MONARCH MOTEL LOUNGE

Moscow, Idaho - 2019

  • 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

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