The Floating Rock: A Spa Sanctuary in Cyprus

Located on an imaginary site in Cyprus, this project began with a seemingly tertiary element of the site plan: the rock. While the site offered various natural and architectural cues, I chose to focus on this found condition, treating it not as an obstacle but as an opportunity. At first glance, this component could have been easily overlooked. But once I began imagining the excavation of the rock—its removal and celebration—it became the driving force behind my broader approach to the site. This approach is inherently subtractive, leveraging the rocky hillside not as an obstacle but as an opportunity. The primary gesture of the project was to acknowledge the rock outcropping and then liberate it from its surroundings, transforming it from a mere surface condition into a volumetric presence. The resulting organization of spaces is structured around this act of excavation, celebrating the rock as both material and experience. My fixation on subtraction is most evident in the spa layer, which is exhumed from the rocky hillside, revealing a series of abstracted natural pools. Above this, two distinct bars are positioned—one serving the hotel rooms and the other catering to the social spaces. As visitors move through the site, they encounter a sunken courtyard garden, eventually reaching a point where they are unexpectedly elevated into the tree canopy—an inversion that subtly anticipates the subtractive spaces below. The processional sequence follows a carefully choreographed descent: beginning at the pathway through the grove, leading to the cherry tree, and continuing downward. The existing barn wall marks the first space, followed by the lobby, which offers a foreshadowing of the levitated mass before the path leads further down into the pools of the spa. The excavations not only shape the pools themselves but also control the quality of light, creating dynamic spatial experiences.

Area: 895 m2
Number of Floors: 3
Building height: 12.5 m
2D drawings: AutoCAD
3D: Rhino

0