Non-Place_Motorway Hotel & Casino Part 1 Project 2013 Tomás Prendeville University College Cork | Ireland Thesis_This project investigates the areas of “Non-Place” we encounter through contemporary life, specifically those generated by spaces of circulation and travel. The motorway is the archetypical non-place, an element devoid of history or lacking an engagement with the towns it bypasses. It is this infrastructural element that forms the basis for this study. Programme_This project proposes a Motorway Hotel on the M8, a motorway which connects Cork to Dublin. The hotel typology is combined with a casino, itself a programmatic ‘non-place’ due to the manner in which space, light and user perception are manipulated in generic casino design. Other public elements include a health spa, a restaurant, a bar and an auditorium. This hybrid building seeks to become a destination in itself, an autonomous entity inhabiting the residual space resulting from motorway infrastructure.Design Strategy_Conventional hotel organisation sees the public elements of the brief occupying the ground floor while the hotel accommodation forms the upper levels. The design strategy became to intertwine the public elements of the brief, with the private elements in order to challenge conventional hotel organisation. The public elements rise upwards to connect 3-dimensionally and form a route through the entire building. A visually silent exterior hides an exciting interior, moving the spectacle to the inside of the building. The casino acts over 3 levels, which overlook and overlap each other so the visitor is always aware of where they are and where they are going. This project seeks to provoke and challenge hotel organisation, while engaging with the “non-place” element of motorways and casino environments. Tomás Prendeville Tutor(s)