La Onda Resort
Architectural proposal for the creation of a “Luxury Hotel Complex in Plataria, Thesprotia”
Area: Plataria, Prefecture of Thesprotia, Region of Epirus, Greece
Property: With exceptional uniqueness based on its quality characteristics, coastal, even and
buildable, a sloping panoramic property the lowest level of which ends up on the shore while there
is building infrastructure for the main use of a hotel.
Property size: ≈ 18 acres with side length ≈ 165m. on the highway and side to the beach length ≈
135m
Feasible construction (for tourist facilities): ≈ 3.5 acres.
Accessibility By road, Adjacent to National Road 18, directly accessible from Egnatia and Ionia
Roads, and respectively, by ferries from the Port of Igoumenitsa (distance only 7km) and accessible
by air through the airports of Aktio and Ioannina
Architecture *: Setting up a soundless dialogue with the place: the project is integrated with nature
symbolically, figuratively, functionally, while architecture and landscape are mixed like fluid
flowing elements. The dichotomous relation, which had always approached them as distinct
notions, is put on a crisis, creating a new field for experimentation of the form and the function.
2.
Existing infrastructure
Beach
General property outline
Size ≈ 18 acres.
3.
Photos of the property
Unobstructed views of the Aegean Sea and especially the bay of Plataria and the island of Corfu in
the background.
Opportunities: the location is ideal to host a high-class tourist investment that will strengthen
quality tourism, because:
– the uncommonness and lack of a similar area with the possibility of supporting such an investment
in the area combining the size, the location and other quality features (Mediterranean landscape – a
place where the Mediterranean light conversates with the sea, the existence of beach, the strong
presence of local vegetation, the slopes, etc.) along with the possibility of construction, make the
property unique
– at its lowest level, the property ends at the beach, while it is adjacent to some of the most
outstanding beaches in the area with crystal clear, greenish-blue waters, where numerous types of
services are provided (beach bar, restaurants, etc.)
– in current years, supported by the strengthening of domestic and international demand, the hotel
industry in the region shows exceptional dynamics
– investment interest has been expressed for a property located nearby, concerning the creation of a
luxury hotel unit, thus upgrading the wider (tourist) profile of the area
– The transport infrastructure offered from and to the area is totally satisfactory: it is carried out by
air through the airports of Aktio*, Corfu and Ioannina. The port of Igoumenitsa is located opposite
Corfu and is the closest port connecting the mainland with neighboring Italy, operating as a gateway
to Western Europe. Finally, both the Egnatia and Ionia routes, after being completed, have upgraded
the road accessibility of the area, both in relation to the National and the wider International
Network.In the future, the expected railway connection will further increase the accessibility
– its location, as well as the inclination of the ground to the south, guarantee unobstructed views of
the Ionian Sea, where the bay of Plataria and the island of Corfu are framed.
* Fraport Greece will invest up to € 20,400 million by 2021 in the improvement and further upgrade
of the airport, ensuring further maintenance and upgrades for the following 40 years and with an
estimated total investment of one billion euros.
4.
The approach of the synthetic philosophy of architectural combination
The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, and the first of that which is
coming. Thus it is with time present
Leonardo Da Vinci
Excerpt from the point of the story that deals with the meeting of a poet and a philosopher in a
dream that was coming to its end: […] “Apollo and Dionysus dance around her, drink water from
the river that flows rapidly into the sea, offering her a wealth of emotions, secrets and dreams. From
time to time, the river gently trickles drops of its everlasting flow at different points, enclosing a
new world of experiences and emotions in every flowing formation and bringing points of the
narration of the places it met.” […]
The project as a point of the narration, a drop of the river, where each drop of the water is one
Moment. The water digs the rock and defines the course of the river, the multiple drops that
accompany it, are the ones that do it… […]
The work refers metaphorically to the course of the river and to the instantaneous attribution of its
eternal flow over time. The river flows mainly on the surface as well as in the subsoil, with the flow
of its water mass ending up into the sea or the lake. As we move from the source to the destination,
new fields are encountered. […]
5.
The waves that rapidly hit the rocks of the bay are transmuted into the structured anthropogenic
element: The sculptural creation now forms a crystallization of the interplay of water and stone, the
stratigraphy of the rock becomes one with the built area, The dichotomous connection, which has
always approached architecture and the landscape as different notions, is revised. Physical and
artificial components are combined, the place becomes an active part of the architectural practice as
the constructing bodies become an expansion as well as a synthetic element of the place, while the
building tends to lose its monolithic character.
6.
The analysis and interpretation of the necessary elements led to the configuration of the building
program and the design of flexible building blocks that can be adapted to various typologies, still
maintaining the design coherence and responding to a broad range of interdependent services and
functions: parking and reception areas, doctor’s office, offices, service areas, shop, restaurant and
bar with large outdoor areas, swimming pool, conference room, exercise and wellness areas,
apartments and rooms of different typologies with private pools in some of them, while ensuring
unobstructed views of the sea.
The connection of the areas and the transition between them follows the flow of the synthetic
improvement of the building bodies, with starting point the upper level of road access and ending
the lowest level of the beach (the cape). To facilitate general accessibility in all public areas and
taking into account the steep slopes of the ground, passive and active means have been provided, for
example, the creation of a sloping lift, which connects the two buildings of the communal functions
with the accommodation areas, as well as with the beach.
7.
For information and access to the entire proposal – study*:
*The proposal was drafted in the context of architectural premeditation, concerning the
incorporation of the existing building infrastructure in broader developmental planning for the
creation of a luxury hotel unit and also in its autonomous renovation. Regarding the out-of-plan
areas, the property has been examined for the conditions of integrity and buildability, which has
been performed based on the urban and construction legislation, the regulations and standards
governing the design and implementation of building projects related to tourist facilities in Greece.
The official topography diagrams, contracts, and other information are available. You can contacts
us for details on the property and access to further information, designs, etc. concerning
architectural premeditation

ATHANASIOS VENETIS

Architect/Urban Planner

B.Arch. and M.Arch.

UPRD Engineer’ s Degree

Qualified Licensed Architect/Engineer,

Registered Member of the TEE – TCG

Venetis Architecture & Design Studio

www.venetis.it