Overall harmony in the master plan of Trogena

Overall harmony in the master plan of Trogena,

LAVA Project Manager Lukas Kronawitter explained the idea behind the masterplan for the Trogena ski resort being developed as part of the NEOM project in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to a panel focused on Trogena at the Cityscape conference in Riyadh,

Kronawitter explained how the project aims to combine mountainous landscapes with tourism developments integrated into the landscape.

He explained how LAVA, which planned the scheme, designed the buildings to be an extension of the mountains.

“The vault can only exist in this location – it is built into the mountain – and it becomes an entrance,

It is gated, giving everyone who visits or lives there a wonderful view of the lake, the valley and the surrounding assets.”

“People have been building and using the natural properties of live rock to create amazing environments – and now we’ve done it vertically,” he continued.

“The same can be said about a ski village, for example, as it is an extension of the mountain.”

Design features

According to Kronaweter, this approach will allow the tourism development,

which will include a ski resort and a 330-metre-tall tower designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, to be in harmony with the landscape.

“People experience the architecture and the landscape simultaneously – there is an overall harmony between the different components of the master plan that also creates variety and variety that can be experienced on a daily level for residents,” he said.

Announced last year, Trogena is set to become a tourist destination in the mountains of Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk region as part of the broader NEOM project.

The project’s master plan was drawn up by LAVA,

and will be built around a large man-made lake surrounded by hotels and homes.

In addition to the lake, one of the mountains will be topped by a ski resort also designed by LAVA.

While the other mountain will be topped by a skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Kronaweter explained that the design of the resort, which will include 3,620 hotel rooms,

It was directly inspired by the mountains and other geographical elements of the region.

“Context is the traditional way you set your standards, develop your vision, etc.,” he said.

“When you work with a city that has a history of 100 years, or even 1,000 years,

you have a lot to build on — existing infrastructure, neighborhoods…”

“Here in Trojana, we didn’t have a built environment,” he continued.

“Instead, what we had were absolutely stunning and inspiring natural environments,

which because of the diversity of the terrain looked and behaved almost formally, like a city.”

“This context really inspired us to understand what this diversity means and what this diversity can mean for development,” he added.

Kronawitter added that the Trogena project was allowing the studio to develop its broader ideas for sustainable cities.

“We are being asked to work at home, taking on the challenge of building the Earth of the future – and this is no small task. For a long time,

We believe that the key to creating sustainable cities is fundamentally bringing humanity and natural systems together a little more closely,” he says.

“So this is the perfect place, environment and opportunity.”