Complex of Residential Cabins with Hotel Facilities, Brimketill, Reykjanesi, Iceland

The project includes 3 variants of holiday houses, a hotel, and an underground tourist path near Brimketill hot spring in Iceland. It was important to interfere as little as possible with the coastline and not to disturb the natural landscape. The project is designed to create unforgettable experiences and promote tourism in Iceland.

The whole project is linear and stretches along the coast. Buildings are irregularly composed into the shoreline. There are 12 residential cabins assigned to 5 backyards, a hotel building, and a tunnel. The complex is buried to a depth of 1 storey. The cabins were designed in 3 variants: 2-people, 4-people, and adapted to the disabled. The bonding element common for all yards is a hot pot. 2 to 3 residential cabins have been assigned to each backyard in order to allow integration, but not to impose it. The cabins are oriented towards an ocean view. Their basic form is a wall made of local volcanic rock called diabase. The idea was to get a view of the ocean from anywhere in the cabin while maintaining the required privacy. This was obtained by cascading subsequent rooms. This somewhat chaotic construction of the shelter also reminds of the traditional peat bog construction on the Burstbaer Island from the 17th century. The cavities are in a semi-darkness, giving a sense of privacy. The dominant element of the interior is a wall covered with larch wood planks in falun red. The ceiling is reinforced concrete inspired by basaltic formations.\nThe structure of the hotel is consistent with the structure of the cabins. The main entrance is designed as a narrow slot leading to a tight dark corridor with a tall window to the ocean. The whole south elevation was shaped by irregular cuts into the coast. The upper storey serves administrative and gastronomic purposes with restaurant room located between the kitchen and greenhouses, so that guests can participate in the cooking process. There are also a library with local literature on e.g. trolls, elves, a music scene to promote local Icelandic music. On floor -1 there are guest rooms with a set of saunas. The rooms are shaped in such a way that courtyards are created between every two of them and each of the courtyards has a hot pot.\nThe third element of the project is the tunnel leading from the western end of the hotel to the hot spring. The tunnel is hollowed out in a solid rock at the depth of 4m. Access to Brimmketill Lava Pool and tunnel remains independent of project activities.