HYATT REGENCY ALBANIAN RIVIERA RESORT

Situated in Dhermi, at the heart of the Albanian Riviera, White Roads Resort is a quintessential Mediterranean hospitality settlement, nestled within a challenging, steep, and topographically specific site on the skirts of a captivating delta formation. Its intellectual framework draws inspiration from the principles of local settlement’s volumetric expression.

Instead of imposing a monolithic, Hiltonian structure that disrupts the landscape with large-scale intervention, the project seeks to maintain the overall perception of the existing topography and preserve the natural texture of the delta by using a fragmented volumetric strategy through a kind of sophisticated abstraction. The volumetric composition of the building is a result of the dynamic interplay between natural formations and human interventions, seamlessly blurring the boundaries between the two. This inherent dialectic relationship is reflected in the contrasting layers of the composition. The primary layer subtly emerges from the stratum, settling harmoniously into the topography, echoing the rock formations. It gently fractures to sculpt light and shadow and is carved to accommodate a part of the hotel program. This layer essentially serves as a base for the man-made layer, upon which the sharp-edged volumes are placed, recalling Mediterranean settlement compositions.

This approach, much like in Mediterranean villages, with its narrow and shaded streets opening towards the sea, enriches the guest’s experience by offering unexpected perspectives and vistas.