Project of a four-star Plaza Hotel in Darłowo is an attempt to create a new icon of seaside architecture – it is a building that derives from nature and is a meeting point of the land with the sea. Zalewski Architecture Group designed a hotel in form of three residential towers that appear like coastal rocks.
The project of a four-star hotel resort in Darłowo for 350 guests and with full service base was conceived and designed as a successor to the existing three-star hotel. The new building designed by architects of Zalewski Architecture Group from Gliwice has fully exploited advantages of the plot - extending along the waterfront, which from one side is separated from the sea by a sand dune, and from the other, from the city is isolated by a forest grove.
Sophisticated functional system of the hotel and its public service were decided to close within the two-storey pedestal, which seen from the beach then disappears behind the dune. It is here that all hotel facilities are located. On this basis three four-storey residential towers are planned, with rooms and suites for guests.
The base is a cuboid with a fully glazed walls. On the ground floor there is a lobby, a reception, an indoor pool, spa center, a restaurant, a bar, and a small shopping arcade. On the first floor there is conference center for 500 people, including an auditorium and independent catering facilities (bar, cafe). The horizontal base is topped with wavy ecological green roof that "regains" parts of natural areas occupied by the building. This vast terrace, a kind of "artificial landscape", creates an additional recreational space of unprecedented scenic values - staying on it you are over the tip of the sand dunes and over the tops of the trees.
Over the two-storey base extend vertical towers of rounded shapes, as if they were sculpted by the wind. Wavy bands of windows and balcony railings - like the effect of erosion in coastal cliffs - intensify the impression of work of nature. In contrast, oval plans of towers allow to lose true scale of the building.
The towers have a simple functional layout with an inner core and rooms located around the perimeter. Central tower, the most bulky, in which the main lift shaft is located - has at its center a high six-storey atrium, which continues the aesthetic adopted on walls - it's like a soft arched "cavern". Central tower is connected by glazed passages with two adjacent segments, because it is used to distribute guests vertically within the hotel.
Hotel in Darłowo enhances encounter with nature and with the sea. Wooden promenades lead both from the ground and public part of the first floor towards the dunes and meet at the top of the sand dunes - from where you can go down to the sea.
The project of Plaza Hotel by Zalewski Architecture Group is a successful creation of landmark in the area of seaside resort. Recognizable and visible building is the best advertisement for the hotel and acts as a magnet for visitors.