Shtastlivetsa Hotel Vitosha Mountain Bulgaria

Shtastlivetsa Hotel Vitosha Mountain Bulgaria, The project presents a development of the site of the old Shtastlivetsa Hotel. It is situated on the northern slope of Vitosha

Vitosha Mountain is the most visited mountain in Bulgaria. It is located on the outskirts of the capital city - Sofia. The territory of the mountain includes Vitosha Nature Park which is the oldest in the Balkans.

The project presents a development of the site of the old Shtastlivetsa Hotel. It is situated on the northern slope of  Vitosha. In November 2007 the hotel was blown up and since then the terrain remains empty. The area is surrounded by tall pine forests and typical for the mountain 'stone rivers' - impressive large aggregations of big stones.

The conceptual design  proposes a construction of a new hotel to replace the old one , keeping the powerful and contextual name 'Shtastlivetsa' /in translation  'The Lucky One', named after bulgarian writer and  passionate traveler Aleko Konstantinov/.

Crystals are undeniably one of the most impressive structures in nature.  The concept of the project follows natural principles of crystals' external formation, referring to crystallography science. One of crystals' characteristics is the ability to surround by themselves with flat walls. The walls of the crystals are crossing in ribs (edges), the ribs - in peaks (horns). All they are called restrictive elements. Same substance under different crystallization conditions forms different shaped crystals. There are 47 basic shapes, each of which may independently fence a crystal.

Crystals may have different number, size and shape of walls. Depending on the conditions of growth of the crystalline solids, some walls develop faster and better, others remain small. But however the crystal grows, its form is determined by their logical internal structure.

The concept underlying the project follows the same natural principles. The design presents a functional internal structure which is fenced by crystal forms containing ribs, peaks and walls. The crystal forms are carved in a solid volume, reminiscent of the typical for Vitosha Mountain's stone rivers. The two volumes are developed around a preserved part of the existing stone rivers which has become a center of the composition and also part of the interior of the building. They work together as one structural unit and build an attractive vision of mountain 5-star Shtastlivetsa hotel.