The Seagull

The Seagull is an hommage to the rich heritage of croatian history , tradition and overwhelming landscapes and nature. All of this elements surpase geographical boundaries and refer to a wider cultural zone. The site is on a steep, rough slope in southern Dalmatia, rocky terrain which emergese from the hinterland hills and ends in the depths od the Adriatic. This bare, rocky site boasts with out-of-this-world views of the Pelješac peninsula and the Pelješac channel, with its own surreal surface. In the same time the site has significant archeological importance as a location of Hellenistic period burial mounds-tumulus, scattered throghout the site. The primary impression of the site - a flock of seagulls resting on the tumulus, was taken as an intimate insight, then further elaborated and interpreted as a predetermined duality of nature and human presence in a new space / form, thus translating impression into a concept. We are superpositioning these elements, symbolically and directly, trying to find a balance in our intervention. At one end we use a symbol of the seagull as an embodiment of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic- NATURE, and at the other end there we are directly duplicating prehistoric tumulus–HUMAN PRESENCE. Thus we are opposing two clear, recognizable forms : the apstracted wings form and an oversized tumulus, as the transffered duality of the concept. The firm cantilevered form and the grained mound surface are witness of the omnipresent duality, the duality of the air and the ground, motion and stillness. We mimic the existing and we accentuate the contemporary, not denying the new but trying to integrate it into the old, the man-made into the nature. The house is designed as a holiday retreat with two independent but identical residential units., each comprised of two levels. Ground floor is a domed open space with living and dining area , kitchen and utility rooms, while the first floor is entirely a sleeping zone comprised of 6 bedrooms with en suites. The layout is simplified with distinct zoning and emphasis on functional clarity. Southern terrace is primarly a sundeck with a pool, with overwhelming wide coastal views and Pelješac panorama, while the northern terraces/entry way is a covered space for outdoor living, sheltered from the sun and the strong winds. The prehistoric tumulus on the site are dating from the 4th century and are a part of wider geographical and archelogical area. As a typology they are present all over the world in simmilar shapes and forms and in Croatia are mostly rocky. By replicating the existing mound shape the new construction is becoming a part of this ancient man made structure. It becomes less obtrusive, it respects the geography and archeology and thus allows preservation of the genius loci. The unique structure and the construction of the supporting walls of the ancient tumulus influenced design of the subterranean part of the house. The space created by the perpendicular walls of the ancient mounds is reinterpreted in the new construction with clearly highlighted bearing walls, forming simmillar spaces but with different use. Duality of the Seagull is elaborated not only through the shapes-one literal and one symbolic, but also with the choice of the materials. Visual and tactile sensation are equaly important as the form, thus the materials correspond to this duality. Our artificial tumulus is a concrete dome covered with identical rock composite, in size, type and colour, as the ancient ones. The cantilevered 1st floor is a combination of concrete and steel construction, sided with apstract, big format ceramic tiles, recalling the visual of the broken pottery vessels found on the site.