Bachleda Club Residence is a condo hotel with 129 apartments located in the center of Zakopane. The complex consists of two buildings: The historic Hotel Versailles and the new wing added to it. The five-star standard required architects from the Karpiel Steindel Architecture studio to introduce a number of accompanying functions and a unique combination of modernity with the traditions and richness of Podhale heritage.
The five-star hotel is a combination of tradition and modernity
Photo: Pawel Ulatowski © Karpiel Steindel Architecture
The residential complex consists of two rectangular buildings, connected in the ground floor by a glazed connecting passageway with a flat green roof. A spacious lobby, open to the height of two stories, houses a residence foyer maintained in the climate of luxury mountain resorts. The space, a showpiece of the hotel, creates a mountain atmosphere typical of Aspen-style winter residences. This section also includes recreational and leisure functions with a swimming pool, saunas, lounge bar and meeting rooms, and underground parking for 90 parking spaces.
Eaves extended beyond the building's perimeter
© Karpiel Steindel Architecture
non-standard approach to tradition
How the architects talk about reference to tradition:
The design of the Bachleda Club Residence hotel is an example of Keneth Frompton's applied idea of so-called critical regionalism, which preaches the contemporary use of traditional elements of regional architecture in the approach to shaping a fully modern building, and its development in a large-scale and cubic design.
Exaggerated eaves are a feature of the building
Photo: Pawel Ulatowski © Karpiel Steindel Architecture
The project is characterized by a non-standard approach to shaping the building's facade. To add variety to its massing, the form of the facade was visually divided by the rhythm of wooden grates supporting the eaves. This structural element is crucial to the architectural character of the building. The exaggerated eaves, sharply extended beyond the building's outline, optically introduce the illusion of a slanting roof, which in reality spans a completely flat slope. The roofs were additionally landscaped with greenery to increase the biologically active area, which protects the buildings from excessive heat.
The facade has been visually divided by a rhythm of wooden grates
Photo: Krystian Morawetz, Paweł Ulatowski © Karpiel Steindel Architektura
view of the Tatra Mountains
An important element that translates into usable comfort of the building is the glazing used, which is devoid of thresholds and lintels. Their absence causes the eaves to penetrate directly into the interior of the apartments, blurring the divisions. Large glazings illuminate the rooms with natural light, framing the unique panorama of the Tatra mountain peaks. Only natural materials such as larch wood and sandstone slabs were used to finish the facades. On the balconies surrounding the residence, stone pots planted with local plants were introduced, referring to the granite shelves of the rocky Tatra Mountains.
