The Solo Houses project has just announced the incorporation of the Venta d'Aubert Winery in Crete, Spain, and the construction of a hotel designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radic. Solo Hotel will become the centerpiece of the community and a catalyst for tourism and cultural activities around the project.
After observing the remains of a hawthorn wood board that was used to make wooden pegs, resulting from one of the sculptures by Marcela Correa, who collaborates with Smiljan Radic on a regular basis, the form that will give rise to the Solo Hotel project is consolidated, allowing him to develop a site strategy that generates a minimal impact on the terrain.
The wild natural landscape of low mountain ranges, grey rocks, and pine forests, onto which a simple black pigmented concrete slab suspended on piles 50 centimeters above the ground is projected in a contemporary way, makes the whole hotel seem to lean forward. This slab marks an urban area in the middle of nature, isolating it without separating it from the natural environment that constantly invades it. It creates edges that generate a hybrid of natural and synthetic organizations that are clearly recognizable.
The design seeks to generate an individual and collective experience, favoring the idea of a unique architectural experience that combines exclusive cultural activities related to art, cinema, nature, viticulture, sport, and gastronomy.
Solo Houses is a project located in a majestic natural park of 200 hectares, which positions Crete, located in the Matarraña region of Spain, as a high-level tourist destination. The project, still under development, combines architecture, art, and landscaping, making it the first collection of architecture in Europe. It offers a unique, innovative, and immersive tourism experience, where the Solo Hotel will be the protagonist alongside the gardens designed by Bas Smets and the cultural program directed by Hans Ulrich-Obrist.
In addition, the works of various outstanding architects and artists stand out, with 2 houses by Pezo Von Ellrischausen and Office KGDVS and contemporary art exhibition spaces, to which the hotel and the winery will be added to consolidate the project. Undoubtedly, these proposals are a great commitment to land management, regenerative agriculture, and the enhancement of the region and its agricultural tradition.
