
develop a list of the stakeholders to be involved. One organizational method is to
form a Project Programming Committee with representatives from the stakeholder
groups. For example, if the project is to be an office/classroom building for the
humanities department at an institution of higher education, the Project
Programming Committee could include representatives from the involved
academic department(s), faculty, students, and building operations and facility
maintenance departments. Lines of communication must be established to
determine how and when meetings will be called, what the agenda will be, how
contacts will be made, and how records of the meetings will be kept. The authority
of the committee must be made clear. In the example above, the committee's
authority will be to make recommendations to the college authorities. Within that
framework, the committee must decide how it will make decisions as a committee.
2.5.4. THE STEPS IN ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAMMING
Many different programming formats incorporate the same essential elements. In
all cases, the design programming fits within a larger context of planning efforts
which can also be programmed. For design programming for a building, experts
typically propose a six-step process as follows:

Research the project type

Establish goals and objectives
P a g e | 40

Gather relevant information

Identify strategies

Determine quantitative requirements

Summarize the program (Cherry & Petronis, 2009)
1. Research the project type
This step is necessary if the programmer is working on a project type for the first
time. The programmer should become familiar with some of the following relevant
information:

The types of spaces frequently included in the building type,

The space criteria (number of square feet per person or unit) for those
spaces,

Typical relationships of spaces for these functions,

Typical ratios of net assignable square footage (NASF—areas that are
assigned to a function) to gross square footage (GSF—total area to the
outside walls) for this building type,

Typical costs per square foot for this building type,

Typical site requirements for the project type,

Regional issues that might alter the accuracy of the data above in the case
of this project, and
P a g e | 41

Technical, mechanical, electrical, security or other issues unique to the
project type.
This information can be obtained from literature on the building type, analysis of
plans of existing projects, expert consultants familiar with the building type, and/or
cost estimating services.
2. Establish goals and objectives
Working with the committee, the programmer solicits and suggests broad goal
statements that will guide the remainder of the programming process. Each of the
following categories of goals should be addressed:

Organizational Goals: What are the goals of the owners? Where do they see
their organization headed? How does this architectural project fit into this
broad picture?

Form and Image Goals: What should be the aesthetic and psychological
impact of the design? How should it relate to the surroundings? Should its
image be similar to or distinct from its neighbours? From other buildings
belonging to the owner that are located elsewhere? Are there historic,
cultural, and/or context implications?

Function Goals: What major functions will take place in the building? How
many people are to be accommodated? How might the building design
enhance or impact occupant interactions?

Economic Goals: What is the total project budget? What is the attitude
toward initial costs versus long-range operating and maintenance costs?
P a g e | 42
What level of quality is desired (often stated in relation to other existing
projects)? What is the attitude toward conservation of resources and
sustainability (energy, water, etc.)?

Time Goals: When is the project to be occupied? What types of changes are
expected over the next 5, 10, 15, and 20 years?

Management Goals: These goals are not so much an issue of the nature of
the project as they are the circumstances of the owner, clients, programmer,
or architect. For example, perhaps the schematic design must be completed
in time for a legislative request application deadline.
3. Gather relevant information
Based upon the goals, the categories of relevant information can be determined and
researched. Typical categories include: Facility users, activities, and schedules:
Who is doing what, how many people are doing each activity, and when are they
doing it? What equipment is necessary for activities to function properly? What is
the size of the equipment? What aspects of the project need to be projected into the
future? What is the history of growth of each aspect that requires projection?What
are the space criteria (square feet per person or unit) for the functions to take
place?What other design criteria may affect architectural programming: access to
daylight, acoustics, accessibility, campus/area design guidelines, and historic
preservation?Are there licensing or policy standards for minimum area for various
functions? What are these standards?What are the energy usage and
requirements?What code information may affect programming decisions?
P a g e | 43
Site analysis: the site is always a major aspect of the design problem and therefore
should be included in the program. Site analysis components that often affect
design include:legal description, zoning, design guidelines, and deed restrictions
and requirements, traffic (bus, automobile, and pedestrian) considerations and
utility availability (a potentially high cost item). Other site issues include
topography, views, built features, climate (if not familiar to the designer),
vegetation and wildlife and the
Client's existing facility as a resource: If the client is already participating in the
activities to be housed in the new facility, it may be possible to make use of
information at hand. Determine if the existing facility is satisfactory or obsolete as
a resource.If a floor plan exists, a square foot take-off should be done to determine
the areas for various functions. Determine the building efficiency (the ratio of
existing net-to-gross area). This ratio is useful in establishing the building
efficiency target for the new facility.If the client is a repeat builder (school
districts, public library, public office building, etc.), obtain plans and do area takeoffs; determine typical building efficiencies.Use the existing square footages for
comparison when you propose future amounts of space. People can relate to what
they already have.
4. Identify strategies
Programmatic strategies suggest a way to accomplish the goals given what one
now knows about the opportunities and constraints. A familiar example of a
programmatic strategy is the relationship or "bubble" diagram. These diagrams
indicate what functions should be near each other in order for the project to
function smoothly. Relationship diagrams can also indicate the desired circulation
P a g e | 44
connections between spaces, what spaces require security or audio privacy, or
other aspects of special relationships.Other types of strategy recur in programs for
many different types of projects. Some examples of common categories of
programmatic strategies include:

Centralization and decentralization: What function components are grouped
together and which are segregated? For example, in some offices the
copying function is centralized, while in others there are copiers for each
department.

Flexibility: What types of changes are expected for various functions? Do
facilities need to change over a period of a few hours? A few days, a
summer recess or is an addition what is really needed?

Flow: What goods, services, and people move through the project? What is
needed at each step of the way to accommodate that flow?

Priorities and phasing: What are the most important functions of the
project? What could be added later? Are there on-going or existing
operations that must be maintained?

Levels of access: Who is allowed where? What security levels are there?
Ideally, each of the goals and objectives identified in Step 2 will have some sort of
strategy for addressing that goal. Otherwise, either the goal is not very important,
or more discussion is required to address how to achieve that goal or objective.
5. Determine quantitative requirements
P a g e | 45
In this step, one must reconcile the available budget with the amount of
improvements desired within the project time frame. First, a list of spaces is
developed to accommodate all of the activities desired. The space criteria
researched in Step 3 are the basis of this list of space requirements. The space
requirements are listed as Net Assignable Square Feet (NASF), referring to the
space assigned to an activity, not including circulation to that space.A percentage
for "tare" space is added to the total NASF. Tare space is the area needed for
circulation, walls, mechanical, electrical and telephone equipment, wall thickness,
and public toilets. Building efficiency is the ratio of NASF to Gross Square Feet
(GSF), the total area including the NASF and tare areas. Building efficiency equals
NASF/GSF. The building efficiency for a building type was researched in Step 1
and possibly Step 3. The building efficiency of an existing space used by a client
can inform the selection of the net-to-gross ratio. The example in Plate 2.5.4-2 on
the next page of an office suite within an office building illustrates the areas of net
assignable square feet and tare area. It will be noticed that some space within an
office is considered circulation, even though it is not delineated with walls. This
circulation is called a "phantom corridor."
The desired GSF is then tested against the available budget. In drafting the total
project cost, the programmer uses the cost per square foot amount researched in
Step 1. Factors for inflation should be included, based upon the project schedule.
Costs should be projected to the date of the mid-point of construction because
bidders calculate estimates on the assumption that costs could change from the
time of the bid date.
P a g e | 46
Plate2.5.4-1: Phantom corridors and tares in a typical office floor layout(Source:
Whole Building Design Guide-www.wbdg.org)
The total project cost includes the construction cost (for building and site work),
plus amounts for architect's fees, furniture and equipment, communications,
contingency, printing for bid sets, contingency, soils tests, topological surveys, and
any other costs that must come from the owner's budget. The intention is to help
the owner prepare for all the project costs, not just those costs assigned to
construction.If the bottom line for the project costs is more than the budget, three
things can happen:
P a g e | 47
1) Space can be trimmed back or delegated to a later phase (a reduction in
quantity);
2) The cost per square foot can be reduced (a reduction in quality); or
3) Both. This reconciliation of the desired space and the available budget is critical
to defining a realistic scope of work.
6. Summarize the programme
Finally, once all of the preceding steps are executed, summary statements can be
written defining "in a nut shell" the results of the programming effort. All of the
pertinent information included above can be documented for the owner, committee
members, and the design team as well. The decision-makers should sign-off on the
scope of work as described in the program. Once a program is completed and
approved by the client, the information must be integrated into the design process.
Some clients want the programmer to stay involved after the programming phase
to insure that the requirements defined in the program are realized in the design
work.
2.5.5. RELEVANT CODES AND STANDARDS
A very important part of programming is identifying relevant codes and standards
that apply to the project (see Steps 1 and 3 above). Codes, covenants, deed
restrictions, zoning requirements, licensing requirements, and other legal
obligations can have significant influence on costs and therefore, affordable GSF.
These factors must be identified prior to design. Many governments and
institutions have developed standards and guidelines for space allocations. For
example, the military and higher education institutions all have standards and
P a g e | 48
guidelines. These standards must be adhered to in programming projects for these
clients. The standards are also useful as guidelines for agencies that have not
developed their own standards.Some standards are mandated by statutes in some
jurisdictions for licensing, accreditation, or equity purposes. Schools, hospitals,
correctional facilities, and other licensed or accredited institutions may be required
to meet these standards prior to opening their doors.Some building codes identify
the number of square feet allocated per person for certain types of occupancy.
However, while these ratios may determine the legal occupancy numbers for the
facility, exiting requirements, fire separations, etc., they represent the minimum
requirements. It may be necessary to accommodate specific activities adequately
with more space.
2.6. SPACE SYNTAX
2.6.1. BACKGROUND
Space syntax is a science-based, human-focused approach that investigates
relationships between spatial layout and a range of social, economic and
environmental phenomena. These phenomena include patterns of movement,
awareness and interaction; density, land use and land value; urban growth and
societal differentiation; safety and crime distribution (Penn , 2010). Space syntax
was pioneered in the 1970s by Prof Bill Hillier, Prof Julienne Hanson and
colleagues at The Bartlett, University College London. Today, space syntax is used
and developed in hundreds of universities and educational institutions as well as
professional practices worldwide. Built on quantitative analysis and geospatial
computer technology, space syntax provides a set of theories and methods for the
analysis of spatial configurations of all kinds and at all scales.
P a g e | 49
The space syntax approach was conceived to help architects simulate the likely
effects of their designs on the people who occupied and moved around in them, be
they buildings or urban settlements. It has since grown around the world in a
variety of research areas and practical applications including archaeology,
criminology, information technology, urban and human geography, anthropology
and cognitive science. In practice, space syntax provides a set of planning and
design principles as well as a toolkit for the generation and evaluation of ideas.
Live projects raise fundamental research questions that are fed back from practice
to university. The result is a process of knowledge exchange and co-creation that
stimulates innovation, facilitates practice and, ultimately, benefits our buildings
and cities.
According to (Peponis, 2005), ―space syntax is about identifying, representing, and
measuring the spatial relationships that help us get on with our lives‖. The creation
of these relationships is among the main purposes served by our built environment.
And while we would not be able to live our everyday lives without a working
understanding of the principles and constraints that govern these relationships,
their deliberate creation or transformation through architectural design requires
theory. The aim of space syntax is to arrive at an understanding of principles of
spatial design and a critical evaluation of precedents and prospects.
2.6.2. MEANS
DESIGNING
FOR
DESCRIBING,
EXPLAINING,
PREDICTING
AND
Space syntax is an expanding set of analytical techniques and measures that are
used to test a growing number of specialized hypotheses about the functions and
effects of designs. The techniques all assume there is an intelligible structure toall
P a g e | 50
builtspace as it is perceived and explored by users moving through space.
Therefore, the techniques add up to a common framework for describing how
spatial environments enable or impede users’ behaviours. At the same time, each
specialized research inquiry (for example, about neighbourhood connections or
workplaceproductivity) is examined based on its own meritsrather than as a part of
an overarching theory. For example, to deal with street connectivity and design,
space isrepresented as a network of potential lines of movement. We study the
possible paths that link any two locations (topology); the number of direction
changes along a path (directional structure); and the distance between intersections,
length of uninterrupted street lines, and the widths of streets (metric properties) in
street networks. We use measures of closeness-centrality (integration) to identify
the streets that minimize directional or metric distances from all possible
destinations; we use measures of betweenness andcentrality to identify the streets
that are most likely to function as through-routes for all possible trips. From a
mathematical point of view, most of the measures deal with how systems of nodes
are linked by lines; that is, they are ―graph-theoretic.‖
2.6.3. SPACE SYNTAX AT THE URBAN SCALE
Space syntax analysis, such as that of street connectivity, is only useful when
testable hypotheses have been developed over years of research. For example,
research has established that pedestrian movement is more impacted by the number
of turns than by distance travelled. Thus, streets from which other streets can be
reached with fewer direction changes attract more people. Because they attract
more people they tend to attract retail and other land uses that depend on the
P a g e | 51
volumes of pedestrian traffic, and consequently the volumes of both pedestrians
and uses are multiplied. This, in a nutshell, is the theory of ―natural movement,‖
which helps to predict the likely effects of designs with regard to urban liveliness.
Its power is based on rich descriptions of street connectivity. Space syntax
measures go beyond measures of density, like the number of street intersections or
the number of blocks per unit area to deal with spatial configuration. But why does
the law of natural movement apply in the first place? Research indicates that we
choose paths not only to reduce physical exertion but also to develop and maintain
efficient mental descriptions of environments. Functionality and intelligibility are
closely interlinked.
2.6.4. SPACE SYNTAX IN INTERIOR SPACES
Analyses of building interiors often look at lines of movement, similar to the
analysis of streets. In addition, we analyse visual fields. We consider the visibility
polygons (or ―isovists,‖ a term coined by Michael Benedikt, University of Texas
atAustin) from each tile on a grid superimposed overusable space, and we measure
their properties andpatterns of intersection. The study of visual fieldsin conjunction
with the study of how users occupyand move through space allows us to assess
thepatterns of what users are likely to be aware of andencounter in a setting. This is
particularly relevantwhen we deal with work environments or want to study
circulation in a public building such as a hotel and conference centre.
Understanding user patterns will help to establish a framework that will guide the
building designers in making key decisions at the design phase that will in turn
make the building effective and highly functional on completion.
P a g e | 52
2.6.5. WHY AND WHEN TO USE SPACE SYNTAX
The question thus arises; why and when would anarchitect or researcher use space
syntax? Architects should consider using space syntax to evaluate how alternative
design options meet explicit design objectives or to help generate design
alternatives that address a specific problem. Space syntax is also applicable in
fields of design practice that require collaboration, for example designing
pedestrian-friendly environments in cities, or improving the intelligibility of
complex way finding systems in hospitals. Space syntax researchers have made
extensive inquiries into urban design, museum and exhibition design, work
environments, hotel and hospital design. Researchers should consider using space
syntaxwhen their research requires that they describe with precision how spatial
environments enable or impede users’ behaviours. Their research can contribute to
the development of space syntax by making it increasingly sensitive to the spatial
properties of the environment under investigation. Space syntax provides a unique
foundation for evidence-based learning and design precisely because it provides a
systematic framework for comparing environments and their performance.
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REFERENCES
Books
Bentley, A., Babcock, P., Murrain, S., & McGlynn, G. (1985). “Introduction” in
Responsive Environments. London: Architectural Press.
Hershberger, R. G. (1999). Architectural Programming and Predesign Manager.
New York: The McGraw Hill Companies.
Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The social logic of space. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
James, K. (2003). Escoffier: The King of Chefs. London: Hambledon & London.
Miller, F. (1968). Statler: America's Extraordinary Hotelman. New York: The
Statler Foundation.
Sandoval-Strausz, K. (2007). Hotel: An American History. Connecticut: Yale
University Press.
Journals and other materials
Dursun, P. (2007). Space syntax in architecture. 6th International Space Syntax
Symposium (pp. 1-12). Istanbul: Istanbul Technical University Press.
Peponis, J. (2005, April 12). Space syntax. InformeDesign, pp. 1-7.
Website
Cherry, E., & Petronis, J. (2009, February 9). Architectural Programming.
Retrieved June 3, 2012, from Whole Building Design Guide:
http://www.wbdg.org/design/architectural_programming.php
Fennie, N. (2005, January 1). Space Planning: How Much Space Do You Really
Need? Retrieved May 12, 2012, from The Space Place: Tenant Leasing
Services: http://www.thespaceplace.net/articles/fennie200501a.php
Penn , A. (2010, November 12). Space Syntax. Retrieved May 15, 2012, from The
Space Syntax Network: http://www.spacesyntax.net/
Wikimedia foundation. (2011, September 6). Hotel. Retrieved September 8, 2011,
from Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel
Wikimedia foundation. (2012, March 12). Convention centre. Retrieved May 11,
2012, from Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia:
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_center
P a g e | 54
Wikimedia foundation. (2012, April 2). Curia Julia. Retrieved May 30, 2012, from
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curia_julia
Wikimedia foundation. (2012, May 20). Henry VIII. Retrieved June 4, 2012, from
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: http://www.en.wikipedia.com/Henry_VIII
Wikimedia foundation. (2012, May 29). Savoy Hotel. Retrieved June 1, 2012, from
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy_Hotel
Wikimedia foundation. (2012, May 2). Statler Hotel. Retrieved May 29, 2012,
from Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statler_Hotel
Wong , J. (2011, May 21). Programming. Retrieved June 1, 2012, from The iTech
website: http://web.ku.edu/~itech/program/start_prog.html
P a g e | 55
Chapter 3 : GENERAL GUIDELINES AND
ISSUES RELATING TO THE DESIGN
3.1 OVERVIEW
Conference and resort hotels are hotels which often contain full-sized luxury
facilities with full service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract
both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than just a
convenient place to stay (Arnold, 1995). These hotels as destinations may be
characterized by distinctive architecture, upscale lodgings, ballrooms, large
conference facilities, restaurants, and recreation activities such as golf or skiing.
They may be located in a variety of settings from major cities to remote locations.
This wide mix of functions therefore calls for a great amount of detail in laying out
the several functions involved and integrating them seamlessly into one building.
In this chapter, a critical look will be taken at the various functional requirements
of a hotel and conference centre and other general issues and requirements of such
a building.
3.2 SITE CONSIDERATIONS
The aim of a good site design scheme is to create building and site synergies. For a
hotel and conference centre, this can be done by complementing the building with
site features that minimize negative environmental impacts and restore natural
systems. It can also be done by organizing building mass, orientation and outdoor
spaces to provide efficient access and service. The use of earth forms, plantings,
drainage, water detention systems and soils to support the functions of the building
and site (for example; screening, windbreaks, and so on) is also encouraged. The
P a g e | 56
architect has the responsibility to coordinate landscape design with the building
envelope and orient the building, windows and outdoor spaces to take advantage of
light, airflows and interesting views. He should use deciduous shade trees and
exterior structures such as arbours and trellises, louvers, overhangs and light
shelves to reduce heating of the building.
Parking solutions should be creative in order to reduce pollution and land
development impact from automobile use. This can be done for example by
minimizing parking lot sizes. Excess parking spaces encourage increased
automobile use and can increase pollution from storm water runoff. The area of the
development footprint should be minimized in order to reduce site disturbance and
conserve existing natural areas to provide habitat and promote diversity. Strategies
to achieve these include the following:

Preserving open space area adjacent to the building.

Clustering underground utilities running in conduits, such as telephone,
cable, electric, water and wastewater.

Locating underground utilities in fire lanes and drives, as appropriate, to
minimize site disturbance. (Separate sewer/water and high-temperature
piping as required.)

