CONTEXT

The Monarch Motel Lounge was a multi-phase design build project. The first Phase, an 8 week vertical studio project to design and construct a temporary outdoor lounge under a disused porte cochere. The following semester, students completed a second phase, repurposing the material from the first Phase to make more permanent lounge space.

PROCESS

Working with a limited budget, on a tight schedule and in difficult weather, the students explored ways to rapidly prefabricate using flexible, modular units that could be prefabricated offsite and the rapidly assembled onsite during a challenging December build.

Because the client wanted the ability to adapt the space to changing needs, the students constrained themselves to designs that were lightweight, easily reconfigurable using simple fasteners. The modular design also needed to fit within the budget, and not require foundations, or extensive anchoring on the site. This approach proved prescient in the second phase then the entire lounge was disassembled and the materials were adapted to a more permanent, raised lounge with a built in fire pit.

OUTCOMES

This project was informative in how subsequent Idaho Design Build Studios are organized, and proved to be an important early testing ground for the effective reuse of project waste material, prototyping, and processing strategies.

The space has become a gathering space for the guests of the motel, as well as a spot for them to meet friends and colleagues before heading to dinner or an event in the downtown area. Its also a popular spot for impromptu photoshoots, like the one for the 2022-23 Moscow Chamber of Commerce Visitors Guide.

Leah Bafus

Mae Baja

Claire Berheim

George Bowler

Brett Carter

Brooke Collaer

Thomas Corr

Esmeralda DeLoera

Edwin Dilone-Berumen

Catherine Flerchinger

Megan Frazier

Justin Gandy

Kyle Goodyear

Matt Gonser

Kade Hern

Laura Ixta

Samantha Jesser

Lauren Johnson

Dakota Jones

Abby Korn

Garrett Lyons

Jackson Miller

Moises Montenegro

Jenna Shafer

Harrison Rowe

Keonna Valdez

Nathan Wilde

Adriana Zamorano-Gonzalez

Scott Lawrence, assistant professor

“Students Build Outdoor Wooden Lounge”

Moscow-Pullman Daily News

December 20, 2018