Art Hotels

[ where the sun lands ]

Everything turns inward here. The court is open to the sky, and each room borrows its light from that opening rather than from the street. Plaster and tile in the upper gallery catch it as it drops, while the roof terrace stands above the medina in the full open.

[ where the shade is kept ]

Arcades run around all four sides of the court, and the rooms sit behind them in constant shadow. Heavy masonry keeps the ground floor cool through the day. Out on the lanes, the medina's own reed and timber covers do the same work overhead for the walker.

[ what stays lit ]

After dark the court is lit from the galleries, so the tiled walls and the surface of the water carry most of it. Lanterns pick out the arcade arches, and the terrace keeps only low lamps.

[ where the sun lands ]

Light comes down into the courtyards and stops there, held by the colonnades on every side. The rooms open onto the arcade rather than onto the outside, so they take a second-hand share of it. At this altitude the sky is thin, and the stone reads very bright.

[ where the shade is kept ]

Deep colonnades keep a band of shadow around each court from morning to evening. Walls of adobe and cut stone are heavy enough to hold the cool inside them. Painted ceilings and old plaster sit well back from any opening, out of the reach of direct light.

[ what stays lit ]

Lamps under the arcades throw the columns into relief and leave the middle of each court darker. Cusco's hillside lights rise around the block, and the cathedral quarter stays lit a short walk away.

[ where the sun lands ]

Set in an arc on the slope, the suites all face one way, out over the valley toward the temple. Each has its own terrace and a domed roof standing above it. Rice fields below throw water-light back up the hill through the flooded part of the year.

[ where the shade is kept ]

Deep eaves and colonnaded walkways run between the buildings and keep the paths under cover. The domes leave a cool centre in every room. Behind the site the Menoreh hills stand close, and volcanic ridges close off the far edge of the valley.

[ what stays lit ]

Lamps line the stone walkways and the pool terrace, and the domed suites keep their own low light. The valley below goes dark except for village lamps, which makes the arc of the buildings legible.

[ where the sun lands ]

Two street facades take whatever the square gives them, and the rest arrives from above. The atrium runs the full height of the joined buildings and drops light onto the lounge floor. Rooms on the square look across open paving, while rooms at the back face an inner courtyard.

[ where the shade is kept ]

Heavy stone facades and deep window reveals keep the street rooms clear of glare. Around the atrium the galleries sit under the floors above them, in shadow. The inner courtyard is narrow, and the houses opposite hold the light off its lower storeys.

[ what stays lit ]

The atrium is lit from its edges and becomes the brightest part of the building once it is dark. Along Norrmalmstorg the ground-floor windows read as a warm line, and the square keeps its lamps close.

[ where the sun lands ]

Brick wings enclose the courtyard, and the galleries on each floor take their light from it. The pool sits in the middle of that opening and throws some of it back onto the walls. Street windows face the Lower Garden District, where low buildings leave the sky wide open.

[ where the shade is kept ]

Covered galleries wrap the court, so every doorway stands under a roof of its own. The wings are deep, and rooms at the back of them keep an even dimness. Live oaks along the surrounding streets carry their shade over the pavements outside the walls.

[ what stays lit ]

The court is lit from under the galleries, so the arcades read first and the brick behind them stays dark. Lamps in the bar and the ground-floor rooms fill the windows facing the street.

[ where the sun lands ]

Facing the ocean across a low dune, the building takes a hard coastal light off sand and water. The motel plan holds the rooms in two ranges around a central pool that is open to the sky. Painted white and blue surfaces send a good deal of it back.

[ where the shade is kept ]

A colonnade runs along the room ranges and shades every door beneath it. Awnings and slatted screens sit over the windows on the ocean side. The dining room looks into the court rather than out to the beach, which keeps the glare off the tables.

[ what stays lit ]

The pool is lit from within and holds the court after dark, with lamps under the colonnade at each doorway. Beyond the dune the beach goes fully dark, and the coast road carries what light is left.