The “Washing Machine” is a temporary place for healing. The site is in San Luis Obispo, California, presiding over the top of the 101 bypass on Madonna Road. Visitors can temporarily visit to utilize the architectural spaces, such as rotating hotel platforms and dynamic pathways, to help their anxieties, trauma, or overall mental health through hypnotherapy.
The design of the hotel occurred by collecting various circular or organically shaped objects around San Luis Obispo and compiling them together on top of a large door frame. The first object chosen was the large concrete mixing tub for the hotel, which was then chosen to sit on a small desk stool. The rotation of the desk stool inspired the addition of a bike frame in order to work together in a gear system to spin the interior of the tub. This rotation would theoretically happen once a day and spin one foot every fifteen seconds, slowly hypnotizing the guests and giving a new view of the surrounding SLO area each moment. When physically rotating the pedal of the bike frame on the model, the interior of the hotel rotates as well. The rest of the objects were chosen with radial axes or organic forms in order to induce further micro-hypnotization throughout the rest of the space.
Guests can enter the hotel with a goal to improve an issue or no goal at all, but all leave with a new perspective. Just simply experiencing a hypnotic architectural space, rather than actively forcing introspection through interventions, can help guests reflect and rejuvenate subconsciously.
Physical Model
Final design composition built on an 80” x 36” door. Made out of the following found objects:
Concrete Mixing Tub
Handmade Gear System
Milk Cartons
Protein Powder Tub
Bike Frame & Handlebars
Computer Desktop Frame
Exhaust Manifold
Desk Stool
Stacked VCR’s
PVC Pipes
Pressure Gage
Rain Gutter
T-Shirts
Electrical Wire Bed
Broken Drone
Fan Cover
Rubber Tubes
Other Car Parts
Cardboard Tube
Big Gulp Cup
Live Interaction
An image of myself spinning the physical interior portion of the model using the connected bike mechanism.
Site Render
A render of the hotel above the 101 highway. Rendered in Photoshop.
Integrated Section
A section of the hotel showing spatial qualities, daylight intentions, and passive ventilation systems. Lead on vellum.
Wall Assembly Detail
A axonometric perspective of the exterior wall assembly detail, representing both the exterior skin and interior structure. Rendered in Rhino 3D.
Wall Assembly Detail Physical Model
A physical model at 1/4” scale of the hotel wall assembly. 3D print, bristol paper, and balsa wood.
Interior Vignettes
Two studies of the interior hotel design sketched over interior photos of the physical model. Lead on trace paper.
Wall Section
Final wall section of the hotel showing the structural elements and materiality of the kinetic skin and interior core.
Ali Harwood Design 