Magma Resort & Spa | PEOPLE

The hotel complex is located between man-made and natural surroundings. Placed in a mild terrain near the village of Vourvoulos in Santorini, it is surrounded by traditional ’pezoules’, large areas of cultivated land that follow the altitudes and are formed with stone walls. The design approach attempts to create a built form that is created from the interplay between contradictory - complementary elements that reference the particular setting and the wider location. Organic shapes from black volcanic stones follow the curved contour lines creating a landscape that reflects the shape of the terrain. Occasionally off-white prisms that resemble the color of ‘aspa’ (volcanic ash of Santorini) appear.

The curved stone formations refer to the traditional pezoules that surround the plot. They follow the contour lines of the landscape and organize the terrain in multiple planted terraces below which accommodation with unlimited view to the horizon takes place. At selected areas with intense slopes, the stone walls invade the topography opening spaces below the earth (spa-reception), which refer to Santorini's famous underground spaces (yposkafa). Elsewhere, they emerge from the earth, forming a new "unfolding" terrain that turns into a planted terrace that ‘hides’ habitable spaces and the signature restaurant.

The off- white geometric prisms resemble the archetypal form of the traditional Cycladic dwelling, the rectangular one-room house and in particular the one room narrow and long typology. The repeated unit appears in numerous ways: as a lonely presence or as groups that create small or large cubist compositions that are characterized by different spatial qualities. Cubistic compositions, ‘hang’ over the stone forms, interrupt them, or appear emerging from them. By using natural materials and mobilizing timeless elements such as water and light, we create a new interactive environment that mimics a small village, where local heritage and architecture, outside and inside, enjoying and relaxing are integrated to elevate the experience for the resort’s residents.