Union Hotel: Uniting the Past with the Present through the Union of People & Place

Abstract

This project focuses on the renovation of Union Station (VIA Rail) located at 123 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, into a hotel. The purpose of designing a hotel at Union Station will be to link users to the historical and cultural context that the building sits in. The facility will be a place that addresses the needs of VIA Rail’s travellers while creating a location where locals can visit. It will be an establishment unique from other hotels within the vicinity because of its strong literal ties to the rail industry being that it is attached to a train station, serving the clientele of the train station and that it reflects the inherent historical value of the site for Winnipeg. An investigation into Regulation Theory and place and interaction theories, a precedent analysis on typologies related to the one presented and a detailed programme will influence the design of the proposed hotel.