Architectural and permacultural transformation of the peninsula Muzil

Surrounded by the Adriatic Sea on the west and the city of Pula on the east, the peninsula Muzil represents one of the best preserved suburban zones in the Mediterranean. After almost two centuries of military use that isolated this area from its context, the project aims to develop an integration plan for the peninsula respecting its intrinsic values.

At the urban level, the project proposes the maintenance of the exotic nature of the peninsula with the establishment of a naval route that has the port of Pula as its starting point. From there, visitors are guided through a historic itinerary where the boat stations are located near the Austro-Hungarian fortresses that crown the Pula coast. The peninsula Muzil makes, with its two fortresses, the last stop of this historic itinerary. The well preserved nature of the area is manifested in the evergreen oak and aleppo pine forests that extends to 122 ha out of a total of 175 ha. The grass vegetation is concentrated mostly in the central part of the peninsula, where the Permaculture Center is located, in which is possible to learn and practice sustainable agriculture. The complex consists of two buildings, the first dedicated to the theoretical teaching of permaculture, while the second building has a library and research facilities. The center is located in the middle of 4 hectares of agricultural land where theoretical knowledge takes practical action. A water collection principle is the essential part of the complex. A series of dams connected with swales (shallow trenches) are created in the parts of the topography where most of the rainwater flows, allowing it to filter in the soil. This allows groundwater enrichment and increases the fertility of the terrain. The north-east part of Muzil is characterized by an excavated landscape: it is the ex-quarry zone from the Austro-Hungarian period. In the west of this concaved area, where the sunlight is moving almost uninterrupted, the accommodation area is located. The hotel, that contains 41 rooms, is designed as a terraced structure that emerges from the ground where the forest ends and ascends to the position of the sun at noon, relying on the existing hill at the foot of the living stone walls. On the sides of the hill, where two small coves stands, two pubs are created, the first for the fauna of the peninsula, the other for the natural pool located within the hotel. Both bars are filled with water collected through the canals extending along the walls of the quarry.