Nature of Hospitality
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Abstract
This thesis searches to provide an answer to the question: how is hospitality expressed in
architectural terms and how does this affect our perception of space? The Building Typology
for analysis of the problem is a retreat campus serving as a holistic human wellness center.
Based in the far reaches of the northern Minnesota wilderness in Voyageurs National Park, the campus will be kept as a preserve
within the park for relearning basic human needs and stressing individual wellness habits.
The major premise guiding this research starts with the idea that hospitality dates back thousands of years in human history. To love thy neighbor and treat others with respect is one of many platforms that has been evident in human teachings for hundreds of years. Understanding the elements of design that directly affect human enjoyment of a space is a crucial part of design methodology that can
help us realize a deeper connection between people and space. Successful Architecture
can and indeed should reflect the hospitable nature of a designer’s knowledge of human psychology and history of spatial experience.
The justification behind the premise remains that it is essential we understand the delicate relationships that form a successful hospitable environment. We should attempt to understand why vacation and retreat venues
are so popular in today’s society and work to connect them to inherent needs of the human
population to better understand how to achieve comfort through Architectural design.