SIRACUSA – LIGHTHOUSE SEA HOTEL
Competition proposal.
Program: Boutique Hotel, spa- wellness center, concierge, restaurant, conference room, event space.
Total floor area: 3000 sqm.
Budget: n/a.
Client: YAC.
Location: Siracusa, Italy.
Design: 2016
The competition asks to reflect on sustainable solutions to reintegrate the ‘Murro di Porco’ lighthouse and the surrounding existing structures with a new tourism complex, capable to offer to the Siracusa territory a new facility, suitable for its visitors’ trends.This lighthouse, as most of the others, lies in a territorial context of such high environmental value that it is not allowed to transform existing structures and landscape, reducing any possible intervention to make them functional. The new structure is shaped as a frame around the existing ruins. The intention is to limit the construction site to a ring that surrounds the lighthouse, defining a central portion of the landscape, new heart of the tourist complex. The landscape is left untouched, as natural and wild as it is. Structure and material techniques are very much connected to the local masonry tradition. The whole structure, a single floor high, is based on the most traditional local techniques; coated with plaster, the new building echoes the color palettes of local villages, with light nuances of natural colors. This reflections are the bases of our proposal. We focus on the preservation of the local experience of the site and its nature.The new hotel reduces to a minimum all logistic aspects, improving its overall sustainability and energy performance. This happens thanks to the unified roof that, free from public access, can seamlessly host photo-voltaic and solar heating, as well as rainwater storage system for grey water usage. Internal natural ventilation is provided through the building typology itself that offers cross ventilation to each internal function, both private and public.