Eco retreat center for art, culture and recreation Međurječje
Međurječje decodes the unique environment on the confluence of three rivers as a retreat for education, recreation and all-senses stimulation. Agglomeration of slow-living fragments subtly blends in untouched nature, uplifting sustainable tourism in the wild heart of Montenegro. Project generates a new paradigm of secluded eco oasis, focusing on integration with environment by usage of disposable resources, nourishing local culture- strongly bounded to tradition and aimed at sustainable future.
Local
Montenegro
Kolašin, north of Montenegro
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
As an individual
Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): https://www.instagram.com/djina_prnjat
Međurječje is an architectural project decoding the authentic natural environment on the confluence of three rivers for interdisciplinary cultural and educational purposes. The research strives to unify the agglomeration of several mindful functional fragments, subtly blending in untouched nature spirit and uplifting the sustainable tourism in the wild beauty in the heart of Montenegro.
Project generates a new paradigm of unique eco-retreat oasis secluded from the fatiguing urban life, a stimulating place for education, recreation and activation of all senses, in an authentic serene environment.
The slow living concept focuses on the integration with the macro location usage of disposable local resources, strongly bounded to tradition, and aimed at the future of sustainable architecture of freedom.
Eco retreat oasis for art, culture, recreation and education
Reconnecting with nature and promoting the uplifted healthy lifestyle
Valorization of Montenegrin tourism potentials and neglected traditions in the north
Setting the example of responsible urban development in Balkan
Implementation of sustainable architecture principles in Montenegro
The project targets the potentials of sustainable development of eco tourism in Montenegro, trought the project of complex that uses all of the potentials provided from the nature itself. The whole complex is self-sustainable, it uses the power of the river to provide drinking water and irrigation system, gardens and greenhouses are providing the food for the residents, while the solar panels are producing electrical energy for the whole settlement. The educational facilities within the complex enable the scientist to research further the potentials of the sustainability model on the site, as well as transfer knowledge trough classes and workshops within the classrooms and laboratories. The project humbly allows future users to improve the initial model of functioning trough research and idea implementation, making the whole complex a self-sustainable organism.
The project promotes authentic materials from the location, used for the construction of the existing traditional houses. The built structures are tucked under the natural slope of the terrain in order to blend in and respect the natural environment, while using the green cover as a termo insulation.
Applied technologies are oriented towards the use of renewable resources and energy saving, using solar panels, heat pumps and green roofs.
The main goals are to create a green natural environment away from city pollution and noise, a meeting place for visitors from several urban areas, stimulating for both work and relaxation, stay and activation of all senses, as well as the use of all available natural resources.
Međuriječje is a place that has an ideal strategic position in the very heart of Montenegro, halfway between Podgorica and Kolašin. It has great connections with all parts of Montenegro, thus making it an ideal accessible meeting place for people at the junction of all directions, a place to stop, a place to stay . It is located only 30 km from the capital, yet skillfully hidden in a fairy-tale bay, just within reach of the largest city centers.
Following the natural terrain slope, the form resulted in a combination of carving and building architecture, user spaces being introverted and extroverted, without strictly defined barriers of interior and exterior space. Light flexible movable facades allow opening and dividing the space as needed, and atriums and internal gardens ennoble, provide natural ventilation, and form spaces of different levels of privacy.
The space is conquered by respecting the morphology of the location, which generates common open spaces for living in harmony with nature, a meeting place, a pleasant environment for the activation of all senses and physical and psychological revitalization.
In a world where direct contact with nature is disappearing, the experience is limited to the visual domain only. With increasing distance and enclosure, nature becomes framed and perceived as a picture - the physical experience is increasingly lost. The concept of urban planning is linked to the context of the natural environment that is destined for it and its adaptation to as many users as possible with different affinities and needs.
Although insufficiently explored, the undoubted beauty of Međurječje and the mystical canyon of Mrtvica immediately enchanted many, so it soon became one of the favorite holiday destinations of various recreationists, extreme sportsmen, naturalists, as well as "green" organizations, so you can almost always find tents and campers along the river fires, hiking groups or one-day hiking tours, which the project would further valorize and emphasize through a mountain lodge and a camp for nature lovers, and students and educators could also find their refuge here in multifunctional educational spaces, as well as numerous artists and exhibitors.
A shared house in nature requires a special treatment primarily from the point of view of the way it functions and the offered contents, which are defined by the symbiosis of the user's requirements and the needs of the place, creating a universal space suited for everyone.
Through the project, in addition to the already mentioned possibilities of providing a warm common home to all nature lovers, as well as biologists, researchers and naturalists, groups of students, guest lecturers or artists who would be inspired by the quiet, unspoilt natural environment could be accommodated in an authentic environment, as well as colonies of painters and sculptors who would exhibit and contribute to the diverse offer of this place. It would be interesting for tourists to enjoy the local products and culture that the citizens of Kolašin would introduce them to, such as the production of milk and cheese, honey, as well as local artisans and tourist workers who would all find their role and purpose in this complex.
