cor hotel

concept

I wanted to design a retreat hotel that would restore and revive its habitants. However, the destination wasn’t a remote natural paradise but a vacant warehouse in an industrial park. In researching adaptive reuse I was inspired by the shifting of perspective. I wanted to find beauty in abandoned, forgotten, and solitude. A space that welcomes the tenacity of nature to grow and adapt to man. Truly, weed is just a plant is a wrong place.

The name “Cor” has multiple meanings. I was inspired by the symbolization in the Greek myth Hymn to Demeter. When Hades kidnaps Persphone to the underworld she “dies”. Her mother Demeter brings her back to Earth and she is revived. Demeter is the god of agriculture and fertility and has the power to summon life force. Persphone’s journey symbolizes the planting of a seed in the ground and remerging as a seedling. I was inspired by the nurturing act of rebirth and wanted to build around that experience. So “Cor” is a mixture of Kore (kôrē | Persphone’s other name) + le corps (kɔʀ | French for body). It’s pronounced like “core” as it also entails physical centering and honing in what is truly important.

program planning

site

Areas of interest

Lobby

Herb garden

Meditation Room

Rooftop Restaurant

Suite