Reducing or eliminating storm water runoff to limit disruption of natural
water flows.
Maintaining natural storm water flows by designing the project site to promote
infiltration.
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3.3 GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN HOTEL CIRCULATION
The primary function of a hotel has not changed from the earliest recorded hostelry
to the present-day hotel,whetheritis a hotel of 100 rooms or 3,000 rooms, whether
it is an inner city hotel or a resort hotel, whether it is a conference hotel or a
family-type hotel. The earliest hostelry offered 'bed and board' as well as pleasant
surroundings in which to enjoy both commodities. The guest arrived at the front
door, where he was greeted and arrangements were made for his lodging and food.
A stable for horses and carriages, or a compound for cartels and cargo, were
provided at the rear of the establishment. A rear yard was used by the innkeeper's
wife and her assistants to prepare food which was then cooked in a kitchen. A hotel
or inn was therefore a house divided in two. The front half of the house included
the reception area and the public rooms, or the covered arcades in the
caravansaries, where the guests gathered to dine and to socialize. The other half of
the house, or to use a term which is still applicable, the back of the house, was
where food was prepared and where the guests' service amenities were taken care
of, such as laundering, the shoeing of horses or the repair of harness and traveling
gear.
This duality of a hotel must be thoroughly understood by an architect before pencil
is putto paper to start the design. At no timeshould the guest be aware of
everything that istaking place at the back of the house, but, atthe same time, the
smooth operation of thefront of the house is completely dependentupon what is
taking place at the back of thehouse. The two functions must be kept separateand
yet so interrelated that both functionsmoothly and efficiently.
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3.3.1 BACK OF THE HOUSE (BACKGROUND SERVICES THAT
KEEPA HOTEL RUNNING)
Though rarely seen by a guest, the back of the house is the most crucial part of the
hotel plan. It must be laid out with two paramount objectives: control and
efficiency. Foodstuffs, housekeeping supplies, and a great many other items must
be received out of sight of the hotel guests. Such receiving is usually done at a
loading dock, which should be covered so that deliveries can be made regardless of
the weather. An operating hotel, even a small one, will have deliveries going on
throughout the day. The receiving of shipments as well as the checking of
whatever comes into the hotel and, finally, sending the various items received to
their proper destination must be under tight control. This is usually the function of
a receiving department that should be located directly on or adjacent to the loading
dock. A good back of the house plan will be worked out in such a way that the
flow of supplies is tightly controlled by the security that the architect works into
his plan.
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Plate3.3.1-1: Example of a layout of background services in a hotel (Source: De
Chiara & Callender, 1983)
Another form of control which must be exercised and which becomes a part of the
architect's planning is the flow of personnel into and out of the hotel. Hotel
personnel usually come through at a point close or adjacent to the receiving area.
This is not necessarily a must, but it is advisable because the same controloffice
can observe the coming and going of thehelp. Usually time control is through the
mediumof a time clock, which is punched by theemployees. It is not uncommon
for thievesto attempt entry through the service area and towork their way up
through service elevatorsto accomplish what they came for. A tight controlat the
point of entry and egress of allemployees is highly desirable and can easilybe
accomplished if it is the same point as thatat which food and other hotel supplies
arebrought in. Once again, the architect's carefulplanning will make it possible for
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employees toreach their various dressing and locker areaswith a minimum of travel
time lost.
Some of the background services that make a hotel run smoothly include the
following:
3.3.1.1
Laundry facilities
A laundry is a usual adjunct of most good-sized hotels. Many hotels avail
themselves of city laundry service, in which case there is no laundry room at all or
only a small laundry which handles towels only. A hotel laundry that does its own
uniforms and flatwork (sheets, pillowcases, linens, and so on) requires a goodsized space for washers, dryers, drum ironers, and various pressing machines-each
suitable for its own type of flatwork, uniforms and guests' laundry, and men's and
women's wearing apparel. If the laundry is done by a laundry service out of the
hotel, then items like towels require a comparatively small space for washing and
drying, since only washers and fluff dryers are necessary, together with an area for
folding and stacking the clean towels.
3.3.1.2
Housekeeping department
The housekeeping department, having several functions, is the province of the
chief housekeeper, who will usually have assistant floor housekeepers. Under the
housekeeper's strict control and supervision will be all the maids and porters.
These people, after donning their uniforms, will come to the housekeeper for
instructions and very often for supplies to take with them to the various guest-room
floors. The porters will deliver to the service areas on the guest-room floors all
linen and soap as well as facial tissue, toilet paper, matches, room service menus,
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and ashtrays. The housekeeper's area is also a storage area, for here are kept all the
supplies that become a part of housekeeping. Aside from such obvious things as a
stock of linen, paper goods, soaps, and so on, the housekeeper will carry in her
warehouse storage area additional lamps and small items of furnishings which are
easily removed or destroyed. It might be useful for the architect to know how
many rooms a maid can make up during her daily tour of duty.
3.3.1.3
Food and beverage service
In the earliest hotels and inns, the innkeeper's wife took care of the cooking, maids
took care of the serving, and a large board or table sufficed for the guests. Today's
food operation is a highly complicated one, and an architect should be familiar
with the entire operation. It will help if the architect understands the flow of the
raw food from the time it is delivered to the steward until it is finally cooked and
ready to be picked up by the waiters or the waitresses.
3.3.1.4
Mechanical spaces
Another area that should be considered in the design of the background spaces will
be the boiler or mechanical room. The various pieces of equipment for heating and
cooling, as well as all the tanks and pumps to keep all the mechanical systems in
operation will be found in this area. Each mechanical room will be of asize and
shape that will satisfy the requirementsfor all the comforts that a modernhotel has
to offer. All the central switch gears that controlelectric current for every purpose
in the hotelcomplex will also be found in this area. This domain belongs to the
houseengineer and, naturally, there should be provisionfor an engineer's office,
with a mechanical repair shop close by. There are a number ofother shops that
probably will be located inthis area of the hotel. These would include acarpentry
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shop, an upholstery shop, and definitelyan area for a locksmith. Somewhere inthe
area, where they are easily accessible, willbe storage rooms in which a multitudeof
spare parts to service the hotel will be kept. Some ofthis storage space will be used
for mechanicalequipment replacements, and other storageareas will contain spare
parts for the furniture,carpet replacements, wallpaper replacements,cleaning
materials, and cleaning equipmentthat will be used by the house porters.
3.3.1.5
Administrative area
The administrative are is another very important area of the hotel. It is occupied by
personnel that very often come in contact with the guests, and the strategic location
of these back-of-the-house facilities will be controlled entirely by what happens in
the front of the house. Included in these areas will be accounting and bookkeeping
offices (which back up the front cashiers); reservations offices (which back up to
the front registration desk); and offices for management, which will include a
reception area, a manager's office, and an assistant manager's office. In this part of
the hotel complex one would usually find the head of the food and beverage
department, who may double as the banquet manager. There will be a mail sorting
room, which might well be placed behind the registration desk, since guests' mail
is delivered at this point.
3.3.2 FRONT OF THE HOUSE (MAIN HOTEL AREAS AS SEEN BY
GUESTS)
It must be noted that a hotel wears two faces. The guest or the paying customer
sees only the front of the house, and this must be all that he desires. The back of
the house, which has already been discussed, is where all that makes this happen
takes place. These are the areas of burnishing, butchering, baking; of boilers,
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motors, compressors, and ovens. The guest never sees all this, but these unseen
spaces will precisely determine his degree of contentment. These are the areas that
will ultimately dictate whether the hotel will run at a profit or a loss. The front of
the house comprises every area that the guest will see; lobbies, dining spaces, rest
rooms, passenger elevators, corridors, hotel rooms and so on. These spaces must be
handled and planned with one thought in mind: the convenience and continued
approbation of the guests.
3.3.2.1
Guest registration
A hotel registration desk must be located sothat it is immediately visible as one
enters thehotel lobby. The size of the desk will be determinedby the size of the
hotel. There is nospecial rule to be followed except that a hotelof let us say, 2,000
rooms might have anywhere from four to six registration clerks, while a hotel of
100 to 200 rooms will have one or at most two spaces at which guests may register
(De Chiara & Callender, 1983). There are certain requirements for the clerkbehind
the desk as far as equipment is concerned. The simplest arrangement will call fora
suitable file containing advance reservationcards requesting space, so that the clerk
canquickly check what room has been reserved forwhat particular guest. Another
mandatorypiece of equipment is a slip or card file which,at a glance, indicates
which rooms are occupiedand which rooms are open. Occupied roomspaces will
have a card with the name of theguest and probably the date when the guestintends
to leave. As soon as the guest checksin, a card is slipped into the space for the
room,indicating that the room is now occupied. This,the simplest form of
registration, is applicable to the smaller hotels.
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Larger hotels have farmore sophisticated equipment, much of itelectronically
controlled, which serves to indicatetime of arrival of guests who have
madereservations, time of departure of guests whoare already checked into the
hotel, and systemswhereby the registration clerk can also beinformed whether the
room has been vacatedand whether the room has already been madeup by the maid
on the floor and is ready to receive a new guest. The architect should
acquainthimself with the requirements of thefront desk and also be aware of certain
companieswho manufacture the filing systems andthe electronic equipment which
is used for reservation and guest control.
3.3.2.2
Advance reservation
The hotel industry depends primarily on advance reservations to keep its rooms
filled. The traveling public is aware of this fact, and most travellers will book their
reservations in advance. Chain hotels and motels have developed well-advanced,
internet-based and efficient systems for advance reservation bookings which are
made from any outlet of the hotel chain or at the comfort of any place with an
internet connection. The systems employed are very much like the systems now
being used by airlines for bookings and reservations. Terminal points in the larger
hotels have automatic electric equipment which types out the name, date of arrival,
anticipated length of stay, and type of accommodations requested. Whether the
system involves the use of the internet or whether it is a reservation made by
telephone or other means, a reservation clerk within a reservation office in the
hotel will take care of all these requests for rooms. Since questions do arise at the
time when the guest is checking in, the location of the reservation office must
obviously be as close to the front desk as the plan will permit. This will enable a
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reservation clerk to go back to the reservation department to check on a
questionable reservation or to adjust any problems which may arise at the time that
the new guests are checking in.
3.3.2.3
Mail and keys
The front of the hotel also has the obvious function of being the place where room
keys are kept. Some of the larger hotels have room-key clerks whose functions
consist only of receiving keys from guests as they leave the hotel and giving the
incoming guests the keys to their rooms, either upon registration or during their
stay. If the registration clerk handles the keys, then the key rack will be directly
behind the desk, easily accessible to the registration clerk. If the hotel is large
enough to require a separate area and separate personnel for handling of keys, this
function will usually be alongside the actual registration desk. Since it is
comparatively simple for someone who is not entitled to a key to ask for it and
who may be using that key to enter and rob an absent guest, it behoves the architect
to realize that some control is necessary in the handing out of keys to make sure
that keys are given only to the registered guests for that particular room.
Mail is also handled in most hotels at the registration desk which dictates that keys
and mail slots are designed as one unit and placed directly behind the registration
desk. Where a hotel is large enough to require special key clerks, the same clerks
will probably handle all incoming mail for the guests. If at all possible, mail
sorting and handling should be done in an area where the guests do not see the
operation take place. Ideally it would be behind the mail and key rack. A welldesigned unit will be worked out so that a mail clerk can place the mail into the
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individual mail slots from behind, rather than working in the front and interfering
with the activity of the registration clerk.
3.3.2.4
Cashiers, ATM and POS terminals
The average hotel usually has the cashier's counter located adjacent to the
registration desk. The larger hotels may place cashiers in the front desk area but
somewhat remote from the actual registration desk. There are times in the case of a
hotel and conference centre where one conference is ending while another is just
about to begin. This will make fortraffic congestion and some confusion. Such
asituation can be avoided by planning the registrationand cashier facilities so that
linesforming in front of the registration desk do notconflict with lines forming at
the cashier'scounter. This can also be sorted out if customers are encouraged to use
e-payment channels such as internet banking or Point of Sale (POS) terminals as an
alternative to paying cash at the cashier’s desk.
The cashier in the smaller hotels will handlemost of the bookkeeping. This is done
bymeans of today's quick and efficient computerized systems. Very often the
nightcashier will handle a good deal of the bookkeeping,relieving the daytime staff
of thischore. Larger hotels will have a complete bookkeepingdepartment. This will
require morethan just the actual cashiers, who remain attheir stations, while the
bookkeeping departmenthandles all entries and bookkeeping forthe guests. It is
obvious that this bookkeepingdepartment should be close to the front desk
cashiers, so that any questionsof charges can be quickly checked andadjusted by
the cashier, who will contact thebookkeeping department for clarification
orcorrections in the guests' bills.Conveniences will usually be found in thecashier's
area for guests who bring valuableswith them, whether it be cash, jewellery
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orimportant papers. Guests are requested byhotel management to leave such
valuables inthe hotel's safe deposit boxes or vault. It isdesirable to have the guest
transfer hisvaluables to a cashier out of sight of the publicoccupying the main
lobby. Therefore, a smallclosed room is normally provided. The guestenters this
room and gives the valuables to thecashier through a pass-through window.
Thispass-through window should have a view of thevault or the safe so that the
guest can watchhis valuables being deposited properly. Wheresafe deposit boxes
are furnished by the hotel,the cashier will hand over the key to the guest. Thesame
procedure will be followed when theguest wishes to withdraw his valuables from
the safekeeping of the hotel. This convenienceis especially useful in large resort or
conference hotels where women guests will be wearing jewellery on special
occasions. A closedroom makes it possible for the guest to deliverand receive the
jewellery without being observed.
A hotel cashier must also handle the cashfrom restaurants and coffee shop. The
cashiersin these facilities will be bringing theircash receipts to the central cashier.
In asmall hotel, this can be done directly withoutany concern about the transfer of
thefunds from the restaurant and coffee shopto the cashier. In large hotels, where
thereare a number of restaurants and other facilitieswhich entail cash payment,
specialarrangements should be made for the handlingof this cash and, in some
instances, safetydeposit boxes or vaults are provided so thatthe money can be
stored when it is brought tothe cashier space at off hours and held until normal
cashier operations begin in the morning, at which time receipts from the night
before are taken out and properly credited.
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Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and Point of Sale Terminals (POS) are
contemporary methods of electronic cash settlement which are becoming
increasingly relevant in tools of business in the world today. These machines
should be within walking reach of the arriving guests but not in such a way as will
impede the progress of customers making payment through traditional cash
payment.
3.3.2.5
Administrative area
The administration of a hotel operation depends entirely upon its size. A small
hotel will most likely have an office for a manager, who may have his secretary
working in the same room with him. The door to his office facesthe public lobby,
and an additional door is providedso that he can go from his office to the front
desk. This is the simplest operation andis found only in the smaller hotels. A
larger,medium-sized hotel will have a manager and anassistant manager and, as a
rule, there willbe a reception office where one or two typists or receptionistswill be
acting as a buffer betweenthe public and the manager. As a hotel projectgrows
larger, the administrative area growsmore complex. Aside from the manager and
theassistant manager, there may be an office fora food and beverage manager and a
banquetmanager. A larger hotel, with sizable conference facilities, will also have
an office for the conference manager and his assistants. Many of the people in the
administrativearea will deal with guests as well as hotel customersseeking to
arrange for luncheons,banquets, and conferences. Accessibility to thepublic,
therefore, is of the utmost importance.
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3.3.2.6
Restaurant facilities
Every hotel must consider the feeding of guests. Small hotels may get by with a
pleasant coffee shoprestaurant. Such a facilitywould be the type where quick
coffee shopservice could be offered a guest, either at acounter or at a table, and
where, within thesame space, more leisurely dining could be provided. In such a
facility, it is possible to take care of a large breakfast business using the entire
facility. Under normal situations there will be acocktail lounge or beverage bar
even in the smallest dining facility. The larger hotel willhave a pleasant coffee
shop for quick serviceand for simpler meals, whereas a restaurant,with its
appropriate decor for more leisurelydining, will offer a more varied menu
withprobably higher cost per meal than in thecoffee shop . The cocktail lounge will
usuallybe found close to the dining room so that hotelguests can pause for a
cocktail before lunch ordinner, or while waiting, before going to thedining room, to
meet friends or other guests.
Where conference facilities are offered withina hotel, it is wise to have a bar placed
close tothe conference facilities. Conference attendees often seemto have a
propensity for a cocktail before orafter meetings. This impulse-type of
beveragebuying is boosted tremendously if beveragefacilities are placed in the
normal path of traffic.Large conference and banquet facilitiesusually provide a
fixed or portable bar arrangementin the preassembly or foyer areas to takecare of
pauses between meetings and seminars. Attention is called to thefact that people
staying at hotels have a tendencyto seek out highly touted specialtyrestaurants
within an area rather than eatingtheir meals in the hotel. This is especially truefor
evening dining. The important thing to remember in layingout dining and
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restaurant spaces is that the decor must bedeveloped to entice the hotel guests to
eat inthe hotel rather than outside in other specialty restaurants.
3.3.2.7
Hotel lobbies
Every hotel, regardless of its size, must have a public lobby. The size of the lobby
is largely determined by the number of guest rooms as well as by the type of hotel
that is on the architect's drawing boards. It goes without saying that the larger the
hotel, the larger the lobby. The lobby will also have to be larger in a resort or
conference hotel. A resort hotel will requirea large lobby because guests will
congregatethere in the evening. A hotel catering to conferences needs a large lobby
because hereagain there is a constant gathering of conference attendees before they
go off to lectures, seminars, meetings, luncheons or dinners. There obviously is no
rule of thumb for determining the size of alobby. One must have to proceed by
making a carefulstudy of similar types of hotels and arriving atdecisions after
discussions with hotel operatorsand managers. This would be achieved through
case studies.
3.3.2.8
Elevators
Except for one- and two-storey motels, almost every other hotel and motel will use
elevators to take guests from the point at which they have checked in up to the
floor where the guest's room is located . Elevators should be located so that they
are immediately visible, either from the entrance of the hotel or from the check-in
or registration area. Another consideration in the planning of elevators is that of
their location on the guest-room floors. It is advisable to place them centrally so
that the distance walked by a guest in any direction is reduced to a minimum. It
would obviously be wrong to place the elevators at the end of a long corridor. It
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would be far better to have these elevators placed so that they are about midway
between the two ends of the guestroom corridor. The number, size, and speed of
the required elevators are best determined by the elevator companies themselves. It
would not be wise for the architect to make a determination as to these factors.
Elevator companies can give the answers when facts and figures are given to them,
and it is they who will inform the architect what the number and size as well as the
speed of the elevators should be.
Another point to note is that under no circumstances should guest elevators be used
for service. Service elevators are separate and apart. Many hotel designs indicate
the service elevators within the same general area as the passenger elevators, but
this need not necessarily be so. Each bank of elevators should be strategically
located to best service the front of the house (guests) or the back of the house.
3.3.2.9
Guest floor corridors
As the elevator doors open, a guest should find himself in an area which can be
designated as an elevator foyer. This may be a large open space or a space slightly
wider than the corridor itself. Whatever its size, it should, by its width, denote the
fact that it is the elevator foyer. It is wise to remember that no guest-room doors
should be placed opposite the elevators. Guests coming or going late at night,
coming out or getting into the elevators, may talk loudly or may be too noisy, in
which case they would be disturbing guests whose doors open off this area. The
guest-floor corridors are transitional spaces between the public space and the guest
room and generally should be treated as such.
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3.3.2.10 Guest rooms closets
The size of acloset will be determined by the type of hotel.Most motels expect
guests tostay only overnight, and therefore they needvery little accommodation for
