Aerial dusk view of a snow-covered hotel among pine trees, its sloping roofs and facades wrapped in a triangulated timber shell, a lit glazed entrance with people and parked cars in front, and guests gathered around fire pits on the roof

Competition Project

Hayat

Kartalkaya Mountain Hotel

Year: April 2023
Classification: Competition Project
Status: Competition entry
Location: Kartalkaya, Bolu, Türkiye
Team: Gökalp Kalfa
Sertaç Erbilgin (opens in a new tab)
Zehra Çelik (opens in a new tab)
Emirhan Duğral
Selin Temiz
Consultants: ConsultantÖmer Can Bakan (opens in a new tab)Duhan Ölmez (opens in a new tab)
Organizer: Penguen Tepe, Kartalkaya Mountain Hotel, Ski (Nature) Youth Center Student Idea Competition
Recognition: Second Prize, 2023

The first stop of the Kartalkaya shuttle is a hotel called Hayat. Stepping off the bus, visitors realise they are still 21 kilometres from the ski resort and meet Bolu's distinctive climate for the first time. Curious why the hotel is called Hayat, a visitor starts reading the brochure at the entrance. It explains that hayat is the regional word for a courtyard in Turkish, and tells of the appeal of the courtyard, the most important living space in the hotel. Just as life follows a four-season cycle, the hotel's open, semi-open and enclosed spaces, suited to every season and climate, promise visitors a different experience each time they come. Some of those waiting to check in at the lobby watch the courtyard from the amphitheatre between the stairs, while guests who have already arrived begin to enjoy it. A team back from skiing settles by the fireplace, talking over the best snowman of the day as the fire warms the room. The team heading out on the next ski adventure enjoys the courtyard view from the restaurant and bar. Life in the courtyard is different again: families sitting around the fire pit, people taking photos for social media by the pool, cheerful children livening up the space and elderly couples watching them happily.

The Shell

The shell is a dynamic, moving structural core that ties together the project's inner and outer identity. Giving Hayat a new character and identity, it wraps around the building as a bond, a new collective view in the city's memory and a new interface between the building and its surroundings. The semi-open spaces between the building and the shell take on a permeable use through the tears in the shell.

Urban Context

Bolu is one of the country's rare cities in terms of both its mountain countryside and its climate. The Kartalkaya ski resort is a point where young people in particular push their adrenaline to the limit with winter sports. There is a lack of places where visitors can get used to the region's climate and make good memories in Bolu before their ski experience. Beyond winter sports, the hotel promises new routes and activities that bring out Bolu's beauty in all four seasons.

Massing

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Step 1, the sloping site as a pale green block with an orange edge. — 01Step 1: the site.

Step 2, the site cut into terraces with dashed outlines and arrows marking the levels. — 02Step 2: the site is divided into 3-metre levels.

Step 3, a white rectangular mass set into the terraced site within a dashed outline. — 03Step 3: the mass is set into the land.

Step 4, the centre of the white mass cut out with scissors marks to form a courtyard. — 04Step 4: the middle of the mass is emptied for the courtyard.

Step 5, the U-shaped mass with one corner cut and turned towards the road, marked with scissors. — 05Step 5: the mass turns to the road to mark the entrance.

Step 6, a pink perforated shell lifted above the U-shaped mass with dashed lines showing where it wraps the building. — 06Step 6: a shell wraps the whole project and creates semi-open spaces.

Step 7, the finished white model with the triangulated shell around the building, the courtyard and landscape elements on the site. — 07Step 7: landscape elements are added.

Diagrams

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Exploded axonometric of the triangulated timber shell above three floors colour-coded for lobby and social areas, restaurant, courtyard, swimming pool, sauna, rental centre, offices and accommodation, linked to circular views of sitting areas, a room, the restaurant and reception. — 01The shell and the floors, with views of the sitting areas, rooms, restaurant and reception.

Life in the Courtyard, a cut-away view of the courtyard on three levels, with round views of the ±0.00 level with a waterfall and seating, the +3.00 level with swimming pool, sauna, Finnish bath and hot tub, and the +6.00 level with a DJ area and fire pit. — 02Life in the courtyard on three levels: ±0.00, +3.00 and +6.00.

Axonometric of a snowy forest with people walking, running and playing along a route between pine trees. — 03A walking route through the forest.

An orange timber deck through the forest leading to a platform of seating blocks where people read and rest around a pine tree. — 04Reading and resting areas in the forest.

An orange deck widening into a platform around a pine tree, where people sit, lie and dance quietly in the forest. — 05Places to find calm and rest in the forest.

An orange deck leading to a sunken square fire pit in the forest, with people sitting around the fire. — 06Gathering around the fire pit.

Plans, Sections & Elevations

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Ground floor plan with the social and sitting areas, bar, reception and waiting area, office, archive and WCs around the courtyard edge. — 01Ground floor plan.

First floor plan with the open social area around the swimming pool, Finnish bath, sauna, changing rooms, spa reception, restaurant with its open-air terrace and the rental centre. — 02First floor plan.

Second floor plan with two rows of two- and four-person rooms on either side of the open courtyard and a social area at the corner. — 03Second floor plan.

Section A-A' through the two wings and the courtyard, with rooms on the upper floors and the bar and social areas below, under the curved shell. — 04Section A-A'.

Section B-B' along the building stepping down the slope, with a row of rooms on the top floor, the stairs below and the glazed shell at the entrance. — 05Section B-B'.

East elevation with the timber shell perforated by triangular openings, folding down the slope over the glazed entrance. — 06East elevation.

North elevation with the dark triangulated shell rising to a sharp point over the glazed entrance and timber slats. — 07North elevation.

Visualisations

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Aerial dusk view of the snow-covered hotel among pine trees, wrapped in its triangulated timber shell, with the lit entrance, parked cars and guests gathered around fire pits on the roof. — 01The hotel on a winter evening.

The glazed entrance under the timber shell at night in falling snow, with a snowboarder crossing the road, people building a snowman beside a penguin statue and skiers arriving by car. — 02Arriving at Hayat in the snow.

The entrance in summer under a blue sky, with people jogging up a path through green slopes, a child on a scooter, a man with a bicycle and the penguin statue under the timber shell. — 03The same entrance in summer.