Setting new standards for the hospitality industry, Isla Brown Corinthia, designed by the Greek architectural firm Elastic Architects, emerges as a premier luxury retreat under the international hotel collection of Brown Hotels. Raising the bar of Brown Hotels’ hospitality portfolio, which is renowned for its avant-garde assortment of urban boutique properties to unprecedented heights, Isla Brown Corinthia, opened in 2022, is the first five-star resort under their collection.
Presenting an array of 166 chic rooms and suites, along with two swimming pools, a wellness center, a rooftop bar and restaurant, a private beach, a water sports center, and an events space, this project sets a revolutionary benchmark for hospitality norms across mainland Greece. The Greek firm Elastic Architects has skillfully intertwined ancient legends, contemporary aesthetics, and environmentally conscious principles to create a harmonious design.
Isla Brown Corinthia reveals a pristine and modern aesthetic, a light-filled palette, and architectural form, with the intention of the structure appearing as an extension of the landscape. In its place was the former “Hanikian” hotel, which was originally built in the mid-1970s and presented a modernist rectangular form. Elastic Architects worked to remodel the outdated structure, drawing inspiration from the mythological embodiment of a volcanic eruption. This resulted in a contemporary and fluid form that flows like lava and has cultivated a new architectural identity on the Corinthian Gulf.
Isla Brown Chania was inspired by the northern Aegean volcanic arc and the Greek myth of the Giant Typhoeus, who resided beneath ‘Sousaki’, a craterless volcano that has laid dormant for 2.7 million years, with Typhoeus being so tall that he rose above the mountains with his head touching the stars. This idea is rooted in the concept of Isla Brown Corinthia, with the hotel’s design intended to embody the volcanic eruption of Typhoeus, harmoniously uniting the earth with the sky through a continuation of the physical form and the vast land and sea that surround it. The outcome is an innovative structure with sleek, undulating lines like pebbles artfully stacked, with consecutive curved surfaces creating a sculptural beauty and a kinetic sense of movement.
Prioritizing energy efficiency in day-to-day operations, Isla Brown Corinthia adopts an innovative design character, minimizing its energy footprint. Functionality, sustainability, and cutting-edge aesthetics combine effortlessly. Echoing the external design language, the interiors mimic the organic and flowing forms, featuring a motif of curved lines and an earthy color palette where stone, white, and brown converge, embellished with bronze accents, and walls adorned with tinted mirrors.
In essence, Isla Brown Corinthia transcends conventional hospitality paradigms, bringing in an age of architectural grandeur and ecological mindfulness. Awarded the esteemed ‘Gold’ architecture prize in the ‘Hotels & Resorts’ category by the International Design Awards (IDA) 2022, this project garners acclaim for its unparalleled and inventive design narrative, an ode to modernist architecture intertwined with the rich tapestry of ancient Greek mythology.
Project Info
Architects: Elastic Architects
Area: 8918 sqm
Year: 2022
Manufacturers: ALUMINCO, Almeco, Deloudis, ENKA, Furniture Gallery, Grammatikas, Interni, Kakarountas, Mexil, Peraki, Sarlas, Valelis, Xenex
Construction Supervision: Stratis Skopelitis
Mep Consultant: JEPA
Lighting Designers: Archtube
Landscape Designers: Greenways
Project Managers: Hill International M
Contractors: DBD Athens
Acoustics Consultants: Timagenis
Photographs: Erieta Attali
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