Haris Roidis -Landscape, the contribution to exterior hotel design

"LANDSCAPE" landscape architecture office

The landscape architecture office "LANDSCAPE" Haris M. Roidis & associates was founded in 1980 in Thessaloniki as a landscape architecture design and construction office by the landscape architect, Haris Roidis. A branch of the office in Athens has been operating since 2000. To this day they have prepared over 700 studies and have completed most of them, throughout Greece and Cyprus.

The office currently deals with:

• Landscape architecture studies
• Landscape restoration studies
• Environmental impact studies
• Architectural Studies

Design of hotel units

The design and organization of the surrounding area of hotel units is an important part of the work of the office "LANDSCAPE" Haris M. Roidis & associates. The surrounding natural landscape, the area of Greece where the hotel is located, the topography of the plot and the architectural rhythm of the building volumes are the main components that influence the design and morphology of the landscape regeneration proposal.

The natural environment and landscape is not only understood to mean the species of the plant kingdom and the topography, but also the color and morphology of the sea, the environmental elements of the area (rocks, stones, winds, sunshine) and, finally, the general color of the study area.

Besides these, the design is influenced by the cultural heritage and the architectural rhythm of the study area. The H. Roidis Office provides solutions for the entire environment (swimming pools, paving, pool bars, theaters, plantings, sports areas, beautification and highlighting elements, etc.) in the hotel landscape architecture studies, which it prepares. The design of the surrounding area of hotel units requires specialized landscape knowledge and extensive experience, in order to substantially contribute to the increase of the tourist product.

Mykonos Grand Resort & Hotel

This article describes the design approach and the final result, which resulted from the study activity of the office 'LANDSCAPE' - Haris Roidis & associates for the outdoor areas of the hotel Mykonos Grand Resort & Hotel (5*) which in the end has become a model of organization and design for the island of Mykonos.

Design parameters

The landscape and architectural elements used in the hotel premises refer to the "perceptual landscape" of the island: portasies, cottonwoods, pigeon houses, pergolas, railings, outdoor recreation and conversation (alley - living room - stones and low bushes).

The light, the stone, the white color of the traditional Mykonian house, the painted domes, the exposed and rocky terrain of the island, the intense topography and the intense differentiation of the deep blue and the blue of the sea and the blue of the sky, Delos, the small traditional architectural elements and the special details, which can only be seen in the landscape of Mykonos, but above all the intense play of the sunlight with the Mykonian white and the shadow of the alleys and the intense brown landscape, were the elements that strongly influenced the final composition of the proposal and which an attempt was made to reproduce and use either as such or as changed elements of landscape morphology.

Landscape composition

The functions that were decided to be located in the 25-acre area of the Mykonos Grand resort were: tennis court, squash court, gym, open amphitheater, parking, walking areas, swimming pool, restaurant, pool bar – casual restaurant, private courtyards, private pools and church.

Initially, major functional areas were organized by the landscape architects, in order to correctly locate the hotel's service areas outside the rooms. The main design parameter of the landscape architects was to unfold all the peripheral activities (tennis, swimming pool, theater, church, walls, etc.) and to join the existing relief, aiming at the least possible visual alteration. The architectural physiognomy of Mykonos, the overall landscape of the island, the landscape of Delos which is directly opposite the hotel and dominates its view, the memories from capturing life were the tools with which the landscape was sculpted and finally captured in the spaces of the Mykonos Grand hotel.

Overall, the study aimed to calm the new landscape of the hotel so that the hotel would once again "sit" back in the Xerovouni, as if it had been there for many years, part of the place and the unique Mykonian landscape. A dominant factor influencing the design of the surrounding area by the office 'LANDSCAPE' - Haris Roidis & associates was the rhythm of the existing landscape, the "maze" and the mysterious that prevails when in the alleys and the traditional architecture of the Town of Mykonos, where the surprise it is the dominant element and the dominant challenge of the visitor. Haris Roydis

It appears, therefore, the need for the integrated proposal to deal with the morphology, operation and aesthetics of a high standard target, in order to create the possibility of offering services aimed at high tourism. Haris Roydis