hanging clothes.Thelonger the guest-room stay that is anticipated, then the larger
the closet. The larger walk-incloset should certainly be considered whereguests
will be staying for any length of time. This is especially true in resort and
conference hotels, wherethe guest will be arriving with many pieces ofluggage and
the closet should be large enoughto accommodate the emptied luggage duringthe
guest's stay. It should be possible to storethe luggage out of sight in the closet
withoutdiminishing the available hanging space, theshoe-rack space, or shelf space
for hats andother apparel and paraphernalia. Whether thecloset is a flat reach-in
type or a walk-in type,the door should be such that, when thecloset isopened, there
are no hidden recesses whereclothing may be forgotten because it cannot bereadily
seen by the departing guest.
3.3.2.11 Banqueting facilities
Most hotels include meeting andbanquet facilities. The smaller hotels mayprovide
only a number of meeting rooms whichmay also be used for luncheons and
dinners.Larger hotels will have a more diversifiedarrangement for meetings,
luncheons, dinners,and banquets. The largest hotels are usuallydesigned with a full
banqueting and conference facilities. The extent of these facilities will
bedetermined by the hotel operator who, in turn,will convey his requirements to
the architect.It is wise for the architect to have a thoroughknowledge of what the
feeding and spacerequirements for these facilities are.The normal meeting room
requirements arerather simple. The rooms will vary in size toaccommodate
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anywhere from 10 to as manyas 100 people. In most instances, whereverit is
feasible, the meeting rooms will be arrangedin a straight line, so that the
wallsseparating one room from the other can bemade movable. Thus, if two
meetingrooms which normally might seat 25 peopleare thrown open to one, we
would have a meetingroom to take 50 people; and if anotherwall is opened, we
would be able to seat 75people, and so on. In larger rooms, which normallyqualify
for conferences or large banquets, itis also possible to subdivide the space by
theuse of movable walls to create smaller roomswhen a large room is not required.
A largespace which might seat 1,000 people when allfolding wells have been
moved back can be cutup into anywhere from four to six spaces,allowing for
meeting rooms that can accommodate150 to 250 people. Most of these spaces will
alsobe used to serve meals. These meals may consistof small luncheons or dinners
for 10 or12 people and go on up to accommodate asmany as 1,000 people seated at
tables fordining. For the most part, food should be broughtdirectly from banquet
kitchens to the banquet spaces. In subdividing these spaces, the subdivisionmust be
so planned that each spaceis contiguous to the kitchen and has its owndoors to
enable waiters to come and gobetween the banquet spaces and the banquet kitchen.
3.3.3 GUEST ROOMS
3.3.3.1
TYPES OF HOTEL ACCOMMODATION
Room planning depends very much on the positions of the beds and on the size and
relative placement of facilities, as has already been noted, but different room types
require different arrangements. There are basically two types of dwelling spaces in
a hotel. These are the rooms and the suites. The basic difference between them is
that while a room is just one enclosure with beds and seating furniture, the suites is
more than one enclosure. A suite normally is more than the ordinary room in its
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contents also, most of the time comprising living and bedroom spaces with
physical barriers. Both rooms and suites have different forms also.
Single rooms: Normally contains only a bed with some sitting furniture
Double Room: This contains two beds and is normally bigger in size than the
single room. The beds could be separated or joined. This is ideal for couples
traveling together or any two pair of people related.
Family Room: Designed to take family and therefore, very spacious with various
ages of people that comprise a family taken into consideration.
Studio Room: This is designed more of less for working in and therefore the
sleeping area (bed) is de-emphasized or marginalized.
Economy Suites:
Economy suites are modestly furnished. They may just
contain the basic necessities for comfort without sophistication and luxury being
emphasized. Normally, a bedroom and a living room is all that is provided.
Presidential Suites: A presidential suite is tastefully furnished. The watchword is
wealth and its attendant luxuries and affluence. A presidential suite will probably
contain bedrooms, living space, bar, kitchen or kitchenette, dining, consultation
rooms, offices and so on. This suite is normally very expensive as it is independent
of all the other hotel operations.
Royal Suites: A royal suite is associated with royalties. Royalties are associated
with a large retinue of servants and aides. Therefore, this suite is very spacious to
accommodate this royal entourage. Maximally furnished, seats and facilities
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display high tasted. Just like the presidential suites, this suite has everything it
needs for its independent existence and in style.
Pent House: A penthouse is normally built on the top of the entire hotel
structure. Therefore, it commands a good view of the entire neighbourhood has its
own lift or elevator and is exclusively owned for a period of time. A pent house is
normally lavished and shows opulence and riches in furnishing.
Everything that has been said about hotels thus far may be considered peripheral to
the prime product that a hotel has to offer which is the guest rooms. This is the
final product that is to be sold. In designing guest rooms, the first consideration is
that of size. What is to be considered in this regard is the size of the actual room
itself, disregarding closets, bathrooms and other ancillary spaces. The length and
width are determined by the amount of furniture that is to go into the room and by
the degree of luxury that the hotel operator wishes to achieve. It is an obvious
truism that the luxury of space is an expensive one when considered in the light of
construction costs. Space, however, does convey a feeling of luxury and, where an
operator is aiming for the high-priced market, it would be well to create rooms that
are sized not for the actual furniture requirements but for the sheer luxury of
spaciousness. In order to understand furniture requirements, it is important to have
knowledge of the various types of rooms that a hotel or motel offers guests. The
most common room in the hotel field today is the twin-bedded room. Then there
are single occupancy rooms and lastly, studio rooms or suites. The twin-bedded
room, the most common in hotels generally, will vary in length depending on the
type of bed that the operator wishes to install. The smallest unit will have a pair of
twin beds. The first question that arises in considering twin beds is whether there
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will be a night table between the beds or whether the two beds will be placed side
by side. Rooms containing twin beds, with a night table between them, are
preferred by most hotel operators because there are many double occupancies that
do not necessarily involve married couples.
The next consideration is the size of the beds themselves. There are single beds
which are 3 ft 6 in. wide, a full-sized bed which is 4 ft 6 in., a queen-sized bed
which is 5 ft wide, and a king-sized bed which is 6 ft wide. Presently, all beds are
still being made in a 6-ft 6-in. length. In connection with beds, guests like to read
in bed, and because of the widespread use of hair preparations, the headboard
portion of the bed is subjected to heavy wear and soiling. Headboards are
therefore, definitely a part of hotel equipment.
The most common arrangement found in most hotels consists of two comfortable
armchairs with a cocktail table between them. A comfortable chair will require a
depth of least 750 millimetres and another 750 millimetres of leg space in front of
it, which means that we need at least 1500 mm from the wall before we encounter
the first piece of furniture, which will probably be a bed. The furniture placement
will usually call for the chairs to be placed against the window wall. The reason is
obvious. A view out of the window is a pleasant experience for someone using the
guest room as a sitting room. Another area that will need good lighting is the
writing and makeup area. This is usually some sort of table arrangement where a
guest may sit and write or where a female guest can sit down and apply her
makeup. It has become rather standard to combine the dresser with its drawers with
another piece of furniture which is called the dressing-writing table.
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3.4 SPACE ALLOTMENT IN A HOTEL
In designing hotels, architects are frequentlyhandicapped by the lack of factualdata
on space requirements. Too much space results in excessive investment and
building-maintenance costs. Too little space makes it difficult for the hotel owners
to realize satisfactory profits and, in service areas, causes crowding, reduces speed,
and increases payroll (De Chiara & Callender, 1983).Generally, the data
collectedfrom the sources usually availableare incomplete, unrepresentative, or
otherwise inadequate. In order to obtain space-allotment figuresthat would be
reasonably reliable, theplans of more than 40 hotels were examined by Frank
HarrisonRandolph in (Randolph, 1983). These ranged up to 500 guest roomsin
size, were of wide geographic distribution,and all were built within the preceding
25years (before 1983). They were predominantly of thetransient, commercial type
and were believedto be representative the general hotel industry. Randolph
represented his findings in a graphical form that would give a good idea of what
line to tow in future hotel planning. This method of presentation enables the
designer to grasp at a glance the relative number of data points, their location,
distribution and trend. For example, the generalization that the usual space
allotment for a hotel’s front office is 0.09m2 per guest room is true. By glancing at
the graph (see plate 3.3-1 on the next page), however, the designer can eliminate
the reasonable tolerance aboveand below this value.
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Plate 3.4-1: Relationship between front office space and the number of rooms in a
hotel.(Source: Randolph, 1983)
Plate 3.4-2: Graph showing the relationship building height and number of guest
rooms in a hotel(Source: Randolph, 1983)
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3.4.1 GENERAL DATA
Building height is indicated by the number of storeys above ground. The results of
a survey of 125 hotels by (Randolph, 1983) are shown on the graph on the
preceding page. The curve rises rapidly, showing the typical 200-room hotel to be
10 storeys high, and then tends to level off, showing the typical hotel of 2,000 to
3,000 rooms to be about 25 stories high.
Ground-floor area is shown with the plotted points widely scattered on the graph.
The available ground area and the number of guest rooms to be placed on it
account for the wide dispersion. In general, the more guest rooms, the greater the
ground-floor area.
Typical guest-floor area usually covers about 55 per cent of the ground-floor
area,according to the data presented. The guest floor area may vary greatly,
however, dependingupon individual circumstances.
Guest rooms per typical floor. If there were a standard average-size guest room
and a standard percentage addition for corridors, stairways, and the like, then the
points on this graph would follow a pattern similar to the graph for the typical
guest floor area, because the area for each data point would be divided by a
constant value representing each guest room plus allowances . Usually each maid
is assigned to about16 rooms, which should all be on the same floor. If feasible, the
number of guestrooms on the typical floor should be amultiple of 16 or quite close
to it. Onthe graph, the horizontal bands indicatethat one maid would handle from
14 to18 rooms, two maids twice this numberor from 28 to 36 rooms, and three
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maidsthree times the number or from 42 to54 rooms. In more than half the
hotelsstudied, the housekeeper apparently hassome difficulty in arranging maid
assignments.
Plate 3.4.1-1: Graph showing relationship between typical guest floor area and
the number of guest rooms in a hotel(Source: Randolph, 1983)
Plate 3.4.1-2: Graph showing relationship between the total number of elevators
and the number of guest rooms in a hotel(Source: Randolph, 1983)
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Plate 3.4.1-3: Graph showing relationship between the guest rooms per floor and
the number of guest rooms in a hotel(Source: Randolph, 1983)
Elevatorsare provided according to the number of guest rooms. The number of
elevators is of course also influenced by other factors such as the height of the
building, the speed of the elevators, and the desired average frequency of service.
The total number of guest and service elevators is presented on the graph in the
preceding page (Plate 3.3.1-2). A special study of elevators in 100 hotels by
(Randolph, 1983) showed the distribution between guest elevators and service cars
(including short lift cars) to be as shown in the table below:
Table 3.4.1-1: Relationship between number of elevators and the number of
rooms in a hotel(Source: Randolph, 1983)
Number of rooms in
Guest cars per 100
Service cars per 100
hotel
rooms
rooms
50-150
1 .3
1 .0
150-550
0 .7
0 .5
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3.5 GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN CONFERENCE CENTRE
DESIGN
Stand-alone conference centres typically have at least one auditorium and may also
contain concert halls, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and other conference rooms
(Wikimedia foundation, 2012). These individual rooms have their own design
considerations and planning principles. The study of this thesis is however limited
to the study of conference facilities in a conference hotel. The issues involved in
this type of facility are no doubt a little different from those of stand-alone
conference centres. However, they still share a lot in common. The dissimilar
portions of the two facilities have been discussed in preceding sections of this
chapter. In this section, a look will be taken at the issues that are peculiar to
conference and meeting halls in general.
3.5.1 GUIDELINES AND SPACE REQUIREMENTS IN
CONFERENCE HALLS
The conference centre proposed by this work will be a multipurpose facility that
contains about 1,500 to 2,000 seats. As a result of its varied use, its planning
should be as simple and as fool proof as possible in order to adapt to a wide range
of uses. The issues relating to this building type include the following:
3.5.1.1
SIGHT LINES
If a user of this facility is to see satisfactorily, the plan and section must conform to
a number of limitations which are set forth in the following list. To design a
conference hall is therefore to determine a seating area within these limitations and
to establish position of walls and shape of floors therefrom.
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1. The horizontal angle of polychromatic vision (no eye movement) is
approximately 400
2. The horizontal angle to the centre line at which objects onstage, upstage of the
curtain line, cease to bear the intended relationship to other objects onstage and to
the background is approximately 60 ' .
3. The horizontal angle to a flat projection sheet at which distortion on the screen
becomes substantially intolerable is 60' measured to the far side of the projected
image. Curvature introduced into the screen may render the distortion less from the
extreme seats on the opposite side of the centre line of the house but will increase
distortion from the seats on the same side of the centre.
4. Judged by the audience's ability to recognize shapes, and confirmed by free
audience choice of seats, the following is the order of desirability of locations:
a. Front centre (except when the screen is close to the front row)
b. Middle centre
c. Middle side
d. front side
e. Rear centre
f. Rear side
5. Audiences will not choose locations beyonda line approximately 30m to the
curtainat the side of the proscenium.
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6. The vertical angle beyond which ability torecognize standard shapes falls off
very rapidlyis approximately 30o
7. The recommended maximum angle of motionpicture projection to the horizontal
is 12o.
3.5.1.2
PLAN
If the foregoing limitations are applied in the horizontal plane for any given stage
opening, they will limit an area of maximum value as seating space which is
approximately elliptical. A fan shape provides additional seating space at minimum
sacrifice of sight lines, but nobody would want the seats in the extreme rear
corners.
Seating
Occupants of all seats are visually related to the performance when the seats are
oriented toward the stage. This necessitates curving the rows of seats. The centre of
curvature is located on the centre line of the auditorium approximately the depth of
the house behind the proscenium. Budgetary limitations may dictate that seats be in
straight rows to simplify construction; these rows can at least be related to the
centre of attention on stage by being placed on chords of the optimum row
curvature
Stagger
To provide best visibility from any seat, no patron should sit exactly in front of any
otherpatron unless more than one row distant. This requirement makes it necessary
to stagger seats. Staggering is accomplished by the non-uniform placement of seats
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of varying widths in succeeding rows. Unless the walls of the theatre are parallel
(which is acoustically hazardous), it is extremely unlikely that more than a very
few rows can be made up of seats of uniform width. The lack of uniformity thereby
introduced provides the means by which staggering can be accomplished. Seats are
made with uniform standards and interchangeable backs and seats so that a wide
variation of seat width is possible; a variation from seat to seat of an inch or two,
cumulative enough to accomplish satisfactory stagger and make rows even, is not
noticed by the patron.
Aisles
Aisles are of questionable desirability except in the largest houses. They must,
however, be employed in many localities because of building laws which make no
provision for continuous-row or so-called continental seating in which all rows are
widely spaced and serve as transverse aisles. Many a bad sight line has resulted
from putting the maximum legal number of seats, usually 14, into each row in
every section. Obviously, for purposes of seeing, radial aisles are best, with curved
aisles only slightly less efficient. Aisles perpendicular to the curtain line often have
the accidental result of making side section seats undesirable because people using
the aisles interrupt the view toward the stage. A centre aisle wastes the most
desirable seating area in the theatre and inevitably causes the objectionable
condition of seats near the aisle being directly in front of each other.
Depth of the building
There are many formulas used to determine the depth of the house, or more
accurately, to determine the relationship between depth of house, width of house,
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and width of screen or proscenium. They vary considerably and are all empirically
derived on the basis of existing halls, with too little reference to whether such halls
are good or not. Typical are the following: Optimum depth equals 4 times screen
width. Maximum depth equals 6 times screen width. Depth equals 1.25 to 2.35
times times screen width. Practically there are only two significant considerations
in planning the depth of the house:
1. Visual acuity. Normal human vision can perceive a minimum dimension or
separation equal to 1 minute of visual arc. Translated into space measurement this
means that at 3 metres, a normal eye can perceive a dimension of 0 .035 in., at 50
ft, 0 .175 in ., and at 100 ft, 0 .35 in. Details of make-up and facial expression of
occupants of the stage are not plainly recognizable at distances of more than 50 ft
from the stage.
2. Capacity. The larger the house, the lower can be the price per seat or the greater
the gross. If the box office is not to be considered, capacity may be limited by
optimum seeing requirements, and the last rows kept within 15 metres of the stage.
As various requirements operate to increase capacity, the distance of the rear seats
from the stage must be increased and seeing conditions impaired in proportion. The
hall operator may compensate the occupants of these seats by charging less for
them. For shows involving live human actors, 22 metres is generally accepted on
grounds of visibility as maximum house depth. In theatrical entertainment which
has as its chief visual component human actors (live shows), the degree to which
these performers must be seen to satisfy the audience and put the show across
varies.
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A. Details of facial expression and small gestureare important in legitimate drama,
vaudevilleand burlesque, intimate revue and cabaret.
B. Broad gesture by single individuals isimportant in grand opera presentation,
musicalcomedy, and the dance.
C. Gesture by individuals is unimportant andmovement of individuals from place
to place isthe smallest significant movement in pageant.
It follows then that halls planned for thetypes of entertainment listed under A must
belimited in depth of auditorium so that visibilityfrom the remotest seat still allows
the occupantto perceive facial expressions (not over 22 metres). Halls planned for
the types listed under Bmay have greater distance from the stage tothe remotest
seat, but this distance is set at amaximum beyond which the individual actor
isdiminished to insignificance (approximately38 metres).
3.5.1.3
SECTION
The vertical angle of 30o at the spectator's position establishes the distance from
the closest seat to the screen or to the highest significant object on the stage. The
lowest seat in the orchestra must be located where the patron can just see the stage
floor (except in the case of halls built for motion pictures only). The highest seat in
the balcony must be on a line which is not more than 30o to the horizontal at the
front curtain at the stage floor if it is not to be above the limit of reasonable
distortion. The standing patron at the back of the orchestra must be able to see the
top of the screen, which is usually as high as any significant portion of a stage
setting. Each spectator must see the whole stage or screen over the heads of those
in front of him. Several methods have been offered before now for developing the
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floor slope. Doubtlessothers will be offered in the future. However, Harold BurrisMeyer and F. G. Cole in (De Chiara & Callender, 1983)presented the following
method as one whichassures unobstructed vision from all seats. It may be noted
that this system produces afloor slope considerably steeper than that inmany
existing halls. It also produces betterseeing conditions.To determine floor slope,
establish eye positionof spectator in first row on centre line byapproximately
30overtical angle above.
3.6 OTHER ISSUES RELATING TO CONFERENCE
HOTEL DESIGN
3.6.1 WATER SUPPLY
Large quantities of water are required in a hotel for personal use, food preparation,
cleaning and general domestic purposes, and possibly also for cooling and
softening plants, boilers and air conditioning. Sufficient water must therefore be
stored to ensure continuity of supply. In either a high level storage cistern, or
pressurized vessels which may be at any height. In all cases, storage containers are
duplicated to allow for cleaning and maintenance without interruption. Separate
provision is made for drinking water supply either by direct services from main or
from a cistern used only for this purpose. Frequently, a water softening plant must
be installed to provide treated water for the boilers and heating system. If the
supply is very hard, softened water may be provided for general cleaning
(including laundry) and domestic use.
At least 100% of the daily water requirement must be stored to ensure continuity of
supply. In tall hotel buildings, it is necessary to boost the internal supply pressure
by pneumatic or mechanical pumping and to distribute the water within pressure
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zone of about 10 storeys (30m) in order to limit the pressure on pipes and fittings.
Pipe networks in a hotel include:
Cold water supply for drinking (may be chilled)
Cold and hot water distribution to bathroom fittings
Supplies to water closet flushing valves
Hot and cold distribution to bidets
Cutlet circulation for local cooling and air conditioning
Cold and hot water distribution to kitchen, dish-washing and laundry areas.
In the bedroom, hot and cold water supplies are usually incorporated in vertical
ducts between or adjoining the bathroom. Short branch pipes extend to the various
appliances at each floor level. Provision for primary and secondary circulation is
necessary in the main domestic hot water pipes to keep water constantly hot.
Where hot water and cold pipes occupy the same duct, both must be insulated.
Provision must also be made for service access to all enclosed pipework and for
the isolation and drainage of any section. Consideration is also given to access for
