Moscow Hotel Residences

Moscow, Idaho

Architecture students made plans to transform the 2900 square foot Moscow Hotel to increase housing options in the core of downtown Moscow.

Students completed full stage set mockups of two units, built multiple details, and completed in-depth project budgets and construction drawings for the residences, in addition to multiple iterations of presentation graphics. Unfortunately, the project was put on an indefinite hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, before being abandoned for financial reasons in the fall of 2020.

The project involved transforming the dining room and a long-vacant restaurant space into four individual residences. The historic building presented a unique challenge to the group, as it contained more than a century of previous uses and multiple layers of abandoned and reconfigured electrical, HVAC, plumbing and structure. These constraints molded the forms of the apartments into open-plan spaces defined by ceiling heights and permeable partitions. These partitions created freestanding elements which maximized daylight within the units while still maintaining privacy. Each unit used this approach in its own way to either contain the bedroom or act as a buffer between it and the living space. Deepened window openings also created new adaptable function seating, as well as built-in storage, a feature integral to the success of a studio apartment.