The Veil | Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

The deciduous forests that surround Dhërmi cover a significant portion of Albania’s land surface. Because the coastal area is also mountainous, it has seldom been built on, and so is likely to be sensitive to interference. Any architectural intervention therefore needed to respond carefully to the existing conditions, to preserve the character of the forest and minimising unnecessary disturbance to the environment.

The Veil occupies two plots, one larger than the other, across which 366 apartments and 77 villas are distributed in sixteen typologies of varying size and organisation. The way these are positioned in the landscape follows the logic of the natural topography, aligning with contours and settling onto platforms rather than relying on excavation. Collectively, they are imagined to behave like a light or invisible veil that has been laid down gently over the land. Locally sourced stone forms a base, stepping up and down with the rise and fall of the mountains to establish a network of paths and stairs across the site.

To determine the tones of this paving stone, samples were taken from the natural landscape and a palette of four colours resulted. Within this framework, important trees are avoided and other vegetation is left alone as much as possible. The diagram is one of horizontal platform and vertical growth; the buildings rise among the trees to find views of the Adriatic Sea and accommodate guests, with generous windows, balconies, terraces and pools aiming to give the whole resort an open and permeable feeling.

While the volumes vary in size and configuration, they are unified by colour and facade treatment of concrete and glazed ceramic tiles. This approach intends for architecture that is absorbed into the landscape and perhaps reflects its light and shadow. Among the volumes, a principal communal building contains the social club, restaurant, gym, and a series of pools. At its centre, a courtyard departs from the otherwise rectilinear language of the project to curve around a group of ancient trees. Here the rationale for the design becomes most apparent, as the architecture yields to the landscape to make it the focus.