eventual dismantling and replacement of boilers, calorifiers, pumps and other
plants.
3.6.2 DRAINAGE AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL
Sewage and soil water is expected from waste and soil installations in bedrooms,
kitchens and cloak areas of public spaces. The design criteria for storm and surface
water drainage are based on the areas covered by buildings, roads, car parks and
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other surfaces, their various degrees of permeability, topography of the hotel
premises and the peak intensity of rainfall for the locality. Soil water and sewage
from the various soil and waste pipes should be disposed in sewers which should
run along the natural slope of the site. These are channelled into a central plant
where the sludge is further treated before final disposal to the main sewer.
Drainage provisions include both storm and foul water disposal, which are kept
separate to facilitate drainage design and treatment of sewage. Storm water
drainage may be used beneficially as a source of water for recreational lakes,
streams and ornamental gardens.
3.6.3 WASTE/REFUSE COLLECTION
Refuse includes waste paper, dust, remains of food, tins, jars, bottles, boxes, ashes
and other trade rubbish from workshops. Refuse truck will normally use a service
route entry and it is essential to isolate and protect the refuse storage area from
excessive heat, wind, rain, insect and rodent infestation and scavenging. The refuse
storage area may include a range of equipment to facilitate storage or handling.
Thus the following may be provided:
•
Compaction machines for compressing bulky packaging and similar
materials into bales. Separate machines may be used for paper, for plastics and for
metals intended for recycling. Crushing machines for glass bottles and containers
are necessary.
•
feeds.
Separate refuse bins for food waste intended for processing into animal
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•
Returnable containers and other items which are to be removed for further
use and which must be kept clean and separated.
•
Refrigerated storage for food waste to minimize offensiveness and insect,
particularly here in the tropics.
•
Materials intended for incineration, which will normally be taken directly
to the incinerators.
Refuse storage must allow adequate space for separation (in storage and removal)
of the salvageable items, for control, for washing down the area and containers and
for the manoeuvrings of refuse vehicles. The amount of refuse generated and the
frequency of collection will determine the sizes of the storage. The type of refuse
will inform the method of storage.
3.6.4 COMMUNICATION
The following communications systems are necessary in hotel buildings:
Telephones:
Telephones are indispensable means of modern communication. Public pay phones
are usually located in
•
Main lobby,
•
Bathroom or function room foyer
•
Recreational areas used by the services
•
Employee rest room and/or cafeteria services
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Group reservation phones are sited at the main reception desk convenient for
public use. Other public telephones are individually screened by booth enclosures
or acoustic hoods, grouped together and located in a relatively quiet position to one
side of the main circulation arise.
Local phone facilities are provided for emergency and maintenance use, and are
located at elevators, escalators, elevator motor house, engineering plant rooms.
Telephone in guest rooms most often pass through a switchboard. In small hotels,
the switchboard is in the hotel office of porters, offices, with a switchboard
operator, who takes care of channelling in and out of guests’ calls.
Guest room telephones often include intercom wirings for room services, wake up
system,
alarm
and
emergency
communications,
house
keeper/maids
communications and messenger calls.
Television:
A master antennae television system is normally installed with specific channel
antenna, signal amplification in stages and coaxial cable distribution to outlets in
guest rooms, lounges, bars and staff restroom. Close circuit television distribution
may be provided to the same outlets through a very high frequency (VHF)
Channel.
3.6.5 HEATING VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING
There are four basic elements about which decision need to be taken in the design
of a central thermal installation. First the basic energy supply, second, the central
plant which converts the energy into positive or negative heat, third, the heat
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transfer medium and distribution system which conveys this potential heat to the
individual spaces within the building fourth, it is transformed useful heat and
supplied at the correct rate for the particular room or space by terminal units.
Basic energy supply is usually oil, though electricity, gas or solid fuel may be
employed, depending on the nature of the plant. Guests are supposed to also have
some degree of individual control over the micro-climatic conditions in their
rooms.
Heating:
We do not have much problem in the heating of interiors here in the tropics.
Therefore heating in hotels here refers to the space and location for boilers and hot
water storage. Attention is given to the noise and heat from boiler rooms, relation
to fuel storage, accessibility for maintenance, degree of control of heat levels and
economy in service, and ventilation.
Induction System: Part pre-conditioned air is supplied at high pressure to various
rooms and mixed with air circulating directly from the rooms, through induction
units.
Dual duct system: These provide for full circulation of heating and cooled air in
separate ducts to mixing boxes fitted in each room. A third duct is used for the air
returning for treatment and re-circulation. This method is commonly used in large
restaurants and function rooms and, although expensive, provides full control over
air quality and distribution.
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Self-Container/or fan coil units: These have no duct work other than short
branches conveying fresh air direct from the exterior. This is mixed with recirculated air from the room and is filtered, heated or cooled and discharged by fan
incorporated in the unit.
3.6.6 SECURITY
Security is a vital factor that has continued to be neglected by hotel designers in
this part of the world. The result is that most of the hotels here lack adequate
security systems, a vital ingredient of guest comfort. This has led to many affluent
and highly placed members of the society avoiding hotel accommodations if they
can help it, preferring to spend their nights in private guest houses and in the
houses of friends and relatives, when they are away from home.
A conference hotel of international standards must be able to guarantee the safety
of life and property by being able to monitor effectively, the movement of people
not only in and out of the hotel premises, but also in and out of the various
departments of the hotel. Here vigilance at the guest room is of utmost importance
and this could be monitored effectively by strict watching of the very vital areas.
3.6.7 FIRE SAFETY
Necessary escape routes, staircases, lobbies and fire doors are basic to hotel
planning the lengths of a bedroom wing is limited by maximum distance guest
must travel to reach a staircase in the event of fire. Lifts and staircases are
normally placed together, but staircases and landings are separated from bedroom
corridors by self-closing doors to locate smoke. Every part of the building
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occupied by guest and staff should have two independent escape routes in case of
fire.
Reports of fire incidences in hotels in Britain in 1992 indicate that some 23% of
hotel fires started in kitchens, 18% in bedrooms, 12% in stores areas, 9% in halls,
corridors and elevators, 4% in bars and 4% in lounges or living rooms. The most
common causes of fire ware cooking appliances 17.8%, smoking materials 17.4%,
electrical appliances and wiring 11.2% etc.
An important aspect of fire protection is therefore the planning of the building to
separate areas of high risk from other parts in which fire is liable to cause parthazards. Escape routes should enable all occupants to reach safety when their lives
are threatened by fire. Long, low building, up to three storeys high, presents few
escape problem as most communal spaces open direct to open air and sleeping
accommodation may be distributed along axial corridors, with fire check doors,
which provides direct escape routes.
Cubical buildings, which may be eight or more storeys high, require a high
standard of emergency lightning as the occupants would be presented with special
problems of direction finding. Escape signs should have unmistakably clear
direction signs. These range from simple green arrow on opaque white
background, to self-illuminating directional sign (usually installed as part of the
emergency lighting system).
Most hotels have a definite main entrance; it is to help guests and a necessity for
the fire brigade for an annotated map of the building to be fixed in the main
entrance. Duplicate parts of the map can be installed in the corridors if the hotel is
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particularly complex. The use of constructional barriers to compartmentalize
cubical buildings is obviously an essential safety fixture.
In tall building, a major problem is the height, people may overcome fatigue before
they reach the foot of a staircase and the total evacuation time may be excessively
long. Normally, tall buildings are constructed with floors of non-combustible
construction, and these may be considered on fire barriers making each floor a fire
compartment. Directional signs and complex escape paths also apply to tall
buildings.
Recently, automatic systems, comprising a sensory device to detect temperature
rise, carbon monoxide, smoke or fames the impulse and resound equipment has
been introduced in hotels. The equipment activated electromagnetic release catches
for smoke doors, exhaust and relief ventilation and dampers to isolate other
ventilation ducts and alarms. Automatic relay to the local fire station say also be
provided. Alarm system may range from a simple warning bell to message relay
through individual telephones or central sound transmission system for public area,
the latter being useful in reducing panic.
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REFERENCES
BOOKS
Arnold, A. L. (1995). Arnold Encyclopedia of Real Estate. Chicago: John Wiley
and Sons.
Bentley, A., Babcock, P., Murrain, S., & McGlynn, G. (1985). “Introduction” in
Responsive Environments. London: Architectural Press.
De Chiara, J., & Callender, J. H. (1983). Time-Saver Standards for Building Types.
Singapore: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Neufert, E., & Neufert, P. (2006). Architect's Data Third Edition. Houston:
Blackwell Science.
Randolph, F. H. (1983). Space Allotments. In J. De Chiara, & J. H. Callender,
Time-Saver Standards for Building Types (pp. 889-895). Singapore:
McGraw-Hill Book Company.
WEBSITE
Wikimedia foundation. (2011, September 6). Hotel. Retrieved September 8, 2011,
from Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel
Wikimedia foundation. (2012, March 12). Convention centre. Retrieved May 11,
2012, from Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia:
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_center
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Chapter 4 : CASE STUDIES
4.1
NICON HILTON (TRANSCORP) HOTEL, ABUJA
Source of Information: Visit to the hotel, internet, interviews, photographs taken
and sketches.
Client: The hotel was a joint venture, whose principal partners are the National
Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON), the Hilton International and some
other corporate bodies but has being acquired by Transcorp PIc.
Architect: A Gaillard, D. Hamou, and HJ. Stampfli with J. Metzger and P. Aklin
Management Firm: The Hilton International
Site: The site is located in the central area of the Federal Capital Territory
precisely the Wuse district. It is estimated to be less than one kilometer from the
ministry and embassy sites. The site is slightly sloppy and it is threatened by
erosion menace.
Completion: The project's implementation started in 1982 and was accomplished
in 1986, but was formally opened in April, 1987.
Local attractions: Gurara Falls, Usuma Dam and Zuma Rock
Structure and Description: the structure composition is a combination of
concrete and steel frames, the horizontal and vertical members of reinforced
concrete with props. The hotel is a 10 storey (Y-Plan) ultra-modem structure. It is
the biggest hotel in the country and most modern international standard with
guest suites richly and lavishly furnished.
The landscape of the hotel environment creates this feeling of being at home with
nature. The beautiful landscape gives a warm reception to guests and takes them
from the entrance gate through the congress hall to the porte-cochere.
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Facilities Available:
The available spaces and facilities in Abuja Sheraton Hotel are as follows: 797
Rooms
337 Standard Twins
60 Alcove Twins
16 Studios
60 Junior Suites
80 Royal Rooms (bridal Suites)
30. Presidential Suites A
8 Executive Suites
20 Presidential Suites B
3 Restaurants
Zuma Grill
Bukka Restaurant
Oriental Restaurant
3 bars
Grill Bar
Cocktail Bar
Pool Snack Bar
Gift Shops
Car Rental
DHL Courier Services
2 Banks
19 Meeting Rooms
Business Centre
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Conference Centre
Laundry and Valet Services
Safety Deposit Boxes
Mail and Postage Facilities
Swimming Pools - Adult and Children's Pool
Sauna
Fitness Centre and Gymnasium
Squash Centre
Tennis Courts
Casino
Facsimile, Telex, Telephone, etc
Night Club
Volley Ball
Basket Ball
Mint Golf
Plate4.1-1: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Properly Landscaped Dual
Carriage Entrance(Source: Author, 2012)
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Plate 4.1-2: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Ground Floor Level(Source: ng.hilton.com,
2012)
Plate 4.1-3: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Second Ground Floor Level(Source:
ng.hilton.com, 2012)
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Plate 4.1-4: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Mezzanine Level(Source: ng.hilton.com, 2012)
Plate 4.1-5: NICON HILTON ABUJA- ARIAL VIEW(Source: Google earth, 2012)
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Plate 4.1-6: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Main Entrance and Drop-Off with External
façade(Source: ng.hilton.com, 2012)
Plate 4.1-7: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Service Road and “Back of House”(Source:
ng.hilton.com, 2012)
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Plate4.1-8: NICON HILTON ABUJA- Conference Hall Kicked off the Tower(Source:
Author, 2012)
Plate 4.1-9: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Piano Lounge Very Spacious (Source:
ng.hilton.com, 2012)
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Plate4.1-10: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Presidential suite(Source: ng.hilton.com,
2012)
Plate4.1-11: NICON HILTON ABUJA-King Deluxe Suite(Source: ng.hilton.com,
2012)
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Plate 4.1-12: NICON HILTON ABUJA-Royal Bath(Source: ng.hilton.com, 2012)
Plate4.1-13: NICON HILTON ABUJA –Recreational Facilities(Source:
ng.hilton.com, 2012)
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Plate4.1-14: NICON HILTON ABUJA -Imo and Rivers meeting hall(Source:
ng.hilton.com, 2012)
Plate4.1-15: NICON HILTON Abuja -Kaduna meeting hall(Source: ng.hilton.com,
2012)
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Plate 4.1-16: NICON HILTON ABUJA -Capital Bar(Source: ng.hilton.com, 2012)
Plate4.1-17: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Congress Hall(Source: ng.hilton.com, 2012)
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Plate4.1-18: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Leisure Village(Source: ng.hilton.com, 2012)
Plate 4.1-19: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Fulani Pool Bar(Source: ng.hilton.com,
2012)
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Plate4.1-20: NICON HILTON ABUJA - Leisure Pool(Source: ng.hilton.com, 2012)
Critical Appraisal
Merits:
-
The Architectural statement of the hotel is direct; the form has been
handled to give the building its own special character and appeal. Straight
formal lines were used to outline the basic geometric shapes or forms of the
design.
-
The hotel is of very high class (five stars) and is principally conceived to
belong to the top echelon of hotel class. The combination of steel frames
with concrete gives a strong and impressive character.
-
The hotel site is properly landscaped with guest relaxation and recreational
facilities and extensive parking spaces.
-
The glittering interior lavishly furnished to the highest taste is indeed
welcoming and classy.
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-
The hotel scale justifies the choice form in keeping with the 12 storey
height limit of Abuja.
-
Consideration of the disabled guests by providing prominent ramps and
specially designed rooms for them is a good consideration.
-
Although its scale is monumental and overwhelming, its status as an
international class hotel in the Federal Capital Territory is justifiable.
-
The guest rooms are tastefully furnished that it will leave an overwhelming
impression in the mind of the guests.
-
The hotel has three restaurants; hence the guest may choose to dine in
relaxed informality (Bukka restaurants), continental especially (oriental
restaurant) or elegant luxury (Zuma Grill).
Demerits
-
The site of the hotel is too brisk and inhumane for the casual guest and does
not allow for people on vacation and tourists to enjoy their stay.
-
The hotel rooms have no balcony, thus making it impossible for the guest
to have a semi-physical contact with the immediate landscape and
environment.
-
There is no direct link between the administration and the service areas.
There is no direct link between the service areas and the public areas
without going through the kitchen.
-
The fire escapes in the guest room wings are not adequate.
-
The hotel depends so much on mechanical system of lighting and
ventilation, therefore its green building rating is not commendable.
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Conclusion: The Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja can truly compete effectively with
other top-echelon hotels of the world. As an international class hotel, it is an
enormous and resounding success.
The combination of the steel frame with concrete gives an impressive facade.
Architecturally, it speaks of Strength and Stability.
4.2
SHERATON (HYATT REGENCY) HOTEL, ABUJA
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Architects: Lanre Towry Coker Associates, Lagos.
Source of information: This includes visit to the hotel, internet, interviews and
reference to materials and documents.
Completion date: 1989 (official opening15th of January, 1990)
Brief History
This hotel was initially the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Abuja and was managed by Hyatt
Hotel Managers International for the owners, capital Hotels. As a result of
disagreement between both parties, the hotel manager had to quit, then, Sheraton
hotel managers were invited to manage the hotel, thereby changing the name to
Abuja Sheraton. However, the hotel was constructed between 1985 and 1989. It
was used in May, I989, for the African Development Bank (ABD) Conferences in
Abuja but was officially opened on the 15th of January, 1990. The hotel is the
second five star hotel in Abuja.
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Location
The Abuja Sharon Hotel is situated on Ladi Kwadi Way, approximately 39
kilometres (24 miles) from Abuja International Airport. This implies that it is
located in the heart of the fast growing Federal Capital Territory.
Form Description
The first impression of Abuja Sheraton in the contexts or form is that of a
truncated pyramidal frustum, however it would more appropriate to interpret the
three dimensional perception of the building as an Egyptian Mastaba punctured by
holes. This system also attempts to redefine the tower podium concept by
encapsulating the podium in the lower part of the Mastaba. The location of the
conference hall, kitchen and Luigi restaurant is in the podium extending further
from the main tower. As result of the shape of the tower, the rooms were staggered
vertically on top of one another to get equal room and corridor spaces.
Moreover, this irregularity factor in the floor areas allowed only for single loaded
corridors with empty spaces in between them which form a court yard round the
whole of the hotel. The courtyard is housed by the building in a manner that it
forms all atrium. More also, the courtyard is divided into two parts by an 8- story
bridge which houses the shaft. The sloping sides of the towers are punctured by
holes used for the balconies. This creates a feeling of array or voids and adds
texture to the form of building.
Architecture
The Abuja Sheraton's design is based on a regular square grid. The structural
elements of the hotel were also based on square grid which forms a structural unit.
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These structure units form rooms, and the size of these rooms depends on the
number of units used. They range from one unit for the standard bedroom to six for
the presidential suites. The walls slant upwards in elevation and are supported by
concrete beams and columns
The design or the hotel considers a humane approach to architecture whereby
lighting effects were used in the entrance lobby to excite and wet the users
appetite. Acrylic skylights were used to infuse light into these areas. There-withal,
the use or the 8-story courtyard attempted to subdue the brutal atmosphere of most
hotel accommodation tower by trying to bring the guest into the natural and
humane perspective.
Construction and materials
The on-site construction technique was predominantly adopted in the Abuja
Sheraton Hotel building. This was due to the building's form, which did not allow
for pre-fabrication of most parts of the building. Consequently, concrete was used
extensively as a construction material.
The exterior finishes of the building is mainly beige, polka doted 2.5cm main
finish and ceramic tiles. These tiles were extensively used in the accommodation
tower of the hotel and in the lower parts of
the hotel building. Internally,
numerous materials were used: matt water-proof wall paper, wood finish, marble
tiles, internal railed vermiculite ceiling finishes, carpet finishes etc. Also lighting
used in the internal design of the hotel ranged from hollow submerged lighting
fixture in the entrance lobby to bed side lamps in the guest rooms.
Spaces and facilities
The space and facilities of the Abuja Hotel and towers arc:
671 Rooms:
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4 Presidential Suites
2 Ambassadorial Suites
16 Deluxe Suites
32 Executive Suites
613 Standard Rooms
3 Restaurants
Luigi's Restaurant
Papillion Restaurant
Mirabelle Restaurant
2 Bars
Elephant Bar
Lobby Bar
Gin Shops
Car Rental
Bank
Courier Services
Night Club
Casino
Hairstylist
Laundry
8 Meeting Rooms (150 persons each)
Conference Centre (2500 person's capacity)
Business Centre
Health fitness Centre
Gymnasium
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Saunas
Stream Rooms
Tennis Courts
Juice Bar
Plate4.2-1: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Perspective View(Source:
www.sheratonabuja.com/, 2012)
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Plate4.2-2: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Lobby Bar(Source:
www.sheratonabuja.com/, 2012)
Plate4.2-3: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Papillion Top(Source:
www.sheratonabuja.com/, 2012)
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Plate4.2-4: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Classic Room(Source:
www.sheratonabuja.com/, 2012)
Plate4.2-5: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Luigis Restaurant(Source:
www.sheratonabuja.com/, 2012)
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Plate4.2-6: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Obudu Restaurant(Source:
www.sheratonabuja.com/, 2012)
Plate4.2-7: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Conference Facilities(Source: Author,
2012)
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Plate4.2-8: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – Water Body/Greenery Within the
courtyard(Source: Author, 2012)
Plate4.2-9: SHERATON HOTEL ABUJA – ARIAL VIEW(Source: Google earth, 2012)
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Merits:
1. The location of the hotel in the serene valleys of Abuja presents interesting
and exciting vista or the budding capacity, such as the renowned central
mosque.
2. The hotel posits a humane approach to the architecture of hotels by the use
of well-lit spacious flowing spaces.
3. The form of the hotel is so interesting that it charms many guests to the
hotels. It allows for cross ventilation and natural lighting.
4. What is splendid about this architecture of this hotel is the spatial transition
fromthe lobby to the courtyard.
5. The rooms all have balconies which allow the guests to least in vistas and
also allows the guest get in touch with the natural environment.
