Transforming Noah’s Hotel into the Ultimate Co-Living Heterotopia for the Rent- Displaced Communities of Ōtautahi
The contents of this dissertation explores the renovation of Noah’s hotel which was left abandoned after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. With the current state of New Zealand as of now, rent prices plummeting, and the ongoing mass emigration proves the country’s increased cost of living. A trend of ‘hidden homelessness’ in the forms of couch surfing and overcrowding tenancies evinces a mass economic displacement. This thesis is driven by means of speculation and of hope that by utilising Christchurch’s dilapidated sites can be transformed into safe havens for those evicted. Guided by the six principles of heterotopia introduced by Michel Foucault, the proposed co-living hotel determines to attest societal perception of hotels, and introduce a reality that alleviates a community from political and economical instability. In terms of Christchurch’s landscape, the hotel itself lies within Maltese Cross, layout planned in 1850 which defines the CBD’S unique urbanscape. Historic landmarks and erected projects use the cross as a guide in tandem with legislative policies strictly imposing the importance of view protection for heritage buildings - a notion made compulsory especially after the earthquake. By taking inspiration from Gordon Matta-Clark’s methodology of Conical Intersects, voids through the building act as viewshafts, each introducing key sites important to Christchurch. These voids simultaneously house integral communal areas and narrates a timeline of Ōtautahi’s crucial events