Excerpt: Equos Resort & Aquapark by Commonsense Studio embraces a dynamic and evolving approach, blending natural landscapes with diverse entertainment and leisure programs. Through adaptive reuse, sensitive planning, and a human-scaled masterplan, this hospitality project offers a multifunctional destination that grows organically. It balances activity and contemplation, offering a rich, immersive experience rooted in nature.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] With the goal of making a unique landmark for entertainment and event planning in Albania, the project includes a waterpark with several themed pools and bars, equestrian facilities like a manège and horse stables, places to stay like a boutique hotel, food services like a fine food restaurant and the food court at the aquapark, an outdoor and indoor event hall, and other places to play.
The project has been steadily developed by creating a new masterplan and adapting or renovating previously existing structures. The conceptual approach has been to achieve a smooth transitional development by preserving natural values while a lot of dense and improvised program requests were being added to the resort. The multifunctional complex has had a spontaneous rhythm of growth in its development. Through wandering and playing, contemplation and action, and maintaining a human scale relationship with the environment as part of the dynamic expansion experience, this improvisation has resulted in the creation of an experience of material presence and silence.
The main goal of the master plan is to find spaces that could be used by the public within the existing natural pattern. The resort entrance, together with the aquatic shops and the ticket unit, creates a transitional space defined by light steel structures in white and bearing a series of wooden beams that create a moment of shaded pause before eventually jumping the visitor into the natural-ended area of the aquapark.
While surrounded by green hills, the resort’s pools reflect the colors of water through the relief of natural stones layered on the side walls of each pool, inviting one to experience the touch and awareness of the haptic sense in the man-made water tanks. The accommodation area is placed on the in-between height, higher than the aquapark’s and below the restaurant’s level. With one facade facing south and the dedicated pool in front, the 15-room hotel is clad with naturally aged wood in vertical strips, giving a sense of proportion to the long horizontal line on which it is laid. While the pools and the accommodation area do not tend to compete with the natural context, the restaurant and the event hall’s size call for a less humble presence.
The resort is extended towards the north with equestrian activities, a horse stable service building, and another open-air horse arena used for training. Horse Stable I is situated in front of the restaurant terraces. The building is made out of full red bricks, covered by a green roof, and serves as the house for 25 horses.
The stables are connected to the manege field, which along its 90-meter side has sitting stairs serving as a podium for occasional spectators for the international horse competitions. The resort is extended towards the east with the stable services building, Horse Stable II, and another open-air horsemanege used for training.
The resort covers an area of more than 83,400 m2, hosting around 5,000 people in its high season.
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