Presence is an essential ingredient, when it comes to such designs. A bold volume, with its marked surfaces and confident curves serves well. This is further enhanced by the rich tapestry of the gardens and their magnificent pools that provide a sense of indulgent luxury within which the object of the Hotel volume itself might rest.
Studio Name: E. Papachristou Architects LLC
Design Team: Nicole Andreou, Anna Georgiadou, Dimitris Savva
Area: 13,700 m²
Year: 2021
Location: Ayia Napa, Cyprus
Consultants:
- Civil Engineer : D&K EPS LLC
- Electrical & Mechanical Consulting Engineers : Eliofotou & Zinieris / MELTEC Engineering Consulting
- Lighting Engineer: ARCHTUBE Architectural Lighting Design
Renderings Credits: Atelier Crilo – Architectural Visualization
The volume itself is located on the site and orientated so as to allow the least shadow on the outdoor facilities, with their extensive pool. Gestures such as the entrance, the enveloping balconies and the three volumes on which the main body of the design sit remain simple and clear in their execution. The bold statement of the entirety is however neatly broken down into individual spaces that correspond to their functions. The rooms provide a strong sense of privacy, their façade set back by the continuous ribbons of the balconies.
These have been subdivided into solid and transparent segments which are lined up according to the views beyond the immediate site. Capping the main, elevated volume is the roof bar with its swimming pool, which is given over to ‘public’ use. The views from here are at their best. In contrast the ground floor spaces open directly to the outdoor facilities that congregate about the extensive volumes of water the swimming pools provide.
There is a balance to be found between the desire to enjoy the fine weather and the need to retreat into the cool depths of the hotel building itself which ends up guiding the resulting design. A shift in scales of space, openness and the selective screening through planting and volumes all serve to provide individual experiences under the canopy of a uniting bold geometry. The end result is a kind of oasis. An event that effectively turns its back on the tattered patchwork of the urbanity that has come to describe the wider context of the area.
