How do you expand the space of a 600-year-old house of historic, cultural and architectural value and give it new life as a hotel and conference center? Go underground.

The purpose of this project is to highlight the preservation challenge of respecting the existing site’s continuity to the past and preserving the different layers of architectonic history of a building without forcing it to suffer the shock of a new identity. This added layer, instead of forcing itself on the exterior, goes underground, taking advantage of the hilly natural setting where the building is located and has developed over the past six centuries -- each time trying to meet the needs of new owners, generations, purposes and styles. However reverent of the building’s heritage, the new project seeks to leave its own imprint and force of purpose. 

A glass and steel skylight structure, built into the new pavement of the building’s courtyard, works also as a conceptual fracturing element, creating an aperture between past and present.