RELAX I Nature
Riverside Spa Hotel Aberdeen Airport, Scotland

Andre Le Notre, the great Landscape Architect says, “The fundamental law of Landscape Architecture is; in laying out a landscape, never take away what is there, but group it in with what you add to it.”

In obeying this fact, I accommodate the needs to the natural contours of the slope that thus work in harmony with the landscape itself.
Important for this respect to the nature is the flow through of the nature down to the river that the buildings don’t act as a barrier in this direction. All buildings are integrated in the slope, similar to a cave. They outgrow of the landscape to the direction of the river.
In the other direction, however, you can see the concrete walls, which stick out of the landscape, acting as slices to pose as contrast to the nature.
Already during the arriving, as well as people who only drives by on the riverside drive, one can see the thick concrete walls, acting as slices to focus the view to the river, offering a variety of different angles of watching the riverside.
So you can classify two directions with completely different statements. On the one hand, you have this direction with the river respectively the nature, on the other hand the rectangular direction to the river, which goes with the slope. In this orientation, I pop the buildings into the earth to preserve the green zone. Furthermore I go with the hillside to the river and make sure that everybody has everywhere access and a freely view to this restful part of country. However, in the other direction we are looking for the hard contrast towards the nature. I designed strong concrete walls, which grow out of the nature and interrupt the sight by passing this area in a fast way. Consequentially, you have to stop and calm down from the busy monotony of everyday life to enjoy the nature and their quietness. So it is crucial for our design to focus the view of the people to make them enquiring. They have to reduce the speed of live on their own to enjoy the “real” life.

Master of Architecture DEGREE

Author: MArch DI Bernhard Schlömicher
Year of publication: 2007
University: RGU Aberdeen
Advisor: Architect Jonathan Woolf