"Ladoga Skerries" Hotel Complex

The hotel is located in the landscape of Karelia, where stone, water, and forest form a cohesive natural environment. The architecture grows out of the context of the place: the cliffs, seids, petroglyphs, and traces of human presence preserved in the stone. The building is perceived as part of the terrain, repeating the color and texture of the rock. The composition is based on the image of a monolithic rock split into two parts. The lobby, being a central public space, and also functional and emotional core of the hotel, located in the fissure. It is a place of meeting and life, protected yet open to the view. The main material is monolithic concrete, serving as an analogue to stone. Interiors are perceived as volumes carved out of the mass, where light and shadow play a key role. The spa complex references the imagery of caves and underground water reservoirs. The pools are perceived as internal bodies of water, partially connected to the natural surroundings. The hotel includes 80 rooms, a restaurant with a focus on the view, a conference hall, and a system of public areas joined together by a common central. The project focuses on the sense of place and the interaction between architecture and the landscape.