ECO RESORT

First Class Honours with distinction for best graduation diploma project & dissertation | score 95.8%
· part 2 diploma project: eco-tourist resort in the Danube Delta
· part 2 graduation dissertation: eco-architecture - a study of the Danube Delta

 

 

CONTEXT

The location of the project is in the natural reservation of the Danube Delta, at Gura Portitei and for this reason the program falls into the category of inserts into natural protected environments. It's concentrating on approaches regarding a sustainable development, through which the conservation and rational usage of the biodiversity is being promoted. The natural reservation of the Danube Delta is part of the UNESCO patrimony since 1990 and is the third most important natural habitat in the world, being the newest form of land in Europe and it has 18 strictly protected zones. Gura Portitei is situated in the southern part of the Danube Delta and is a very attractive tourist point – which is being provided by the connection to the seaside and the Golovita lake. It’s part of the buffer area “Periteasca – Gura Portitei – Bisericuta” which surrounds the strictly protected area no 11 of the natural reservation of the Danube Delta – which has the limit exactly at the edge of the location of my project.

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CONCEPT

The result of the analysis led to the concept. the aspect of the central pavilion resulted from the image of a handful of reeds which migrated into a weave – a traditional handmade craft of the area – like baskets. Because is right at the edge of the strictly protected area, the central pavilion is understood as a limit – a barrier, a point you can’t go passed. The nature of the location brings out a duality into question - the duality of static and dynamic – static tourism and dynamic tourism – represented by the sea and lakes and waterways of the Danube Delta – salt water vs fresh water. The central pavilion establishes a connection between the coast and the lagoon – between the dualities. The central pavilion is a public space – all the public functions are being gathered here – and it is very open to the exterior - letting the nature inside. The acommodation units, on the other hand, are personal private spaces – which means there are closed to the public - introverted – but they also allow a connection between the exterior and the interior.

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CONCLUSION

Gura Portitei is a very interesting place because of it’s isolation and virgin beauty – which draws an influx of tourists to the zone. It becomes inevitable that construction will develop here. It remains the question of how to do it? This is why the present project is based on a connection between the minimum environmental impact by using local materials and techniques and maximum technological efficiency by using sustainable energies – because ecological architecture means vernacular architecture combined with sustainable architecture, bioclimatic one and green architecture, non the less.

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