NOBUS HOTEL & SPA

The inspiration for the creation of this project is the result of an analysis of the client’s needs parallel to a careful examination of the context. This building is intimately connected to the terrain and the territory where it is situated. The hills’s relief, stretching from Vlora towards Orikum, has on its western side a steep slope which, with the altidute increase, allows a view over the Ionian Sea in a natural frame that extends from the Karaburun Peninsula, continues to Sazan, and reaches Zvërnec and Narta. This privileged geographic context is the location of the Nobus Hotel & SPA. The intervention site is situated at a crossing paths that connects the hillside with a significant level difference. The building integrates into this morphology by developing accesses on different levels, depending on the functions of the services offered: hotel, SPA, bar/restaurant, pool, parking. The atrium, which vertically extends across two levels and remains embedded in rock on its three sides, serves as the main access point of the building. Six meters below, at street level on the northern side, parking facilities are located. The access to the panoramic pool on the southern side is positioned above the atrium. This level difference has created the opportunity for natural zenithal lighting from the pool elevation into the interior of the atrium.

These entrances are visually connected to each other through stone arched terraces, seamlessly integrating with the existing Mediterranean topography and vegetation. The structure’s volumetrics result from the geometric interplay of several prisms that follow the rhythm of the terraces, creating a form that seamlessly integrates with the terrain. From these sequences emerge facades stripped of ‘excess’ elements - with stylistic references to rationalist architecture - favoring the purity of form and sculpted volumes.The result is the maximization of users’ sense of privacy and the creation of a double effect, enhancing the perspective of the view from inside out. The selection of materials is a consequence of an existing factor; the white facade minimizes solar impact, glass parapets allow for inward and outward views without interfering with the essence of the facade. Stone terraces are realized with stones extracted from excavation, and the materials of the floors, both inside and outside the building, adopt the same local color tones.

In essence, this project has been chosen from our portfolio due to the complexity of challenges and requirements it has posed, stemming from both the clients and the specific location.