6. The interiors or the hotel arc made natural by the introduction of natural
plants, fish ponds and lighting effect.
7. The landscaping of the courtyard has a touch of traditional effects with use
of indigenous building materials like thatches.
8. The north facing quest rooms is also ideal in order to keep out the intense
tropical heat of the area.
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9. The number of rooms and restaurant facilities offers guests a wide range or
options and satisfaction.
10. The hotel also offers several recreational facilities to the guest, and more
importantly satisfies tourists and vacationists.
Demerits:
1. As a result of the use or skylight in parts of the entrance lobby, parts of
these areas that are not affected by this gesture appears dark and dull.
2. The hotel design is too spread out for the comfort of the guest. This is
depicted especially in the juxtaposition or restaurant spaces and conference
spaces.
3. The atrium is not enclosed, hence, the spaces immediately around and in
the courtyard are affected by weather factors.
4. Due to the large number of rooms (671) and less number of floors (8) the
hotel occupies a large land mass.
4.3
THE KIGALI CONVENTION COMPLEX
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Client: Ultimate Concept Ltd (UCL) / Rwandan government
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Architects: Spacial Solutions International GmbH (Germany)
Source of information: http://www.world-architects.com
Proposed completion date: December 2011
4.3.1 BACKGROUND
The Kigali Convention Complex is being developed in the Rwandan capital Kigali,
as one of the most important projects of the developing central African country. It
offers premium conditions for regional and international events like conventions,
exhibitions, festivals and cultural happenings with the adjoining 5-star Convention
Hotel and the directly connected IT park.
4.3.2 THE CONVENTION CENTRE
The Convention Centre is the heart of the Kigali Convention Complex, situated
between the Convention Hotel and the IT-Office Park. With a net floor area of
32.200 m2 the building contains facilities for business, leisure and events. A wide
variety of gastronomical facilities are offered to the visitor such as a café, an
exclusive All-Day-Dining Restaurant and a luxury Fine-Dining Restaurant.
Furthermore, the property offers a 930 m2 conference area and ten meeting rooms.
The Arena underneath the Dome (see plates on next page) is planned as a
multifunctional hall. It holds enough space for a variety of events, ranging from
summit events with 100 participants to a pop concert with 2.600 people. Direct
public access is possible from the Platform on the rooftop. In this case, the Arena
and the Platform can achieve their full potential as a market and meeting place for
the city and the people of Kigali. The translucent cover of the dome reflects the
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scenarios and illuminations to the outside, sharing impressive spectacles with the
whole city.
Plate 4.3.2-1: Interior view of the 2600 capacity convention hall showing the
effect of the translucent roofing (Source: http://www.world-architects.com)
Plate 4.3.2-2: Exterior dome of the convention hall (Source: http://www.worldarchitects.com)
The convention hall of the centre has the following features:
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Radius: 28 m
Height: 38 m
Arena: 1.250 m2, up to 2.600 persons
Conference capacity: 930 m2, up to 836 persons
Meeting capacity: 530 m2, up to 482 persons
Restaurants All Day Dining: 620 m2
Fine Dining: 480 m2
Coffee shop indoor space: 72 m2
Coffee shop outdoor space: 415 m2
Plate 4.3.2-3: Foyer of the convention centre (Source: http://www.worldarchitects.com)
4.3.3 THE CONVENTION HOTEL
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The elegance and generosity of the Kigali Convention Centre is mirrored in the
adjacent five star Kigali Hotel just across. The hotel’s comfort, style, and
convenient location attract business people as well as tourists, and offer the visitors
to the Convention Centre an enjoyable stay. The Kigali Hotel is built according to
the latest sustainability considerations to make a visit entirely comfortable and at
the same time provide an ideal environment-friendly solution. Every room is
supplied with an individual balcony that not only provides extra comfort and space,
but also shade, helping to keep the rooms consistently cool. Sheltered through the
wings of the hotel, the courtyard with a pool, wooden decks, palm trees and a bar,
creates an atmosphere of recreation amongst the business district of the capital city.
The lobby bar and the spa area are both directly connected to the courtyard. The
courtyard is terraced, reflecting the typical landscape patterns of Rwanda. These
terraces are planted with typical flowers, which bloom in colours yellow to red.
Figure 4.3.3-1: Pool area of the convention hotel (Source: http://www.worldarchitects.com)
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4.3.4 CRITICAL APPRAISAL
Merits
1. The convention centre has a clear and distinct being from the hotel facility.
This feature enables both facilities to function independently and still be able to
share a symbiotic relationship on one site
2. Apart from the main convention auditorium, the convention centre has other
smaller halls. This feature makes the entire centre complete enough to play host
to a broad array of multi-purpose activities.
3. The hotel employs the use of balconies on the rooms that not only provide
extra comfort and space, but also shade, helping to keep the rooms consistently
cool.
4. The centre blends well with the underlying Kigali cityscape. This is the result
of good site analysis and design.
Demerits
1. The scale of the convention centre disproportionately dwarfs the other facilities
in the centre.
2. The massing of the convention centre makes it overly dependent on artificial
means for ventilation and air flow, a design which is not entirely compatible
with the tropical climate.
4.4
EKO HOTEL AND SUITES
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
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Client:
The hotel was proposed by the Federal Government. After a
competition was conducted, the architects, Oluwole, Olumuyiwa
Associates were given the go-ahead to design the hotel. The hotel was
completed on March 5th, 1977 and was managed by Holiday Inn
Corporation. It was thus called Eko Holiday Inn, until 1988 when it was
taken over by Le Meridien and became Eko Le Meridien Hotel.
Presently, the hotel is known as Eko Hotel and Suites.
Architects: Oluwole, Olumuyiwa Associates Lagos in partnership with Walter
Burns Toan Lunde Associates, New York.
Source of information: Visit to the hotel, interviews conducted, photographs
taken, actual observation and site sketches.
Completion date: March 5th, 1977
Background
The hotel occupies a site at Victoria Island, Lagos on the bay of the Kuramo River.
It is ideally located in the privacy of this bay and is a walking distance to the Bar
Beach. Its location is about ten minutes’ drive to the city centre and forty minutes’
drive to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, lkeja. The Eko Hotels and
Suites is located
•
600 yards from the Bar Beach
•
12 miles from Lagos, Nigeria (LOS-Murtala Muhammed Intl.)
•
1.3 miles from the Ikoyi Golf Club
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•
1.4 miles from the Silverbird Galleria
•
1.6 miles from the Palms Shopping Mall
•
2.2 miles from the Nigerian National Museum
Description
The hotel is based on the tower atop a podium definition. The tower is a modified
rectangular box with 45° trapezoidal extension on each side. That is, two staggered
parallel diagonal shafts joined together by a central rectangular one. The elevators
are lit by large curtain walls that span through the whole floors. These curtain walls
allow for vistas of the densely built areas of Victoria Island. There are four fire
escapes, one fire escape in each diagonal shaft and two in the central shaft.
The rectangular shaft remained the same throughout the entire floors that is in
terms of room design. However, the diagonal shafts, especially the lower shaft: and
the junction to the rectangular shaft were changed on different floor levels to form
different room types.
The pent house restaurant (Shangri-La) is atop the tower, and could be reached by
the elevators. The restaurant has two terraces, one overlooking Kuramo waters and
the swimming pool, while the other overlooks the office building in Victoria
Island. This restaurant houses the water tanks. On the ground floor, we have the
lobby and a central courtyard. The lobby is not defined by walls but by columns
and it has a small man-made waterfall.
The staggered floor level in the basement houses most of the ―back of the house‖
activities as a result of the slope of the land towards the Kuramo bay.
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Architecture
The building is based on a square grid which applies to most of the tower.
However, this grid is used in conjunction with a 450 to the horizontal plane
immediately one alights in the car-port (Porte cochere), one enters a lobby that is
not really defined and is informal to the core. The only hint that this might be the
lobby is the presence of reception desk and cashier's booth. This freedom flows to
the elevator lobby and retail shop from which there is a vertical movement to the
more formal areas in the accommodation tower. More so, below, the lobby flows
towards the restaurants and bar areas.
Plate 4.4-1: Perspective view of the hotel (Source: Google earth, 2012)
The conference facilities are located behind. Descending down the staircase, one
sees the swimming pool area with the cocktail bar and the Kuramo cafe restaurant.
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The architecture of the Eko Hotel tries to incorporate informality and freedom of
space in the public areas and strict formality in the private areas.
Plate 4.4-2: External Façade with good Views from Balconies (Source: Author,
2012)
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Plate 4.4-3: Properly Planned Car Lots and Delivery Bay (Source: Author, 2012)
Plate 4.4-4: The Pool bar (Source: Author, 2012)
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Plate 4.4-5: Interior of the presidential suite (Source:
http://www.ekohotels.com/, 2012)
Construction and Materials:
The construction used is the in-situ construction. No major part of the buildings
structure was pre- fabricated. The major construction materials are concrete and
sand Crete blocks. The exterior finish material is sandtex coating with a very rough
finish. The predominant colour is white, while the contrasting colour to white used,
is dark brown which is the colour of the bronze anodized aluminium handrails used
in the balconies. The glass fixtures are tinted translucent brown and also have
bronze anodized frames. Several diverse finishes were used in the public areas,
hard materials such as marble tile and terrazzo finishes were used. On the walls, a
rough finished wall was coated with paint and vermiculite ceiling boards were used
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in the ceilings in the private areas; the floor finish was rug carpeting, wood finish,
white concrete walls, and vermiculite on the ceilings. Planting and lighting fixtures
were also introduced to create the feeling of a natural environment.
4.4.1 CRITICAL APPRAISAL
1. The location of the hotel in a serene area of Lagos presents interesting and
exciting vista or the budding capacity, such as the renowned central
mosque.
2. The form of the hotel allows for cross ventilation and natural lighting.
3. What is splendid about this architecture of this hotel is the spatial transition
fromthe lobby to the courtyard.
4. The rooms all have balconies which allow the guests to enjoy vistas and
also allow the guest get in touch with the natural environment.
5. The interiors or the hotel arc made natural by the introduction of natural
plants, fish ponds and lighting effect.
Demerits:
1. The hotel design is too spread out for the comfort of the guest. This is
depicted especially in the juxtaposition or restaurant spaces and conference
spaces.
2. Due to the large number of rooms and less number of floors the hotel
occupies a large land mass.
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Chapter 5 : SITE LOCATION AND
ANALYSIS
5.1
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF NIGERIA
The Federal Republic of Nigeria extends between latitudes 4°16'N and 14°N and
between longitudes 2°49'E and 14°37'E. It is surrounded by French speaking West
African countries but for the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Guinea) in the south. The
greatest distance from east to west is about 1300 kilometres and its distance from
north to south is about 1100 kilometres. Nigeria has 36 states. Anambra is one of
them and like Enugu, Imo, Abia, Rivers, Cross-River, and Akwa-Ibom, was carved
out of the former Eastern Region.
Plate 5.1-1: Map of Nigeria showing the 36 states and the FCT (Abuja) (Source:
www.ananigeria.com/branches, 2012)
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Plate5.1-2: Map of Nigeria Showing Climate (Source: Metrological department
Port Harcourt, 2012)
Plate5.1-3: Map of Nigeria showing annual average Temperature(Source:
http://www.bestcountryreports.com/Temperature_Map_Nigeria.html, 2012)
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Plate 5.1-4: Map of Nigeria Showing Rain Distribution(Source: Metrological
department Port Harcourt, 2012)
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Plate 5.1-5: Vegetation map of Nigeria(Source: http: //www. Map of
Nigeria.html, 2012)
5.2
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF ANAMBRA STATE
Anambra state is bounded by Delta and Edo States to the west, Imo and Rivers
States to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State to the north as shown in
Plate 5.1-1. Anambra State derives its name from Anambra (Omaballa) River that
traverses the state. Plate 5.1-1 below shows the location of Anambra. Anambra is a
state in south- central Nigeria. The city centre, marked by the junction of the old
Enugu-Onitsha Road and Achalla Road is located on Latitude 6°12'25" North and
Longitude 7°4' 12" East. Anambra State has an area of 4,844kmsq.
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Plate 5.2-1: Location map of Anambra (Source: www.rnw.nl/.../NigeriaAnambrawikipedia_0.png, 2011)
The Local Government Areas of Anambra State are: Aguata, Awka North, Awka
South, Anambra East, Anambra West, Anaocha, Ayamelum, Dunukofia,
Ekwusigo, Idemili North, Idemili South, Ihiala, Njikoka, Nnewi North, Nnewi
South, Ogbaru, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Orumba North, Orumba South and
Oyi. Below is a map showing the local government areas.
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Plate 5.2-2: Map of Anambra state showing the 21 local government
areas(Source: www.speakersoffice.gov.ng/images/map.anambra1.gif, 2012)
5.2.1 KEY FACTS
Capital: Awka
Area: 4,844 km2
Population: 7,821,858 (2005 est.)
Date Created: 27 August 1991
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5.3
BRIEF BACKGROUND ON ANAMBRA STATE
Anambra State was created on the 3rd of February, 1977. It was one of the two
states carved out of the former East Central State. On August 27, 1991, Enugu
State was created out of Anambra State and its capital was moved to Awka. The
state derives its name from the Anambra River which runs north to south through
the state.
Anambra state has a lot to do to improve their brand image which has been
negatively undermined by the activities of indigenous youths lacking employment.
The current governor, Mr Peter Obi with his private sector background and
experience appears to be the right man for the job, but his slow start has continued
to attract the criticisms of Anambra state indigenes whose patience are running out.
With all the materials and human resources that abound in the state, including the
extra advantage of being the home state of some famous Nigerians such as Rt.
Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chinua Achebe, Philip Emeagwali, Arthur Ekwensi,
Prof. Charles Soludo, Emeka Anyaoku, Prof. (Mrs) Oby Ezekwesili, Prof. Dora
Akunyili and so on, it is about time that Anambra, a potential economic and
regional tiger wakes up and starts to harness her true potentials for the benefits of
her indigenes
Known to be the state where prominent sportsmen hail from, and where skills for
local crafts such as blacksmithing abound, the state government has a lot to do in
ensuring these talents are harnessed by providing for its unemployed youths a
befitting youth centre for the acquisition of the right physical, vocational and social
skills and mental attitude.
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5.3.1 POPULATION
Anambra State has a population of 7, 821,858 (2005 estimate). It has one of the
highest population densities in Africa. This has posed other serious problems from
undue pressure on the state's resources, fragile infrastructure, environmental
sanitation and social services and so on. this pressure is especially evident in its
huge commercial nerve centre of Onitsha.
5.3.2 ECONOMY
Anambra is rich in natural gas, crude oil, bauxite, ceramics and almost 100 percent
arable soil. Most of its natural resources remain largely untapped.The people are
very industrious, and most of the industrial base of the state is private sector
driven, spanning from agro-allied, automobile and manufacturing situated mostly
in the Nnewi industrial belt. Onitsha market is reputed to be the biggest in West
Africa.
5.3.3 PHYSICAL FEATURES
Geology and mineral resources
Anambra State lies in the Anambra Basin, the first region where intensive oil
exploration was carried out in Nigeria. The Anambra basin has about 6,000m of
sedimentary rocks. The sedimentary rocks comprise ancient crustaceous deltas,
somewhat similar to the Niger Delta~ with the Nkporo Shale, the Mamu
Formation, the Ajalli sandstone and the Nsukka Formation as the main deposits.
On the surface, the dominant sedimentary rocks are the Imo Shale a sequence of
grey shales, occasional clay iron stones and Sandstone beds.
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The Imo Shale underlies the eastern part of the state, particularly in Anyamelu,
Awka North in the geological sequence, is the Aneke Formation, which includes
Nanka Sands, laid down in the Eocene. Its rock types are sandstone, calcareous
shale, and Shelly limestone in thin bands. Outcrops of the sandstone occur at
various places on the higher cuesta, such as at Abagana and Nsugbe, where they
are quarried for construction purposes. Nanka sands outcrop mainly at Nanka and
Oko in Orumba North Local Government Area.
Lignite was deposited in the Oligocene to Miocene; and it alternates with gritty;
lays in places. Outcrops of lignite occur in Onitsha and Nnewi. The latest of the
geological formations is the Benin Formation or the coastal plain sands deposited
from Miocene to Pleistocene. The Benin formation consists of yellow mud white
sands. The formation underlies Ihiala Local Government Area. Thick deposits of
Alluvium were laid down in the western parts of the state, south and lorth of
Onitsha in the Niger and Anambra river floodplains.
Landforms and Drainage
Anambra State falls into two main landform regions: a highland region of
moderate elevation that covers much of the state south of the Anambra River, and
low plains to the West, North, and East of the highlands. The highland region is a
low asymmetrical ridge or cuesta in the northern portion of the Awka-Orlu
Uplands, which trend roughly southeast to the North West, in line with the
geological formations that underlie it. It is highest in the Southeast, about 410m
above mean sea level, and gradually decreases in height to only 33m in the
northwest on the banks of the Anambra River and the Niger. At Onitsha and
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Otuocha, the cuesta provides well drained low land, very close to the river, thereby
enabling settlements to extend to the banks of the river.
The cuesta has confined the wide and braided channel of the Niger to a
comparatively narrow valley bed at the southern part of Onitsha, making an
appropriate location for the construction of bridge across the river. The highlands
consists two cuestas, a lower and a higher one, each with an east facing
escarpment. The two cuestas merge south of Nanka. The lower cuesta, formed by
the more resistant sandstone rocks of the lmo Shale, rises to only 150m above
mean sea level at Umuawulu and decreases in height northwestward to only
100m< Achalla. Its encarpment faces the Mamu River plain and has a local relief
of between 80 and 30 west of it is the higher cuesta, formed by the sandstones of
the Ameke Formation. Its height is above 400m in the South-East at 19bo-ukwu
and lsuofia, decreasing northwestward to less than 300m,; Agbana, and to only
100m at Aguleri. They are only of moderate height, they provide elevated, well
drained and attractive settlement sites, hence, they are closely settled even up their
crests. Agulu, Agbana, Awkuzu, Nteje and Aguleri are some of the settlements on
the cuesta, and lfieA wka, Mgbakwi Amanuke and Achalla are some of those on
the crest of the lower cuesta. The dip slope of the cuesta extends westwards for
over 30km and is heavily settled.
The plains lie west and North of the highland; the River Niger Plain, South of
Onitsha, about 9km wide and the Niger Anambra River plain north of Onitsha,
which stretches for over 30km east of the Niger, are really low plains, well below
30m above mean sea level and liable to flood. They are underlain by recent
alluvium; and east of the Anambra River, by the lmo Shale formation. The plains
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are almost featureless, except for sporad broad undulations, rising above the flood
plain and forming sites for the farming and fishing settlements including Nzanm,
Nmiata and Anam in Anabra West LGA, and Atani, Odekpe, and Oshita in Ogbaru
LGA. East of the Anambra River, a narrow and elongated sand, stone ridge,.
projecting about 30m above the level at the plain settlement sites for Anaki
Igbakwu, Ifute and Umueje in Ayamelum LGA. The Mamu River plain east of the
cuesta landscape is a little higher than the other two plains. It lies to between 30
and 70m above sea level in the area underlain by the Imo Shale, rising higher south
of wards. East of the Mamu River are found the more resistant sandstone ridge, AT
SOME SOm above the level of the plains. The extension of this ridge southward is
settled by the people of Ufuma, Ajalli, Isuilo, Ezira and Umunze, the main
drainage system in the state. The Anambra River rises on the Gala Plateau near
Ankpa in Kogi State and, for its over 85km course in Anambra State, flow through
the Northern low plain where it, as well as its right bank tributaries, meander
heavily, developing oxbow lakes and abandoned meander channels. Its largest left
bank tributary is the Mamu River, which drains the eastern low plain on the Imo
Shale Formation.
The higher cuestas forms the watershed separating the numerous east flowing
tributaries of the Mamu River from the west flowing rivers, the Idemili, the Nkisi,
and the Oyis, which drain the dip slope of the cuesta. All but one of the main rivers
in Anambra State empty into the River Niger, which forms the Western boundaries
of the state and constitutes local base level for the rivers. The exception is the Ulasi
River, which rises near Dikenafia in Imo State, flows northward to Ozubulu in
Anambra State and then turns round in a wide loop and heads for the Atlantic
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Ocean. The dip slope of the higher cuesta between N sugbe, Onitsha, Ogbunike
and Umunya is dissected by the numerous tributary streams of the Mamu Anambra
into a rolling landscape.
Vegetation and Soils
The climatic conditions namely, the constantly high temperatures, and the annual
rainfall total of above 1450mm concentrated mainly in 8 months of the year with 4
months of relative draught, support a climax vegetation of high forest In Nigeria as
a whole, two broad belts of vegetation can be identified, the forest and savannah.
Within each group, it is possible to distinguish three sub types namely saltwater,
freshwater, and high forest in the forest type of vegetation, and in the savannah, the
Sudan, savannah, and guinea savannah as shown in plate 5.3.3-1.
Consequently, the natural vegetation in the greater part of Anambra State is
tropical dry or deciduous forest, which, in its original form comprised tall trees
with thick undergrowth and numerous climbers. The typical trees (silk cotton,
Iroko, and Oil bean) are deciduous, shedding their leaves in the dry season. Only in
the southern parts of the state, where the annual rainfall is higher and the dry
season shorter, is the natural vegetation marginally the tropical rainforest type.
Because of the high population density in the state, most of the forests have been
cleared for set element and cultivation. What exists now is secondary re- growth,
or a forest savannah mosaic, where the oil palm is predominant, together with
selectively preserved economic trees. Relics of the original may, however be found
in some "juju" shrines or some inaccessible areas. Three soil types can be
recognized in Anambra State, they are
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- Alluvial soil
- Hydromorphic soils and
- Ferallitic soils
The alluvial soils are pale brown loamy soils. They are found in the low plain
south of Onitsha in Ogbaru and in the Niger Anambra low plain north of Onitsha.
