Hotel in Irún
1998/1999

This area is on the French-Spanish border.
The 5000 lorries that go by on a daily basis create an oppressive landscape. The location of the building inside the Integral Transport Area requires the acceptance of the physical presence of large vehicles in the area.
We had to catch this landscape, and take it on for ourselves before undertaking the project. Our first decision was to capture those surroundings.

The strictly rectangular lot defines and limits the main enclosure, delimiting a predictable formal result.
To this limitation, we must add the little interest that a hotel has in terms of spatiality, with more domestic-type requirements (room sequence) than singular building requirements.
In dialogue with the initial enclosure, a partial excavation operation on upper levels is planned.
The final image is articulated based on the idea of a vertical weaving of laminated wood pillars that modulate and organize exterior parameters such as windows, etc.
The weaved enclosure, like a superimposed façade, makes the building stand out in the distance.