Exchange programs, youth education and social inclusion under the auspices of numerous non-governmental organizations and foundations of the European Union in the Western Balkans are becoming more and more sought after and noticed on the map of developing countries, and the interest of students and educators in participating and contributing to these programs is growing rapidly day by day. Whether it is about scientific programs, artist colonies or the bringing together of young people from different countries of the Western Balkans and cultural exchange, the benefits of these programs are countless, and the ideas of creative sectors become more complex and comprehensive with each new experience. This project is adapted to short-term and long-term exchange stays of groups of students, educators, scientists, artists and admirers of nature, gathered around the idea of progress, sustainable development and exchange of experience and knowledge.
Balance between various contents offers a unique oasis in the nature for a break from the stressful life in the urban areas, from bleakness and noise, creating a stimulating place to relax all the senses, recreation and education in peaceful planted surroundings.
The very concept of the complex is designed to grow with its users, adapt to their needs and constantly transform, improve and work in their favor. Some of the main disciplines offered by this project include:
- relaxation/ rest in nature, recreation
- education/ scientific, creative and artistic workshops and studios
- presentation of the artistic program
- social content
- research/scientific center
- presentation of the natural history center
- accommodation/ mountain hostel
- adventure park
- camp
The complex is divided into several functional units that correspond to different needs and requirements, and function as a single unit. Social facilities, artistic and educational spaces are facing Mrtvica, relaxation facilities are facing Morača, while the accommodation tract has views towards the estuary itself.
All spaces take advantage of the southern orientation and high-quality insolation, so the building is formed of light, unblocked airy spaces, which can be transformed, moved, opened or rebuilt as needed.
A very important integral part of the complex is the ground floor arrangement, i.e. the cascade formed by shaping and harmonizing the terrain according to the building, integrating it with the surroundings, lowering it to the very banks of the river.
The only vehicular access to the location is intended for access to the economic-technical sector as needed, which uses the already existing road and road bridge, and is oriented diametrically in relation to all other user facilities, hidden and relegated to the last plan.
When the busy city rhythm becomes too tiring, when the shelves are full of obligations and worries, and the gray of the cold concrete becomes suffocating, the idea of the ideal of life under the protection of nature always becomes current.
This historical idea of an oasis of noble and pure natural beauty is becoming an increasing need of many, and a privilege of only a select few. The mechanized noise of city sidewalks and the disappearance of resorts, picnic areas and playgrounds in nature are deepening the gap between the countryside and the city, and agriculture is being replaced by a new, urban, city culture of fenced parks with dedicated spaces for each activity, and limited working hours. Public spaces are reduced to squares surrounded by roads, and fountains are placed on a central pedestal, as the only remaining element of liveliness and movement. Nature is allowed in moderation and has its own city working hours, and only the occasional tree peeks out from behind the metal fence on the boulevard, waiting for its expansion. The image of the rural landscape remains an idyllic thought in the summer, with the unbearable weight of steaming hot asphalt.
While the unimaginative tinted glass administrations continue to pave their way towards "modern standards" and "progress into the modern future", groups of cyclists, mountaineers, nostalgic for nature are becoming louder and louder, and awareness and the fight for the goal slowly begins. And the goal is a joint return to nature.
The initial basis of the conceptual idea of the project stems from the associated location. The green valley at the mouth of the rivers is a source of life, civilization and inspiration for creating a universal space tailored to everyone, with endless possibilities and freedom.
This concept of slow-living and sustainable design is very simple yet so mindful and universaly appliable to any piece of land with piece and quiet of raw nature. And people with vision.
In a world where direct contact with nature is disappearing, the experience is limited to the visual domain only. with increasing distance and enclosure, nature becomes framed and perceived as a picture - the physical experience is increasingly lost.
The project emphasizes the use of bioclimatic sources of renewable energy, from the very access to the location and the complete exclusion of cars and pollution. The first instance of encountering the new paradigm of a sustainable global village is a wooden bridge that also functionally serves as a conductor of energy collected by solar panels in the garage roof at the site.
The capacities of the multidisciplinary spaces can be increased or decreased depending on attendance, group size and program needs.
All spaces make maximum use of favorable southern orientation and high-quality insolation throughout the day.
The roof of the building is covered with a green carpet and forms a passable upper cascade of the building, suitable for gardens, seedlings and cultivated areas.
A very important segment that completes the whole story of the self-sustaining natural complex is the ground floor arrangement, which follows the natural uneven configuration of the terrain, using stone sub-walls and materials found along the entire site.
The principle of responsible consideration of space, respect for the natural environment and responsible sustainable architecture is precisely the answer to the needs of the global scene, and represents a kind of generator and the belief that positive progress has a local address, but a global impact.