They differ from the hydromorphic soils in being relatively immature, having no
well-developed horizons. They however sustain continuous cropping more than the
other two types. Hydromorphic soils are developed in the Mamu plain east of the
cuesta, extending northward into the eastern part of Anambra River floodplain,
where the underlying impervious clayey shales cause water logging of the soils
during the rainy season. The soils are fine loamy, with lower layers faintly mottled;
while the subsoil layers are strongly mottled and spotted, containing stiff grey clay.
The soils are good for yam, cassava and maize and for rice in the more heavily
waterlogged areas. The cuestas and the other elevated areas underlain by
sandstones and shales of the Ameke Formations and the Nanka Sands are regions
of ferallitic soils. The soils are deep red to reddish brown loamy sands, often
referred to as "red earth" or acid sands because of low fertility. They are easily
eroded into gullies.
Ecological Hazards
The main ecological hazards in the state are accelerated gully erosion and flooding.
Extensive forest clearing, often by bush burning, and continuous cropping with
little or no replenishment of soil nutrients, resulted in the disruption of the
ecological equilibrium of the natural forest ecosystem. Such a situation in a region
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of loosely consolidated friable soils is prone to erosion, giving rise to extensive
gully formation. In the Agulu, Nanka and Oko areas, which are underlain by the
Nanka sands, the gullies have attained spectacular and alarming proportions,
turning the area into real "bad lands". Many of the gullies are the head streams of
the rivers that flow down the cuestas. The head streams carve their valleys deep
into the deeply weathered red earth, developing dendritic patterns of gullies. Such
gullies are also found in Nnobi, Alor and Ideani, along the course of Idemili River.
Besides, the greater part of the state is prone to severe sheet erosion. In the low
plains of the Niger and Mamu Rivers, heavy rains often result in excessive
flooding, such that the undulations occupied by settlements are marooned for some
months. The people resort in the use of canoes for movement and transportation.
Orba Ofemili and Ugbenu on the plains of the Mamu River are sometimes in the
rainy season, cut off from others as their roads remain flooded knee deep for many
weeks. The floods also cause serious damage to crops.
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Plate 5.3.3-1: Soil zones in Nigeria showing Anambra State (Source:
http://www.nimetng.org, 2010)
Topography and Landforms
Anambra state is predominantly a low-lying region (fairly flat) with tropical
vegetation on the western plain of the Mamu River, with all parts of it well below
333 meters (or 1,000 ft) above mean sea level. The region is much dissected by
streams, giving it a much- diversified landscape. The major topographic features in
the region are two cuestas (asymmetrical ridges) with east-facing escarpments,
each trending roughly north south. The two join southward outside the capital
territory to form part of the Awka-Orlu upland. The higher one is Abagana-Agulu
cuesta. Its highest point within the capital territory are at Agulu near the former
local government building and at Abagana in the area of Abagana rest house where
it rises to just above 280 meters above mean sea level. The section of Agulu where
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the land rises above 330 meters above mean sea level is outside the capital
territory.
The escarpment, at its highest points has a local relief of about 100 meters. About 6
kilometers eastwards of this, is a lower and smaller fiesta which rises to just above
150 metres as the Ifete-Awka bill and to above 160 meters above mean sea level at
Umuawulu. Its escarpment has generally a local relief of about 80 meters. Its dip
slope forms the settlement of Awka, Amawbia, Umuokpu, Nibo, Mbaukwu, and
Umuawulu communities.
There are two sets of rivers. The Awka capital territories, with the Abagana Agulu
fiesta constituting the major divide or water parting. The• divide separates the
north-east flowing set of rivers which constitute the left bank tributaries of the
Mamu river, the major examples of which are the Obibia which runs at one end of
the site, for the proposed hospital and Ngene rivers from the west flowing set
which empty through the Idemili river into the Niger. In some areas, as in the
region between Nimo, Nri, Enugwu Ukwu, and Agulu, the rivers deeply dissect the
land into alternating deep valleys and steep sloping hills, with much of the land
lying in the slopes.
The lowest portions of the valleys are occupied by lakes, the largest of which are
Agulu Lake, Nri Lake, and Nawfia Lake.
5.3.4 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
Temperature
Temperature is generally high throughout the year in Nigeria as well as in the
eastern Nigeria and in Anambra state. For the eastern states, the mean daily
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maximum temperature is usually above 27°C all through the year and it is highest
between February and April not usually exceeding 35°C. The climate in Anambra
state is humid with a mean temperature of about 870 F. Both the mean daily
maximum temperature and the mean annual maximum temperature increase from
the coast toward the interior, because of the moderating effects of the sea
(Ofomata, 1975).
However, Awka is located in the transitional zone of the sub-equatorial south and
the tropical hinterland of the Nigerian climatic regions. The mean temperature in
Awka area for the 10 years is 27.3°C with mean annual range of 3°C. Temperature
is therefore constantly high in Awka area as clearly indicated in the table.
However, it is expected that temperature is slightly lower on the elevated areas of
Abagana, Enugu Ukwu, and Agulu than in the lower-plains of the Mam'u River
such as Amasea and eastern part of Awka.
Within the capital territory as whole, mean monthly temperatures are highest in the
months of March and April, just before the onset of rains and are lowest in the
heart of the rainy season, particularly July, August and September when the rain
clouds greatly reduce the isolation reaching the ground surface. Mean monthly
temperatures are also relatively low in December and January when the harmattan
haze serves to reduce the incidence of the incoming solar radiation.
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Plate 5.3.4-1: Mean Annual Temperature Distributionin Nigeria (Source:
http://www.nimetng.org, 2012)
Design Implication
1)
Ventilation should be adequate to quicken the removal of pockets of hot air.
2)
Thermal insulators will be used to minimize the application of mechanical
cooling aids.
3)
Enough trees will be planted to provide shade for out-door relaxation.
4)
There should be reduction of paved areas.
Prevailing Wind
During the period of November to February, the prevalent rains in Anambra state
are the North-East trade winds often referred to as harmattan winds. Its source is
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the Sahara and Arabian deserts, and they are characteristically cold, dry and dusty.
In the months of March to October, a period of 8 months, the south-west winds
associated with warm, moist, tropical maritime air mass whose source of region is
the Atlantic Ocean.
The wind is warm and moisture-laden and so bring rainfall to the territory at the
beginning and towards the end of the rainy season, violent easterly rains sometimes
referred to as line squalls occur. The squalls bring short-spell torrential rainfall
accompanied by violent rains, lightning and thunder.
Two dominant air masses prevail. They are the Tropical Continental Air Mass
(TCAM) and the Tropical Maritime Air Mass (TMAM). The TCAM is developed
over the hot dry Sahara desert and is locally referred to as North-East Trade Wind.
It blows in the opposite direction of the TMAM and cause dry season where
dominant. The wind is dry, dust-laden, reduces visibility, and causes dryness of
skin, cracking of walls and wood works. The TMAN is locally called South-West
Trade Wind because of the fact that it originates from Atlantic and blows in the
North-East direction. It is warm and moisture -laden and brings rainfall where it
prevails.
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Plate 5.3.4-2: Dry Season Winds and Rainfall Pattern (November – April)(Source:
http://www.nimetng.org, 2012)
These two air masses bring rain and harmattan and thus drag seasons along. The
duration of influence of any of them marks a season which could be either rainy or
dry- the two known seasons in Nigeria. The elevated portion of the Awka capital
territory running through Abagana, Enugu-Ukwu, and Agulu, more usually
experiences devastating effects of the wind and lightning.
Design Implications
1)
The length of the building should be oriented in a direction perpendicular to
SW/NE direction for maximum ventilation. The critical rooms should face southwest façade for good ventilation.
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2)
Location and size of openings is important. The size of openings, the type
and angle of Louvre blades can affect the wind flow and speed.
3)
Planting of trees should be such that will not obstruct south-west Trade
Wind.
Rainfall
Nigeria has a tropical climate of two seasons controlled by the seasonal movement
of two air-masses namely South-West and North-East trade winds. But closely
associated with South-West trade wind is rainfall. The period of rainfall is called
the rainy season and is concentrated in the months of April to October.
Plate 5.3.4-3: Total Annual Rainfall in Nigeria(Source:http://www.nimetng.org,
2012)
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The mean annual rainfall total for the period is 1485.2mm, distributed unevenly
each year, with about 8 months in which the mean annual rainfall is above 50mm
(the rainy season) and about 4 months of relative dryness (the dry season) when the
mean monthly rainfall is below 50mm.
With the commencement of rainy season, rain falls occasionally and is
accompanied by strong wind and thunderstorm. This signifies the upward
movement of the inter-tropical front. After this, regular rainfall which is uniformly
distributed and is without strong wind becomes the dominant.
Table 5.3.4-1: Summary of the highest total rainfall amounts and the number of
rain days for two months
Month
Station
Rainfall (mm)
Rain days
January
Eket
124.4
10
Awka
112.2
4
Phc
61.1
5
Benin
108.6
6
Ibadan
101.9
6
Warri
83.6
6
PHC
66.6
6
Eket
66.2
11
February
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This situation lingers on till August when we experience the ―August break‖ which
is characterized by long un-relenting mild drizzle. After this is the going back of
inter-tropical front, which is this time characterized by dense, dark cumulusnimbus clouds accompanied by very heavy rainfall, strong wind, thunder and
frightening lightning.
Reading off from the rainfall chart, 1985 -1987, the highest monthly rainfall for
Awka is 293.7mm in September. The least monthly rainfall of 0.1mm was
recorded in January. The mean annual rainfall was 129.8mm.The highest 1day
rainfall in January occurred in Awka on the 20th, 75.3mm; while in February, it
was 55.4mm in Uyo on the 24th.
Design Implications
1)
There should be covered walk-ways so that one can move from one section
of the complex to another without being beaten by the rain.
2)
There should be an adequate provision of drainage to avoid flooding.
3)
Building structure especially the roof should be strong enough to avoid
damage by strong winds
4)
The roof should be constructed in such a way that would ensure effective
discharge of rain-water.
5)
Openings on external walls should be protected from driving rains by the
use of eaves and other rain-shading devices such as concrete-hood.
Relative Humidity
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In response to the prevailing air masses in the country at any given period, the
atmospheric humidity varies between 0% and 100%. When the country is under the
influence of the warm humid maritime air mass in the rainy season, the mean
relative humidity is 60% -80%. In the coastal and delta areas where the atmosphere
is laden with water vapour, the relative humidity is very high up to 80% - 100%,
whereas in the dry-season when harmattan wind prevails, the relative humidity is
very low and is between 0% - 10% in the northern part of Nigeria.
In Awka, during the dry season relative humidity falls in the afternoon to as low as
20%. This low relative humidity coupled with high effects of dry season. In the
rainy season, the relative humidity is much higher, sometimes it is as, high as 90%
though the temperature is lower the effect is to create a heat-trap. When this occurs
the general environment is uncomfortable hot. In 1987, the highest recorded figure
for relative humidity is 86% in September and the lowest is 43% in December.
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Plate 5.3.4-4: Relative Humidity (January)(Source: http://www.nimetng.org,
2010)
Design Implications
1)
There should be adequate ventilation to ensure the removal of stagnant
moist air and the avoidance of condensation
2)
Adequate ventilation also comfort as high humidity causes discomfort.
Sunshine and Cloud-Cover
There is a general increase of the intensity of sunshine from dry to rainy season.
This is because of the fact that there is much dust in the atmosphere during the
harmattan which prevents radiant heat from reaching the earth’s surface. In the
rainy season, there is much cloud cover in the atmosphere, but immediately after
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rain in the day, cloud clears and the full intensity of sunshine is felt. There is an
average of 6 hours of bright sunshine per day. More sunshine occurs in the
afternoons than mornings which are usually over cast. The cloud-cover is much
greater in the rainy season when there is greater moisture in the atmosphere content
of atmospheric moisture.
Design Implications
1)
Solar protection to openings by the use of eaves, verandahs, sun-breakers
etc. should be encouraged.
2)
Much sun-shine brines much heat and this calls for proper cross-ventilation
of the interior spaces.
3)
The building should be oriented so as to expose the smaller wall surface
area along the solar path.
4)
Consistent overcast skies at-times make for a potentially depressing
environment. Provision should thus be made for out-door living during
daylight hours.
5.4
MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN ANAMBRA STATE
Anambra State holds a lot of tourist potentials. In fact, the warm sociable and
receptive nature of the people makes Anambra a tourist attraction. During the
festive period of New Yam festivals, Igu aro festivals, Christmas and New Year
celebrations, from Nkpor down to Awka or from Nnobi encircling Neni, Agulu
down to Nimo the list is endless of the beautiful attraction the zone holds for its
visitors.
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The valley communities of Alor, Abatete, Oraukwu, Nkpor and so holds a warm
attraction for any visitor with its great culinary varieties and a rich supply of the
traditional palm wine drink.
In all the people, their culture, the food, their strengths and their eagerness to enjoy
the fruits of their harvest is what makes the difference in Anambra central.
Tourism potentials for investment and development abound in Anambra Central
Zone. These provide viable opportunities for hotel business, filming and trade in
souvenirs. These sites include; Agulu Lake in Agulu, the Ogbunike cave in
Ogbunike, where the state government plans to develop 5 star Resort Hotels
around them to attract tourists. Others include; Amamputu lake in Uli, , the Ogba
Cave in Ajalli and the Rojeny tourist centre in Oba are only some of the tourism
potentials of the state. Potentially rich investment harvest also abounds in the Art
Gallery of Nimo in Njikoka Local Government Area. There is the Obu at Igwe
Osita Agwuna's palace of Enugu-Ukwu. The Odinani Museum in Nri in Anaocha
Local Government Area was jointly established by the community and the
department of African studies, University of Ibadan, while the Igbo-ukwu Museum
was established by the Anambra state Government. The Museum serves as
repository of archaeological findings and which dates back to the history of the
towns in Orumba North and South Local Government Areas of the state. Also the
Aguleri game reserve, Onitsha located on the eastern bank of the River Niger is
famous for its robust market and commercial activity. The traditional Ofala
festivals performed by royalties in Anambra state are rare pageants of colour and
fanfare.
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The Great Agulu Lake
Agulu Lake which winds down towards the Idemmili River snaking through
various communities is a great site for tourists. Turning Agulu Lake into a resort
will attract a lot of visitors, nationally and internationally with promises of quick
yield and returns on investment.
The Rojenny Tourist centre in Oba
This is another great tourist attraction. It has an Olympic size stadium, serene
ambience with gardens suitable for picnics. It has a zoological garden with
assortments of exotic animals and amphitheatre with a discotheque where music
jamborees and festivals frequently hold.
The Art gallery at Nimo
This art gallery with its preservations of traditional art pieces is a destination for art
lovers. From the master piece of our ancient sculptors to the modem touch of
today's art, the Gallery is a must visit to our guests. It is also open to purchases of
commercial art works that showcase the traditions of our people.
The Obi Ofor Nri at Igwe Osita Agwuma’s Palace in Enugwu Ukwu
This place is a cultural landmark in Anambra Central. Coupled with this cultural
palace is an annual Igu Aro of all a fetival of the entire Umunri clan where Igwe
Osita Agwuna makes his early public outing. This is only compared to London's
Nothingham carnival. During this events, lots of prominent sons and daughters of
Nigeria has been honoured in recognition of their service and contributions to
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mankind. This festival is a timely event and dates are drawn earlier before schedule
to allow international guests time for travel reservations.
The Odinani Museum in Nri
This museum showcases the ancient beliefs and traditions of our people. It is still
preserved till date and offers exclusive ambience to historians and scholars of
African studies and traditions. The museum was jointly established by the Umunri
Community and the Department of African studies, University of Ibadan. It serves
as a repository of the cultural heritage of Igbo's which dates back to history. The
Nri clan is an ancestral enclave that is very integral to the history of Igbos. This
and more one will find out on a visit to the museum.
Masquerade or Mmanwu festival
The biggest festival till date East of the River Niger is the Masquerade or Mmanwu
festival. It is the states biggest cultural festival which always comes up in the third
week of November every year. Masquerades or (Mmanwu in the Igbo Land) are
preservations of our rich and dynamic cultural heritage. According to Igbo people,
it is the manifestation of ancestral spirits conjured by incantations which thereafter
take the form with the cultural and colourful regalia they appear on. The biggest
and the most revealed masquerade in the country is the Ijele Enugu Ukwu
masquerade. It makes its appearance few times in a whole year usually, at the
OfalIa festival of the Head ofUmunri clan, Igwe Osita Agwuna of Enugu Ukwu.
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The Egwu Imo Awka festival
This is another cultural festival that showcases a wonderful turn out of
masquerade. It starts through a visit to the Umuokpu kindred in Awka passing
through Amawbia back to the ancient shrine of Ofia lmo Awka within the state
capital. It showcases the rich cultural diversity of the Awka people and brings
home sons and daughters of Anambra Central both home and in diaspora
The New Yam Festival
This is a festival celebrated to mark the beginning of the harvest season. The yam
is not only a historic staple food but has historical undertones to the 1gbo people.
So at the peak of the harvest season between the months of September to
November, New yam festivals are being celebrated all over Anambra Central. It
showcases a beautiful blend of traditional dances,youth exhibitions, masquerades,
traditional wrestling and football matches. New Yam festivals are celebrated in
honour of the season.
Amiagba Lake, Odida village, Abatete
Amiagba Lake sits on the deep valley channels of Odida village in Abatete. It is a
warm lake that criss-crosses the hinterland of Abatete and Nimo. The lake holds
great tourist potential with its serene ambience which shall provide a complete
relaxation spot if developed into a resort.
5.5
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF AWKA
Located on latitude 6°12'25.00"N and longitude 7° 4'4.00"E, Awka is the capital of
Anambra State, Nigeria with an estimated population of 301,657 as at the 2006
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Nigerian census. The city is located about 600 miles east of Lagos in the centre of
the densely-populated Igbo heartland in south-eastern Nigeria. The West-East
Federal highway links Lagos, Benin City, Asaba, Onitsha, and Enugu to Awka and
several local roads link it to other important towns such as Ekwulobia, Agulu,
Enugwu-Ukwu, Abagana and Nnewi. Strategically, Awka is located midway
between two major cities in Northern Igboland, Onitsha and Enugu which has
informed its choice as an administrative centre for the colonial authorities and
today as a base for the Anambra State government.
The town lies along roads leading from Owerri, Umuahia, Onitsha, and Enugu.
Awka is the traditional home of the Igbo (Ibo) blacksmiths; early bronze artefacts
have been discovered in the vicinity, and the town’s artisans are still noted for their
metal working and wood carving.
History
Awka was famous for metal working and its blacksmiths before the 20th century
and were prized throughout the region for making farming implements, guns and
tools. The Awka area in earlier times was the site of the Nri Civilization that
produced the earliest documented bronze works in Sub-Saharan Africa around 800
AD.
Before the inception of British rule, Awka was governed by titled men known as
Ozo and Ndichie who were accomplished individuals in the community. They held
general meetings or Izu Awka either at the residence of the oldest man (Otochal
Awka) or at a place designated by him. He was the Nne Uzu or master blacksmith,
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whether he knew the trade or not, for the only master known to Awka people was
the master craftsman, the Nne Uzu.
In modern times, Awka has adapted to the republican system and is currently
divided into two local government areas, Awka North and Awka South with local
representatives. However, it still preserves traditional systems of governance with
Ozo titled men often consulted for village and community issues and a paramount
cultural ruler, the Eze Uzu who is elected by all Ozo titled men by rotation
amongst different villages to represent the city at state functions.
The current Eze Uzu of the city selected since 1999 is Gibson Nwosu one of the
first recruits for the Nigerian Air force and a former head of Air Traffic Operations
for the Biafra Air Force, the Lusaka International Airport and the Zambian Air
Service Training Institute (ZASTI).
Awka should not be confused with Awka Etiti which is a town in Idemili South
local government area that is often mistaken for the main capital.[3] Today it is the
capital of Anambra state of Nigeria. Slogan: Sires of Smiths
Geography
Awka lies below 300 metres above sea in a valley on the plains of the Mamu
River. Two ridges or cuestas, both lying in a North-South direction, form the major
topographical features of the area. The ridges reach the highest point at Agulu just
outside the Capital Territory. About six kilometers east of this, the minor cuesta
peaks about 150 metres above sea level at Ifite –Awka.
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Awka is sited in a fertile tropical valley but most of the original Rain forest has
been lost due to clearing for farming and human settlement. A few examples of the
original rain forest remains at places like the Ime Oka shrine. Wooded savannah
grassland predominates primarily to the north and east of the city. South of the
town on the slopes of the Awka-Orlu Uplands are some examples of soil erosion
and gullying.
Climate
Awka is in the tropical zone of Nigeria and experiences two distinct seasons
brought about by the two predominant winds that rule the area: the south western
monsoon winds from the Atlantic Ocean and the North eastern dry winds from
across the Sahara desert. The Monsoon winds from the Atlantic creates seven
months of heavy tropical rains which occur between April and October which are
then followed by five months of dryness (November - March). The Harmattan also
known as Ugulu in Igbo is a particularly dry and dusty wind which enters Nigeria
in late December or in the early part of January and is characterized by a grey haze
limiting visibility and blocking the sun's rays.
The temperature in Awka is generally a comfortable 27-30 degrees celsius between
June and December but rises to 32-34 degrees between January and April with the
last few months of the dry season marked by intense heat.
5.6
SITE LOCATION STUDY
5.6.1 SITE SELECTION CRITERIA

