Urban-architectural design of a residential zone with central civic amenities including a 4-star hotel, wellness, chalets, restaurant and other services.
The core principles of the design are the seamless connection of the public space landscape concept with the surrounding habitat, an economically and ecologically optimized construction along the terrain contours, and the maximization of views toward the High Tatras. Traffic within the area is intentionally and gradually calmed, moving from the busy entrance of the site toward the quiet zone of the residential chalets. The baseline situation of the location is defined by its connection to the attractive natural surroundings and the traffic organization established by the earlier construction phases of the resort's residential buildings. Our proposal places the new buildings according to the logic of the terrain slope and traffic organization. We propose to organize the individual structures and their adjacent public spaces linearly along the terrain contours.
The urban and architectural design stems from the brief, the limiting requirements of the master plan, and our landscaping intent to seamlessly and organically connect the designed public space with the surrounding habitat, while striving to avoid any unnecessary obstruction of the views toward the Tatra peaks. The buildings are designed within the required volumes, taking into account the recommended phased construction approach. In terms of building design, their architectural expression is simple, striving for timelessness, while also being materially durable with planned natural aging. The intensity of vehicular traffic within the proposed part of the resort will be gradually calmed. Moving from the entrance linked to the busy main road and the reception, restaurant, wellness, or hotel buildings, its intensity progressively decreases. It is most calmed around the chalets and their public spaces in contact with the forest. The traffic and parking system of the proposed zone is designed to be economically efficient.
The civic amenity building with the reception in the foreground forms a clear arrival interface and a memorable display for the resort. Branching from it in a quieter direction along the stream is the wing with the restaurant and wellness area, terminating in an outdoor water world and a view of the High Tatras. Along the main road, the hotel is connected to the reception building, featuring an underground parking and supply facility and civic amenities on the ground floor. The hotel parterre connects the street with the inner courtyard and the restaurant terrace, which further functionally links to the central public space with a running track, a gathering area, a water feature, a multifunctional playground, and a central blue-green habitat. A calmed service road running along the terrain contour toward the chalets and the forest separates the intensified civic amenity area from the chalet territory by means of a linear parking canopy.
The chalets are point-block apartment houses, the number of which we optimized to eight to safeguard the views, while preserving the requested volume of apartments and their floor areas. A portion of the chalets will be equipped with an underground parking garage, but up to half of the parking capacity will be realized on the terrain under a canopy. The intention is to separate the chalet territory from the central civic amenities by using a linear parking canopy set into a terrain cut, which will provide the apartment owners in the chalets with an appealing degree of privacy. The public areas and a barbecue spot designed in the context of the nearby larch forest, along with landscaping that blends with the surrounding habitat, will ensure premium attractiveness for the residential part of the designed area within the resort.
We have designed an urban concept naturally integrated with its surrounding environment. The key lies in placing the central public space as a strong attractor and communication base within the territory, positioning the civic amenities in an operationally intensive location, and placing the chalets in a quiet location that connects with the natural surroundings.
Braňo Hovorka, Martin Paulíny, Petra Sitárová, Rado Krajňak, Karol Ličko
competition design
2025
