Yalikavak Boutique Hotel

The design process of the 40-room hotel at Yalikavak, Bodrum can be defined as a search for a scheme to encounter the particulars of the site; its views, directions, winds and flora. In a way, the aim can be summarized as to literally bridge the particulars of the site, or the local; with the specifics of the program, or the universal.

Extreme Yalikavak winds and Bodrum sunshine are considered as both natural potentials to be used in favor as well as conditions to be protected against. Relatively, double layered facades of the public spaces_lobby, lounge and restaurant, help both control the strong northern wind of the region and allow natural ventilation. The site of the hotel is situated by the shore and possesses a panoramic view of the Aegean Sea. Due to the particular characteristic of the shoreline, the topography of the site is defined by a very steep slope. Thus, the primary objective of intervention was to maximize the unique potentials of the site and implement a design to enable open air connections to all of the spaces to be located at various levels. An intervention of this nature also allows scenic connections to hotel spaces of varying functions. The hotel facilities accommodates 12000m2 situated on various levels.

Another objective is to sustain privacy for the hotel guests by making the premises least visible from the nearby residential buildings situated above. Public areas and hotel rooms are separated from each other. The entry to the premises is from a high level. While going down the slope and traversing through interwoven interior and exterior spaces; the guests are exposed to the view. The idea behind the articulation of spaces is to integrate open, closed and semi-closed spaces in a fluid manner. The view is framed and thus accentuated by projecting balconies. The guest rooms are extruded from the main structure as wooden boxes to enable a further accentuated sense of privacy. The idea is to create an almost isolated and home_like atmosphere within the guest rooms.