Central location

Easy accessibility
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
Availability of adequate land

Existing infrastrusture

Synthesis

Serenity and Tranquillity

Nature of Site and Vegetation

Availability of Space for Parking
Central Location
The site which is at the periphery of the capital territory; Awka, is centrally located
within it’s expected catchment area the Awka capital territory, but will also be
accessible from all parts of the state. The site is well linked with general
infrastructure. These include water, sewer and drainage, electricity, telephone,
institutions. These things will help to reduce the initial overhead in the
establishment of the hotel and will also be an added incentive to the hotel guest,
whose comfort is very vital to the success of any hotel venture.
One of the key factors in hotel establishment is that it must be located where
demand for its services exists or can be created. This particular factor is one of the
principal considerations in the siting of this hotel.
Another consideration is the location of economic activity. It is an established fact
that the location and development of economic, industrial and commercial
activities create demand for hotel accommodation. Awka is an administrative city
with commercial and industrial activities. Industries and commercial activities are
springing up on a large scale and fast too. There is an institution of higher learning
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(Nnandi Azikiwe University) only about five minutes’ drive from the location of
this hotel. All these have collectively created an enormous demand for hotel
services and this site is very apt.
Easy Accessibility
Accessibility into a site is an important design criterium and the approach has to be
convenient for the users of the complex. The location of the Hotel is prominent and
it is along old Awka-Onitsha road. It could easily be reached by pedestriants and
motorists alike through Awka-Nibo-Mbaukwu single carriage road (popularly
known as ring road).
The main entrance into the site from the ring road should be set back a little bit
easy vehicular movement and drop-off. The nature of traffic pattern within the
complex from the approach should be vivid and there should be a clear distinction
between vehicular and pedestrian movement. The proximity of the site to the
central business district of Awka is commendable.
Availability of adequate land
To adequately provide for the various facilities required on the site, the area of land
required for the project must be farly adequate.
Hotels of international standards need a spacious outdour environment for parking,
outdoor sporting space, general landscaping and provision of necessary
infrastructure facilities that contribute to the quality of the hotel. In capital cities
like Awka, land is very expensive and much of the land in the central business
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district of the town is built up. Therefore in order to meet the demand of serenity in
hotel environment the site is chosen on the outskirt of the town, away from the
daily noisy and noisome environment of the city center. In hotel design, such calm
and isolated environment is necessary for the comfort of the guests, whose interest
must be put first. The site has enough land for the immediate needs of the hotel and
room for future expansion.
Existing infrastructure
The area is linked to the National grid and the Power Supply is essentially from
NEPA. The roads that service the location are the main routes or the inter-urban
and sur-urban transport system of mainly buses and taxi-cabs. Pedestrian traffic
within the project location is easy because of the numerous paths traversing the
area.
Synthesis
The site is located in an area (near to old Awka industrial area - now Greenwoods
layout) which consists of mainly industrial buildings like Nigeria Brewery depot,
Rico foods, Rice Mill among others, and institutional buildings like British Spring
College, Anambra state library, Nkwelle primary school, Holy Ghost Academy
Secondary school, Agu-Awka Skill Acquisition Centre, Paragone International
Research Support Initiative etc (part of which is shown in figure 29 – 33) therefore,
the project building configuration which should be institutional in form, will have
no problem in conforming with the environment. Thus, skills acquired in the youth
development centre can be employed in the industrial sector. Exchange programs
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can also ensue between some of these institutional bodies and the youth centre.
The building is expected to bring visual relief to on-ward lookers and inhabitants
of interesting vista.
Serenity and Tranquility
This is a major factor which is inevitable for a hotel environment. Because of this,
hotels should be best located away from the daily noisy and hustles and bustles of
the city center, preferably, to the outskirts. This is to achieve to the maximum, the
comfort and tranquility of the guests whose interest must be pursued first in any
hotel establishment. This informs locating the hotel off the expressway.
Nature of site
The topography of the site is in such a way that the site has a natural drainage. All
rain water drains towards the north-west part of the site. The sub soil is mainly red
lateritic soil, with barches of sandy soil. It is necessary to maintain some grassed
area on the soil to help prevent soil erosion. The site is located off the city centre
where the natural environment and sky scape can be visualized.
Vegetation
In designing a complex like this, consideration must be given to physical amenities
present on the site. There is nothing more pleasant than a few mature trees,
provided they are clear of buildings and any other facility on site. The site
contains some treed and shrubs, this will enhance the land-scape of the site, and
also act as wind-breakers and dust filters during the harmattan. Therefore, proper
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management and organization of the proposed facilities should be done before the
unwanted.
Availability of Space for Parking
The land owes the designer a space large enough and suitable for car parking
space, considering the number of lodging guests and guest rooms; convention
facilities and other public parking spaces for visiting guests to the proposed hotel.
Plate 5.6.1-1: Picture showing the site overtaken by shrubs and grasses (Source:
Author, 2012)
5.6.2 SITE LOCATION STUDIES
Located on Lat. 6°12'51 and Long. 67"N 7° 5'25.36"E, the site is along Aurthur
Eze Ave.,at the junction leading to Nibo town through ring road. The site is
located in the Greenwood layout (former industrial layout) but now a mixed-used
layout in Awka, the Capital of Anambra State. This Greenwood layout (former
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industrial layout) harbours the site, which is at the periphery of Awka, along
Enugu-Onitsha old road, accessed along Awka-Nibo ring road. The Greenwoods
layout is a mixed-used layout comprising of commercial, industrial, public-used,
residential,special plots and open spaces. It is surrounded by Umunneoke and
Nkwelle communities, and Agu-Awka and Aguaba layouts. All residential
neighbourhoods.
Plate 5.6.2-1: Awka Capital Territory (Base Map) showing Greenwoods Layout
(Source: Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Planning Department Awka, 2000)
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Plate 5.6.2-2: Awka plan, showing the proposed site (bounded by redlines)
(Source: Google Earth, 2012)
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Plate 5.6.2-3: The proposed site (bounded by) red lines showing possible access
roads and neighbouring facilities(Source: Author, 2012)
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Plate 5.6.2-4: Uncompleted private estate south of the proposed site (Source:
Author, 2012)
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5.7 SITE CHARACTERISTICS AND ANALYSIS
Illustration 5.7-1: Site analysis (area of site = 11,985.70m2) (Source: Author, 2012)
Access
The site is easily accessible from Old Enugu-Onitsha Expressway along AwkaNibo ring road on the Western side of the site. It can also be accessed from the
British Spring College road north-west of the site. The service road is from the
Eastern side of the site, a drive off the old road from Enugu. The new EnuguOnitsha Expressway easily joined the site immediately after Nnandi Azikiwe
University.
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Plate 5.7-1: Site location(Source: Author, 2012)
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Plate 5.7-2: Roundabout intersecting Nnamdi Azikiwe Ave. and Awka-Nibo Ring
Road (Source: Author, 2012)
Plate 5.7-3: Awka-Nibo Ring Road (Source: Author, 2012)
Site topography/drainage
The site gently slopes towards the north-west end. it has quite a number of trees
and is heavily covered by grasses and shrubs.
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Noise
Major source of noise into the site is mainly from Awka-Nibo ring road and old
road which is not always busy. The noise can be reduced by planting trees,
buffering and proper zoning.
Site orientation
To obtain maximum natural ventilation, the orientation of the building is to be in
the South East- North West axis. To avoid sun glare and solar radiation, buildings
are better oriented so that the longer side faces the North- South pole while the
shorter facade faces the East- West pole.The building will be oriented in such a
way to maximize both natural ventilation and natural lighting. The use of sun
shading devices will be heavily employed where necessary. However, to support
the passive nature of the proposed energy efficient buildings, the site as it is will
aid the use of solar panels and photovoltaic cells.
Prevailing wind and sunpath
The site experiences two prevailing winds, the north-east trade winds and southwest monsoon winds. The north-east trade winds blows from the Sahara desert in
Northern Africa, and is characterized by the dryness and dust during the dry
season. The north-east trade wind brings harmattan winds-cool, dry, dusty, haze
laden wind. On the other hand, the south-west monsoon winds blows from the
Atlantic Ocean, and is characterized by the wetness during the rainy season.
The site also experiences sunrays which rises from the east and sets on the west.
The intensity of the solar radiation produced will be controlled and reduced by
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proper landscaping, good orientation of the proposed buildings and use of shading
elements on the building. Internal organisation of the functional spaces will not be
left out.
Thus, while the north light is good for the workshops, atria and auditorium gallery,
hotel rooms can enjoy the eastern morning sun, the Kitchen, laundary, computer
rooms and other heating generating spaces will be good for the north as well.
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REFERENCES
Books
David Alder. 2nd edition (1999) Metric handbook planning and design Data. (pg
19-35) London: Architectural press.
Effanga E.O. (2004). Conference centre university of Nigeria Enugu campus (pg
23-42)
Joseph de Chiara(ed) &Michael J.Crosbie (ed). (2001). Time-Saver Standards for
Building Type ( 4TH Edtion) ( pg 298-304). Mc Graw-Hill Company.
Neufert, E (2000). Neufert Architects Data. (pg 315) .Blackwell Science Ltd.
Oxford.
Ofoluwa. C. (2006). Alfred Rewane conference centre Asaba (pg 59-85)
Acoustic. 2004. Microsoft Encarta Multimedia 2009 Standard Edition. Retrieve
December 20 2009
Effanga E.O. (2004). Conference centre university of Nigeria Enugu campus (pg 17)
Joseph de Chiara(ed) &Michael J.Crosbie (ed). (2001). Time-Saver Standards for
Building Type ( 4TH Edtion) ( pg 298-304). Mc Graw-Hill Company.
Ofoluwa. C. (2006). Alfred Rewane conference centre Asaba (pg 10-15)
Ofoluwa. C. (2006). Alfred Rewane conference centre Asaba (pg 95-106)
Website
Anambra state. 2007. Google online Wikipedia. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from
http://uploadwikipedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Awka_map gif.
Climate-Charts . (2010). Retrieved March 10, 2012, from Climate-Charts Website:
http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/n/NI65257 php
Google maps. (2011). Retrieved May 10, 2012, from Google imagery:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=54,-1.9999987&z=3&t=h&hl=en-GB
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Google earth. Retrieved May 10, 2012, from www.googleearth.com
Widjaja, M. (2000). Igboguide organization. Retrieved February 11, 2011, from
Igboguide Website: http://www.igboguide.org/index.php?l=maps
Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Planning Department Awka
Sunmap.eu. http://www.sunmap.eu/weather/africa/nigeria/anambra-state/awka
Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (15 May 2007). "Legal Notice on
Publication of the Details of the Breakdown of the National and State Provisional
Totals 2006 Census" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-05-19.
http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getElectronicVersion.asp?nr=2685&alt=1
Queen's Jubilee portrait unveiled, BBC News, 12 March 2002.
(http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Chinwe+Chukwuogoroy/27490.html)
(http://www.cambridge-union.org/index.php?page=ZXZlbnQ=&eventid=362)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/doc
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Chapter 6 : DESIGN SYNTHESIS
6.1 DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
John Portman, a renowned hotel architect wrote on the importance of design
philosophy by saying that "A design philosophy is the rudder for the boat, it makes
possible a continuing course in a meaningful direction." In other words, for a
building to meet the needs of all the people, the architect must look for some
common grounds and experiences. (Portman, 1979)
To conclusively achieve the specific objectives of this project, the broad-based
guiding principles have to be anchored on a well thought out design philosophy.
This philosophy is one that has to touch on the fundamentals of the hotel vis-à-vis
the characteristics of its location and the peculiarities of its environment.
The philosophy here emphasizes the approach of broad based targets in designing
for a diverse variety of people, providing them with environment in which the
mind and the spirit can be refreshed and the body find relaxation and rest while
away from home in pursuit of leisure or economic interests. A balance is struck in
which all the variables are given adequate recognition.
6.2 DESIGN CONCEPT
Concepts are ways of integrating ideas, notions, thoughts and observations into one
architectonic expression. These are ideas like daylight, space sequence, integration
of structure and form, sighting within the landscape etc.
In most cases, concepts are implied in the client's program for the project.
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Le Corbusier is the architect that revolutionized architecture by the use of concrete;
his buildings still exist all over the world. He used cast in-situ and precast concrete
to produce different forms, curves, etc.
The Carpenter’s center, Harvard University by Le Corbusier
Carpenter's centre of Visual arts (a building), whose concept was to attract students
to enroll. Le Corbusier used a very accessible site and designed the building to
solve the problem of poor enrollment, this he achieved by planning in such a way
that (all) students must pass the faculty building on their way to lectures. It
attracted watching the art works and consequently attracting, gradually more
students for enrolment.
The Transworld Airline (TWA) terminal building in JFK International
Airport, New York by Eero Saarineen.
His concept was to design a building in which the design should express movement
and travel. Thus the design is of the form of a flying bird.
The falling waters by Frank Lloyd Wright
American architect Frank Lloyd Wright designs the country house falling water at
Bear Run, Pennsylvania. The private residence, which will become one of Wright's
most esteemed masterpieces, illustrates his basic principle and concept of "organic
architecture". Instead of invading or transforming the natural landscape, Wright
employs strong horizontal forms and natural materials that blend with and enhance
the intrinsic beauty of the site. Perched over a flowing stream, the new structure
elicits drama while maintaining harmony with its surroundings.
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As a super-organizing idea therefore, the concept must be an idea that recurred
throughout the design of the project. It however can allow variations among the
parts (various components of the project) but at the same time must enforce the
overall pattern, just as the rain falls.
Concepts are the antithesis of notions
Notions are not appropriate ideas in design e.g. to design an airport using the shape
of a bird. This is a notion, not a concept.
A concept implies appropriateness. It supports the main intention and goals of a
project and respects each object's unique characteristics and restrictions. The
formation of a concept is not an automatic activity. It is 10% inspiration and 90%
hard work.
In conceptualizing the design of this hotel complex, it is firstly recognized as
having the potential to attract a very large number of guests from far and wide
across the globe. Due to varying needs, objectives and appreciations, utmost care is
called for in the provision of facilities and standards to be attained.
The approach from a higher level immediately sinks the structures in an interesting
layering and firings of structures and facilities in concord with the terrain. The
organization is such that visitors are immediately evident and the multiple activity
areas and uses easily discernible. The efficient mix of activities in the hotel
complex and the accommodation of these uses in a unifying design, the
functionality achieved and forms of space generated all combine to give the design
a unique character.
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The terrain and landscape are of particular interest in this design. The creation of a
new and exciting environment out of a difficult virgin area poses formidable
challenges.
The design principally comprise of a delicately balanced composition, with variety
of levels well used to create nice effect, higher areas contrasted with smaller ones,
open spaces contrasted with enclosed area, nature contrasted with man- made
features. The maximum effect thus achieved is a direct consequence of the site
potentialities and appropriate usage. The entire group of structures in the complex
visually and functionally therefore relates to the site, with open spaces uniting,
separating or compliments them. The whole composition hence forms an
environment in which visual, functional and physical qualities are arranged to
produce the highest level of experience.
6.3 SPACE REQUIREMENTS
The following space units would be provided in the hotel with their various
services or contribution to make up the general form is as follows: (a)
Main Entrance: - This area is most conspicuous and often subjected to
high security control. It must be clearly defined with a good view of interior
leading straight to the reception counter. It is important to provide a large
projecting canopy to protect people from harsh climatic elements such as rain,
wind and sun projecting at least 5.5m wide and 4m high so as to accommodate
buses and two cars lying side by side.
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Large proportions of guest usually arrive in the evening and hence, special lighting
style will help people to locate the entrance easily. Lighting should be used to
pronounce the entrance, provide greater security and safety.
The entrance door leading to the complex can come in various designs which may
include revolving door, swinging door, single or double leaves automatic or
manual operation or sliding automatic operated door with emergency swing door,
which could pass the guess under security check. Weapon detectors could be
mounted immediately after the door for security checks.
The doors must be wide enough to allow a person carry two bags or a luggage
trolley. Entrance must be in relation to the scale and character of a building in
other words pronounced.
Secondary entrances may be provided in areas where necessary such as hotel main
restaurants, conference halls, banquet halls etc.
(b)
Reception Hall/Lobby: First impression as it says matters a lot. When a
guest enters the reception hall, he should be over whelmed by the feeling of
serenity, enchantment, revulsion and comfort. It should be the first thing one sees
immediately after crossing the entrance complex and heading toward the reception
desk.
The restaurants, bars and other advertisement should be visible and well indicated
in this area. The hotel lobby serves as an assembly point for guest attending
functions or using the restaurant. It has a promotional function and must be
attractive from the outside. A waiting area should be within the lobby which
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should be adjacent to the reception desk off the main circulation area and within
view of the main entrance and lifts.
Furniture should be comfortable and hard wearing writing desk should be
available. Other amenities which may be provided in the lobby include public
telephones, news teleprinter/stand, post box stamp machines, shops or display
cabinets, hair dresser/barbing saloon, information desk, tour airline, toilets.
The ceiling in the lobby and other public area serves multiple purposes. The
ceiling void will need to be deep to house air ducts, pipes, wiring and equipment
including fitting bulbs into the ceiling mostly, this is required for environmental
control communications, fire and security and other functional requirements of the
