youth hostel

The rhythm of day and night had regulated all life on the earth for a billion years. Sunrise and sunset is a kind of signal to change their activity. As sun is moving it makes shadows. Length and direction of the shadow is rapidly change by time. Using sun altitude and azimuth, find out relationship between architecture and shadow, it can create different circumstance of the space. My thesis project is youth hostel. Traveling is change of locations from one place to another. Traveling is not only move to another place. While we are traveling the place, time is also passing. It means traveling is moving to another place and also time. Place and time that we are travel can be the past, present and future. If hostel can move by itself, it makes continuing traveling even travelers are sleeping and taking a rest. From this project as time goes by people who are inside the building and also outside the building can feel the change of the time and the space.

The site of my project is in time square. Based on hostel users’ survey, travelers want the location which is close from transportation and walk to many attractions. I choose my hostel site at 119west 45street. It is very close to time square and easy to take subway to anywhere in New York City. Right now this building is used as hostel which is highest rating in New York City hostels because of its location.


Sundial is timepiece that indicates the daylight hours by the shadow. The shadow of sundial changes by sun altitude and azimuth. Reciprocal action between sun and shadow, shadow and architecture, and architecture and people is the main intention of this project.