HOPE ENTERPRISE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Integrated Design II
Project Title:Resort Hotel
Prepared by-Hanan Jabir
RAR/537/22
Submission date-Oct 9-2025G.C
Table of Contents
[Link] Summary
[Link] Statement
[Link] of the Project
[Link] Justification
4.1Rationale of the project
[Link]
Executive Summary
The Resort Hotel project envisions a new model of urban leisure for Addis Ababa — a resort that interacts with the city rather than isolates from it. The design explores how
hospitality and recreation can coexist with the urban fabric, transforming city edges and underutilized areas into vibrant yet calm destinations.
The concept, “City Within a Resort,” positions the resort as an extension of Addis Ababa’s urban life: public pathways, plazas, and social spaces merge seamlessly with private leisure
and accommodation zones. Visitors experience the city’s cultural energy while enjoying retreat-like sequences of space created through courtyards, terraces, and framed urban views.
Rather than separating leisure from the city, the resort mediates between urban intensity and spatial calm, providing guests with moments of relaxation that are visually and functionally
connected to the city. Restaurants, event halls, and cultural spaces serve both residents and visitors, establishing the resort as a hub of social interaction, recreation, and urban tourism.
This approach redefines the role of a resort in an African capital — it becomes part of the city’s identity, offering leisure and hospitality without disconnecting from the metropolitan
context, strengthening Addis Ababa’s image as a modern, culturally vibrant, and socially connected [Link] Resort Hotel project envisions a new typology of urban leisure in Addis
Ababa — a place where architecture itself becomes an experience of relaxation, comfort, and identity. The design concept is guided by the theme “Urban Escape”: creating a spatial
retreat within the heart of the city, not by isolating from it, but by transforming its intensity into calmness through design.
The Resort Hotel combines luxury accommodation, recreational facilities, dining, event spaces, and wellness zones within a single coherent composition. The architecture emphasizes
atmosphere, light, and flow — spaces that shift from vibrant public energy to private tranquility.
Rather than relying on nature as decoration, the project uses architectural form — courtyards, terraces, framed views, and controlled light — to evoke a sense of retreat. It proposes an
alternative resort model: one that is metropolitan, cultural, and spatially immersive
Problem Statement
Addis Ababa’s hotel sector has expanded rapidly, yet its architectural identity remains fragmented and repetitive — dominated by commercial business hotels lacking experiential
quality. Guests seeking rest, aesthetic pleasure, and cultural connection find few options within the city.
There is a clear absence of hospitality projects that combine the comfort of modern urban life with the spatial generosity and serenity of a resort environment. The project addresses
this gap by creating a Resort Hotel that redefines leisure through architecture, offering both functionality and sensory experience.
Objectives of the Project
To reinterpret the concept of a resort in an urban context — merging leisure, business, and culture.
To design an architectural composition that transitions from public vibrancy to private calm.
To integrate local craftsmanship, art, and texture into a modern hospitality environment.
To create spatial sequences — from grand entrance to intimate retreat — that engage users emotionally.
To contribute to Addis Ababa’s architectural identity with a distinctive landmark that reflects contemporary Ethiopian elegance.
Project Justification
Rationale of the Project
Why the project is necessary:
Addis Ababa is evolving as a continental capital — hosting international summits, cultural festivals, and a growing middle-class population in need of high-end urban leisure spaces.
The city’s hospitality sector demands innovation — a facility that goes beyond accommodation to offer experience, culture, and comfort.
How it addresses current gaps or problems:
The Resort Hotel introduces a spatial narrative built around contrast and transition: open vs enclosed, light vs shadow, collective vs individual. The architecture functions like a small
city — with layers of activity organized around internal courts, terraces, and vertical voids.
Public Zone: grand lobby, restaurants, conference spaces, event halls — designed as open, flexible, and light-filled environments that connect to outdoor terraces.
Semi-Private Zone: spa, gym, lounges, and library spaces — slower, quieter environments offering semi-seclusion.
Private Zone: guest rooms, suites, and villas — each framed to capture controlled views, designed for calmness and privacy.
Materially, the project blends stone, plaster, metal, and soft textures — a tactile palette expressing modern Ethiopian sophistication. The geometry draws on the rhythm of traditional
patterns, abstracted into a contemporary architectural language.
By focusing on experience through space, not decoration, the Resort Hotel becomes a model for modern hospitality design — one that enhances Addis Ababa’s urban image and
cultural confidence.
References
Zumthor, P. (2006). Thinking Architecture.
Schröpfer, T. (2012). Ecological Urban Architecture.
Lepik, A. (2010). Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement.
Ministry of Tourism, Ethiopia (2023). Urban Hospitality and Investment Plan.
Addis Ababa City Administration (2024). Architectural Development Strategy.