rooms and spaces below the ceiling or to the void. While the ceiling frame-work is
made as light as possible, the strength of hangers or structural members provided
must be sufficient to carry the weight of equipment (including vibration) and
clearance must be allowed for maintenance work and servicing /removal of
components
(c)
Front Desk:
Guest registration, cashiers and information services are
provided over desk or counters, which may be arranged in series along one long
counter, which could be described as the front desk or separated areas. It is
important for the counter staff to have direct access to the offices providing backup information and services.
The cashiers’ desk must be planned such that it will meet heavy demand at certain
peak time of the day so as to avoid secondary congestion in other circulation area.
Counter must be designed as an integral part of the reception area and must meet
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functional requirement; it serves as a local point of attraction and interest,
construction decoration must be carefully chosen to withstand intensive use.
(d)
Administrative Areas: - Besides the immediate front desk office some,
offices are not compulsorily placed behind the reception counters, although it is
advisable to be easily accessed from the reception by guests who may have
appointments other than lodging. They are part of the daily running of the hotel.
These spaces include the Personnel Manager’s office, the General Manager’s
office and his Personal Secretary, Assistant General Manager, accountant offices,
computer rooms, etc and other reservation offices. The open space concept could
be adopted in this design with partitions to separate the different offices where they
are needed.
(e)
Toilets and Cloak Rooms:
Toilets and its accessories allows guest
opportunity to ease off, hence should be located near public and functional rooms
(like conference halls, banquet halls); restaurants etc. number of WCs, urinals,
wash hand basins, mirrors, good lighting and separation of these conveniences to
match both male and female sexes should be provided.
The cloak rooms being a space for hanging out coats, or bags for a time from a
fellow are very important in public areas, like the banquet halls, conference halls
or multipurpose halls; kitchens, swimming pool areas in form of cubicles etc.
sometimes cloak rooms function as changing and toilet rooms at a time which
presupposes a reasonable increment in the entire space.
(f)
Bedroom Unit: - Bedroom unit should provide comfort for the guest and
should be designed with easy cleaning and bed making. It should have an efficient
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storage for the guests’ loads. Bedroom planning depends very much on the
position of the bed, the size and the relative position of the bedroom; economy in
width is gained by putting the beds often convertible to a settee, it is turned and
moved back to the wall to create a large living space in the center of the room. For
this design different types of room will be provided to accommodate various
classes of guest.
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Plate 6.3-1: : Diagram showing space configuration of typical hotel room and
bathroom(Source: Neufert & Neufert, 2006)
Forms of Guest Rooms
-
Double-loaded block (A): It can develop into L, U or courtyard plan and
requires two staircases. It is the most economical layout.
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-
Double-loaded T-shaped block(C): It is capable of being developed into
cross form. It is economical and usually has three staircases.
-
Single-loaded block (B): It can be developed into L, U or courtyard plan. It
is not economical but may be desirable where atrium effect is wanted. It is
suitable for the tropics.
-
Y - Plan (D): This requires three staircases and has more complicated
structure than straight blocks. It may cause problems in
-
public areas.
Tri-arc (D): It is similar to Y-Plan but more space is taken up by
circulation. Its concave shape results in bedroom being wider at bathroom
end.. It provides opportunity for larger bathroom and dressing area.
-
Square block (E): It has central core containing all vertical services, mails'
room etc. It gives a very compact and useful design for small sites where
tower development may be required.
–
Circular form (F): This requires careful handling to avoid awkward and
inward facing rooms. A major disadvantage is that there is no possibility of
extension.
-
Circular with central core: It is similar to square block but requires
careful handling to avoid awkward rooms. Convex curves result in
bedroom narrower at bedroom narrower at bathroom end, causing cramped
space for bathroom.
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Plate 6.3-2: Diagram showing relationship between functional spaces and service
roots (Source: Neufert & Neufert, 2006)
Plate 6.3-3: Diagram showing relationship between services and guest room
(Source: Neufert & Neufert, 2006)
(g)
Terraces and Balcony: Terraces and balconies allows guest to see and feel
the natural environment when they are in their rooms. Balcony may project outside
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the building façade or be recessed into the area of the room, it may be angled to
increase view of one side of the cooling sea breeze or to provide better screening
from other noisy or unpleasant areas.
(h)
Service Areas: This area can be divided into two groups which are
Food service and catering
General Service, cleaning/housekeeping and maintenance.
(i)
Goods Delivery and Storage: In a small hotel, goods and staff use the
same entrance but in large hotel, there should be a separate entrance. Each must be
controlled so as to check persons and goods entering and leaving the complex.
For a good delivery, provision must be made for
Protection from weather(covered bay and canopies)
Screening from view (guest areas, public rooms)
Security (on goods being delivered and removed)
Separation (from refuse area and other storage)
On delivery, the goods are taken to the receiving room, where they are checked
against invoice and inspected, weighed and recorded. Storage is an important
factor that falls into four main groups:
Deep freeze (-20oc) for long term storage of forgone items.
Chilled (2-3oc) for fresh food and made up dishes
Cooled for vegetable storage and
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Dry –for general stores
In large hotel issuing counter is necessary so that the only store keeper and his
assistants can enter the actual store rooms, the kitchen porters and cooks should
collect from the counter. The amount of storage spaces required varies.
(j)
Food Service /Kitchens: From kitchen storage, food goes to the kitchen
where to be prepared for final cooking. The restaurant could be designed to have
separate kitchens following the next wall division or usually separated with a food
pantry or food serving area. In modern hotels center, the food storage and
preparation is centralized in a kitchen which offer many advantages from the large
scale of operations and more cost effective and quality control. Equipment can be
more effectively used; work schedules could be planned and allows a normal day
shift.
Prepared food passes through from the main cooking area through a service space
before getting to through dining area. These service spaces or rooms however are
for prepared food to be dished and served to the restaurant. It is economical to
locate this serving area in-between the restaurant and the kitchen.
Kitchen could be designed with an open arrangement for with separate rooms, or
bays for different types of preparation (e.g. bakery, meat and fish and vegetable
sections). The arrangement of the different departments in the kitchen unit should
be planned to avoid cross traffic as much as possible. The area required for entire
kitchen unit should be proper for preparation of cooking and service areas (like the
staff kitchen and staff dining areas), also exclusively store rooms, locker and toilet
rooms for the staff located at a close proximity.
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(k)
Linen /Laundry Room: The principal items in a laundry are the washers,
extractors, dryers, sorting rooms and folding areas. There must also be line and
uniform storage of a serving area, a dry cleaning and spot cleaning area. The house
keep area is usually located in this area and should be situated so as to maintain
visual control. The laundry should be well ventilated with large quantities of steam
(tumble dry, rotary irons) and dry cleaning equipment should be separately
exhausted. Wall and ceiling should be smooth or plaster painted to facilitate
cleaning and reduce fire risk
Dirty linen is collected from guest rooms, restaurants etc. and taken by the trolley
to service area. The corridor should be free from steps, but where there are levels it
should be ramped and protected from damage especially service doors for vertical
transit, linen lift or service lift may be used but must be suitably positional relative
to the laundry. .Linen receive in a laundry is sorted, weighed and placed into
hampers or carts for transport to the washers or to the dispatch area for collection.
(l)
Store and Workshops: Storage will be required for furniture under repair
facilities changes in use or layout at a room. Additional items which may be
reserved for future placements. Furniture storage should be as near as possible to
the operational areas concerned. One or more spacious workshops are necessary
for running repairs works, engineering work, electricians, glazing, joiners,
upholsterers, mattress repairers and printing work etc.
(m)
Other Recreational Areas: - Other facilities include the indoor games
areas; gymnasium (for fitness); outdoor games; the swimming pool areas (could be
indoor and/or outdoor pools) and their adjoining rooms for servicing and
inspection etc. The outdoor pools are designed to accommodate outdoor bars with
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music band stand, and in rare cases snack bar/pastry to assure guests a lively
swimming environment. This could be achieved further by creating pool gardens,
quite lawns with beautiful flowers to promise guests a panoramic view and
promising environment for relaxation. In the swimming areas, besides the first aid
doctor’s office, mustering points are advisable to be designed to help guest who
could be involved in pool accidents especially for evacuation purpose if need arises
in critical moments.
Outdoor spaces vary tremendously depending on their demands by the lodging
and the visiting guests.
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Plate 6.3-4: Diagram showing interrelationship between rooms on hotel ground
floor (Source: Neufert & Neufert, 2006)
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Plate 6.3-5: Diagram showing relationship back of house circulation (Source:
Neufert & Neufert, 2006)
6.4 SPACE REQUIREMENTS AND ALLOCATION
The project will be designed to cater for 250 guest rooms including other
supportive facilities. The figures will however be used for preliminary sketches
and estimates only and may be revised during detailed design stages
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Figure 6.4-1: Diagram showing showing area requirement per hotel room (Source:
Neufert & Neufert, 2006)
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION SPACE (250 GUEST)
FACILITY
- Porte-cochere
SPACE RATING
-
AREA (M2)
24.0m2
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- Main Lobby/Reception
- 1m2 per guest room
250.0m2
- Lounge
- 0.8m2 per room
200.0m2
- Luggage room
-
20.0m2
- Elevators (Public and Services) - Stair case
1.44m2/lift
-
15.0m2
- Porters and Messengers room - 0.lm2 / guest room
20.0m2
- Shops (7)
15.0m2
- Public toilet (male)
- 0.4m2 per guest
-Public toilet (female)
10.0m2
- 0.4m2per guest
- Casino (50)
- 0.7m per guest
- Discotheque (60)
- 0.9m2/guest
10.0m2
35.0m2
54.0m2
ADMINISTRA TION
- General Manager's Office
13.0m2
-
Secretary to Gen. Manager
10.0m2
-
Assistant General Manager
12.0m2
-
Secretary to Asst. Gen. Manager
10.0m2
-
Front Office Manager
10.0m2
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-
Banqueting Manager
10.0m2
-
Convention Manager
10.0m2
-
Food and Beverage Manager
10.0m2
-
Personnel Manager
10.0m2
-
Personnel Office
-
Accounting Office
14.0m2
12.0m2
Record and file
9.0m2
-
Computer room
13.0m2
-
Mail room
9.0m2
-
Other offices
-
Staff W.C
12.0m2
-
Chief Accountant
12.0m2
-
Duty manager
-
Head storekeeper
36.0m2
12.0m2
10.0m2
CATERING
- bar lounge (120)
144.0m2
1.2m2 per seat
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- Main Lounge (200)
1.2m2 per seat
240.0m2
- Store
18.0m2
- Africana bar (100)
1.2m2 per seat
- Main restaurant (200)
120.0m2
1.3m2 per seat
260.0m2
- Convention - restaurant (100)
1.3m2 per seat
130.0m2
- Banquet (320)
1.3m per seat
416.0m2
- Staff canteen (50)
0.7m per seat
35.0m2
- Kitchens to Banquet rooms (320)
20% of banquet area 64.0m2
- Banquet storage
10% of banquet hall 32.0m2
- Main kitchen
65% of banquet rest. area 228.0m2
- Loading bay
25.0m2
- Chief Steward
10.0m2
- Receiving room (250)
0.lm2 per guest
25.0m2
- Storage for food and drinks
-
165.0m2
- Service yard
-
100.0m2
- Toilet for male and female staff
0.lm2 per staff
60.0m2
Cloak/changing
room
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ACCOMMODATION FOR GUEST ROOMS
SPACES
AREA OF GUEST
(M2)ROOMCM2)
ROOMS
- Single room with
12
toilet and bathroom
3.8
- Double room with
15
toilet and bathroom
4.0
- Economy Suite
24
toilet and bathroom
3.8
- Royal Suite
45
toilet and bathroom
4.0
- Presidential Suite
75
toilet and bathroom
4.2
- Penthouse Suite
toilet and bathroom
- Housekeeper
- Maids room
NO.OF GUEST
36
3.8
NET AREA
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PUBLIC HALLS
SPACES
CAPACITY
SPACE RATING
AREA
- Function
800
0.8m2/room
-
-
640.0m2
(conference hall)
- Projection room
- Transcriber's room -
-
12.0m2
16.0m2
- Meeting room
60
0.8m2/room
144.0m2
- Ballroom
40
0.8m2/room
96.0m2
SUB-RENTAL SPACES
- Travel agency
50
1. 1m2 per guest
55.0m2
- Bookshop
40
2.8m2 per guest
112.0m2
- Fashion
50
2.8m2 per guest
140.0m2
- Pharmacy
60
2.8m2 per guest
168.0m2
- Beauty salon
30
1.9m2 per guest
57.0m2
- Bank agency
60
2.8m2 per guest
168.0m2
Car hiring service
40
1.2m2 per guest
36.0m2
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SERVICES
- Laundry
250
0.3m2 per guest room
75.0m2
- Valet shop
-
0.09m2 per guest room
49.5m2
- Maintenance
-
-
600.0m2
and services
- Furniture storage
250
0.23m2 per guest room
57.5m2
- Clinic
-
-
60.0m2
- Staff locker room
100
36m2 per staff
100.0m2
125
12.5m2 per car
1562.5m2
CARPARKING
- One car park
per 2 guest
OUTDOOR RECREATION
- Badminton
= (16.5 x 8.5) m2
= 140.25m2
- Swimming pool (2) = (25 x 12.5) m2
= 625.0m2
- Lawn tennis (4)
= 2675.44m2
= (36.57 x 18.29) m2
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INDOOR SPORTS
- Squash (2)
- Table Tennis
= (9.75 x 6.40) m2
= (11.0 x 5.50) m2
- Billiards and Snooker
= 121.0m2
= 42.0m2
= (7.0 x 6.0) m2
= 60.0m2
- Gymnastics
= 30.0m2
- Sauna bath
= 30.0m2
- Message room
= 40.0m2
- Games room
Table 6.1: Diagram showing showing area requirement per hotel room
source: Neufert Ernst
6.5 CRITERIA FOR MATERIAL SELECTION
1)
Durability:longevity of materials forms the basis for material selection in the
design and construction of hotels. The essence here is that materials lasting longer will
ultimately be selected over materials with shorter life span this is why aluminum for
example will be selected over galvanized iron sheets.
2)
Fire Resistance: Resistivity of materials gives clue to materials to be selected in
terms of material selection. Since fire forms one of the major design considerations in
hotel designing for the safety of the inmates to be guaranteed.
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3)
Environmental Implications: Materials to be selected has to be environmentally
friendly they have to be checked for adverse environmental effectsas well as health on the
users.
4)
Aesthetic Value: The nature of the design needs much on aesthetic appreciation.
Hotel standard of rating depends so much on the quality of the finishing. For this reason
materials will have to be checked for their aesthetic value.
5)
Flexibility: this is considered as it aids in achieving special effects and giving
opportunity to achieve so many possibilities in construction techniques using the material.
6.6 CHOICE OF MATERIALS
Floor Finishes
Vitrified tiles will be used as floor finishes in areas like the entrance and reception.
However rugs will be used as floor finishes in the board rooms; function rooms like
banquet and the conference halls to help in unwanted sound reduction.
Wall and Ceiling
1. Resin-bonded chip-board: used in joinery but can be used as a lining or as partitioning;
made of wood chips bonded with synthetic resin and highly compressed. It is very rigid
and can be used for large panels in partitioning without intermediate support. The surface
is usually slightly rough but one kind has a smooth paper finish.
2. Compressed strawboard: A very light, rigid board easily cut. Useful for partitioning:
aluminum channel and H-Sections are available for a rapid demountable partition system.
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It is structurally as a light roof decking to take roofing felt, and for this a quality which is
somewhat more resistant to water (shower-proof) is available.
3. Plaster board: The advantage over other wood pulp boards is that it has a high degree
of fire resistance and is dimensionally stable.
Roof Materials
The roof materials: - roof coverings and the trusses, are to be a combination of steel and
parapet roofs. The analysis here has to be based on portal frame which is ultra span.
Long span portal frame: For structural efficiency, a pitched roof portal frame should have
as low a pitch as practical to minimize spread at the knees of a portal frame. Long span
steel portal frames are usually spaced at from 8.0 to 12.0 apart. The ratio of the pitch
height to the length of the portal frame is 1:10.
6.7 CONCLUSION
The subjects treated have shown not only the wide view of investigations covered
but also the magnitude of the whole concept. It is now shown that a conference
hotel is of utmost importance and great value, physically, socio-culturally,
economically and psychologically to the community and beyond. The conference
hotel program is intimately interwoven with the society and that the study of a
conference hotel is synonymous with the study of the people (tourists) for whom
the design is being proposed. The whole research process is an examination of the
architectural considerations and various solutions for their architectural aspect for
development of a conference hotel complex.
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Going down the history lane, resorts were places leisure, relaxation and
rejuvenation, however over the years, resorts have lost this feel, and thus Agulu
Lake Resort Hotel is poised to re-introduce the much desired environment.
This project has enumerated the problems of hotels in Awka capital territory as
well as proffering significant measures to giving a relevant solution to it. This
project, if actualized, will create an architectural awareness to Agulu town
becoming a landmark and giving great significance to the God-given environment
which has been discovered long ago, but has been given cold shoulders.
Not only does it boost the Architectural significance of the state but that of the
nation as well. So far it is palpable and very empirical that a three star tourist hotel
will be very momentous to the nation. It will go a long way to answer the quest of
the nation. It will open up urbanization and set the eyes of the people on its country
and if taken a step further, to the other nations at large. It will improve tourism in
the country and bring great significance to state’s tourism propensity.
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REFERENCES
Americana Encyclopedia (2000)
Anambra State Tourism Board (1991), Feasibility study on Agulu-Nri Lake, Unpublished.
Britannica Encyclopedia (2000)
Hornsby A.S. (2001) Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary 6th Edition, Oxford
University Press.
Lawson, F., (1978) Hotels, Motels and Condominiums, Design planning and
Maintenance (London: Architectural Press Ltd. pp.179-215.
Neufert Ernest (2000), Architects’ Data. Published by Blackwell Science Limited.
Rutes W.A. & Penner R. H., (1985), Hotel Planning and Design, Walts on-Guptill
Publications, New York. pp.161-209.
Walter A. Rutes, Richard H. Penner, (2001) Hotel Planning and Design,
Architecture. pp. 220 - 256.
Wikipedia, Free Encyclopedia (2005)
William Benton, (1970) Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 8, "Hotels", (:
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. p. 1117.
Journals
John Portman, (1979) "An Architecture for people and not for things, Architectural
Records January. p.133.
The Architect's Journal, Principles of Hotel Design, (London: The Architectural
Press, 1975), p.33 and 75.
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Unpublished material
Dimoriaku N.I, (August, 1996), Five Star Hotelfor Umuahia, Abia State, M.Sc
(Arch) Project Report, UNEC.
Okafor, C.N., (October, 2008), Agulu Lake Resort Hotel Agulu, Anambra State
M.Sc. (arch,) Thesis, UNEC.
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APPENDIX
Figure 2: Ground Floor Plan
Figure 3: First Floor Plan
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Figure 4: Typical 3rd to 7th Floor Plan
Figure 5: Eighth Floor Plan
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Figure 6: Ninth Floor Plan
Figure 7: Roof Plan
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Figure 8: North Elevation
Figure 9: South Elevation
Figure 10: East Elevation
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Figure 11: West Elevation
Figure 12: Section A-A
Figure 13: Section B-B
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Figure 14: Site Plan