technotel

can a party happen anywhere?

the story of techno in berlin begins with the fall of the wall. abandoned buildings were taken over by young people who organized illegal raves in power plants, bunkers, hangers and underground stations. for a brief period of time every day, individuals divided by gender, race, sexuality, and politics were united by a shared dedication to the music. it was an act of liberation dancing in places where previously you might've been shot for trespassing. the techno rave was a movement that used berlin's abandoned spaces to promote freedom and hedonism, giving dancers the agency to shut out the everyday and suspend reality.
as the city changed following reunification, so did the character of the rave. previously abandoned buildings were bought and transformed into purpose made club spaces, complete with yelp reviews and trip advisor comments. rules on where you can dance, how to dance, and even who can dance were enforced. it was the commercialization of liberation.
in this way, the techno-tel pays homage to the roots of techno in berlin by creating an alternative space focused on suspension, freedom, and inclusivity. just as the rave is about dualisms (day vs night, mind vs body, etc) this space transforms itself according to the needs of its occupants. whether a hotel or a club, or both, it gives back individual agency to have a party anywhere.

01_research / 02_site / 03_proposal

01_research

the history of the rave has been associated with illegal drug use and shrouded in secrecy, which enabled individuals to party as they wanted. in the days before facebook, invitations were passed by mail, voicemail, and word of mouth, bringing together a cross section of society united by the desire to dance and forget.

the rave itself was often held in "in-between" spaces that were often abandoned or hidden from view. vacant factory buildings often provided the ideal acoustics and open space needed for large raves.

02_site

mapping historical land uses and locations of former rave sites led to the understanding that industrial leftovers that were once used for temporary parties became permanent clubs. as a reference to this history, a fragmented block near the former no-man's land was selected as the site of the techno-tel because of the opportunity to conceal and reveal spaces as the program requires.

areas highlighted in blue show industrial leftovers from the cold war. former rave sites turned clubs are marked by red x's.

existing site condition

03_proposal

by filling in missing pieces of the block, the technotel parasitically embeds itself within the urban fabric. all spaces accommodate different functions depending on the time

the daytime entrance to the hotel is positioned on a high traffic street, while the nighttime club entrance is more hidden and passes through the bathroom on a back street. the open concept lobby opens into an internal courtyard during the day, but can be acoustically sealed and transformed into a dancefloor with elevated dj booth. guest rooms are accessed via walkways overlooking the lobby/dancefloor or via elevator. within guest rooms, walls that divide each room slide out so that individuals can collaborate with their neighbors to curate their own party spaces.

24 hours at the technotel