ARCHITECT: K-STUDIO & ALEXANDROS N. TOMBAZIS AND ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS
STYLE: CONTEMPORARY MEDITERRANEAN
Location: GREECE, peloponnese, COSTA NAVARINO
PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAUS BRECHENMACHER & REINER BAUMANN / HELEN CATHCART
NOT EVERY FIVE-STAR RESORT NEEDS TO MAKE A GRAND ENTRANCE. SOME ARE RATHER MORE INTERESTED IN DISAPPEARING INTO THE LANDSCAPE. SET ABOVE THE HISTORIC BAY OF NAVARINO, ON THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF GREECE, MANDARIN ORIENTAL, COSTA NAVARINO TAKES THE LATTER APPROACH. THERE ARE SEA VIEWS, PRIVATE POOLS AND ALL THE EXPECTED COMFORTS, OF COURSE. BUT THE REAL ATTRACTION IS THE ARCHITECTURE — AND ITS REMARKABLE ABILITY TO KNOW WHEN TO STEP ASIDE.
DESIGNED BY K-STUDIO IN COLLABORATION WITH ALEXANDROS N. TOMBAZIS AND ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS, THE RESORT TAKES ITS CUES FROM THE MESSINIAN COUNTRYSIDE. ITS LAYOUT IS INSPIRED BY MANDRIA, THE TRADITIONAL DRY-STONE ENCLOSURES ONCE USED BY LOCAL FARMERS. THESE MODEST STRUCTURES FOLLOWED THE NATURAL CONTOURS OF THE LAND, USING STONE GATHERED FROM THE SURROUNDING FIELDS. HERE, THAT SAME LOGIC HAS BEEN REIMAGINED ON A RATHER DIFFERENT SCALE, WITH CLUSTERS OF SUITES AND VILLAS ARRANGED ALONG THE HILLSIDE LIKE A SMALL, CONTEMPORARY GREEK SETTLEMENT.
THE 51 SUITES AND 48 VILLAS ARE DESIGNED TO FEEL PRIVATE WITHOUT BEING CUT OFF FROM THEIR SURROUNDINGS. MANY OF THE VILLAS ARE PARTIALLY TUCKED INTO THE HILLSIDE, WITH PLANTED ROOFS THAT ALLOW THE BUILDINGS TO BLEND INTO THE GREENERY. STONE WALLS PROVIDE SHELTER AND SECLUSION, WHILE SHADED TERRACES AND GENEROUS OPENINGS MAKE THE MOST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN LIGHT. THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE IS DELIBERATELY BLURRED — AND WITH VIEWS LIKE THESE, IT WOULD SEEM A SHAME TO DRAW TOO FIRM A LINE.
MATERIALS ARE KEPT CLOSE TO THE CHARACTER OF THE PLACE. NATURAL STONE, TERRAZZO AND WARM, EARTHY TONES GIVE THE ARCHITECTURE A QUIET CONFIDENCE. INTERIORS ARE COMFORTABLE WITHOUT FEELING OVERDRESSED, WITH TEXTURED SURFACES, CONSIDERED DETAILS AND A PALETTE THAT TAKES ITS LEAD FROM THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE. DIFFERENT DESIGN STUDIOS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE RESORT’S INTERIORS, BUT THE OVERALL IMPRESSION IS ONE OF RESTRAINT. THERE IS PLENTY TO LOOK AT, YET VERY LITTLE COMPETING FOR ATTENTION.
THE LANDSCAPE IS MORE THAN A PLEASANT BACKDROP. IT PLAYS AN ACTIVE ROLE IN HOW THE RESORT WORKS. PLANTED ROOFS, EARTH-SHELTERED SPACES AND DEEP OVERHANGS HELP MODERATE THE SUMMER HEAT, WHILE OPEN-AIR ROUTES AND SHADED COURTYARDS MAKE MOVING BETWEEN BUILDINGS PART OF THE EXPERIENCE. OLIVE TREES AND MEDITERRANEAN PLANTING SOFTEN THE ARCHITECTURE, AND THE SEA IS NEVER ENTIRELY OUT OF MIND. EVEN THE JOURNEY FROM ONE SPACE TO ANOTHER FEELS CAREFULLY CONSIDERED.
AND THEN THERE IS THE SIMPLE PLEASURE OF BEING HERE. A MORNING SWIM WITH THE BAY STRETCHING OUT BELOW. A LONG LUNCH THAT GRADUALLY BECOMES AN AFTERNOON. A QUIET TERRACE, A GOOD BOOK AND VERY LITTLE REASON TO CHECK THE TIME. THE ARCHITECTURE MAKES ROOM FOR ALL OF IT, OFFERING PRIVACY WITHOUT ISOLATION AND COMFORT WITHOUT LOSING TOUCH WITH THE LANDSCAPE.
SOME HOTELS ARE DESIGNED TO BE NOTICED. MANDARIN ORIENTAL, COSTA NAVARINO IS ALL THE MORE MEMORABLE FOR KNOWING HOW TO BELONG.
