The Europe Hotel
Spa & Leisure Centre
The Europe Hotel and Resort is located outside Killarney town in Co. Kerry within an area of Prime Special Amenity. The site is surrounded by parkland and the largest mountain range in Ireland forms the backdrop to the view across the lake.
Originally built in 1962, the hotel is configured as a south-facing ‘U-shaped’ building orientated towards the lake, with 185 guest rooms and a large conference and events centre. The Client’s brief was to integrate over 4,500sqm of Spa and Leisure accommodation into the site whilst maintaining the existing views and connection to the lake.
The design intention was to provide a restorative and authentic wellness experience for guests that would create a connection to this unique location.
Client: Killarney Hotels Ltd.
Sector: Hospitality
Location: Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland
Status: Completed 2008
Scale: 4,800m²
Connection with place
As the hotel is sited within a sensitive setting, much consideration was given to minimising the visual impact of the new accommodation on the site and creating an architecture that would root the project to its place. The approach was to embed the building forms within the natural slope of the landscape, creating a series of stone 'boulders' that emerge from the hill and stretch towards the foreshore of the lake. As these forms emerge, a series of indoor and outdoor spaces are created as 'rooms’ within the landscape, echoing the surrounding colours, forms and imagery of the glaciated valleys nearby.
Internally, the spa is experienced as a sanctuary within the hill. The largely subterranean environment is expressed as a contrast of dark and light, density and void. Views of the lake are used to pull the user through the building towards the garden rooms, where the bathing pools are orientated to overlook the lake, uniting one body of water with another.
Environmental Design
Spa & Leisure buildings have intensive energy demands for heating, cooling, and ventilation and require highly controlled indoor environments. The project sought to embed strategies for passive design and maximise opportunities for natural ventilation and daylight, solar heat gain and temperature control through exposed thermal mass, thereby reducing energy use intensity (EUI). A number of internal courtyard gardens are 'scooped' out of the plan, bringing natural ventilation, daylight and views to the treatment rooms, reception areas and staff offices, and allowing for private places of contemplation.
Material & Craft
A focus on quality, durability and craftmanship informed the design of the building and the interior. A simple palette of natural materials consisting of dark granite, basalt and timber, were used to blur the boundaries between inside and out, reinforcing the feeling of being held within the landscape. A team of local craftspeople worked alongside experienced carpenters, stone masons and artists from Germany and Austria to create the multi-award winning architectural project.
Dublin
42 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
Kerry
Fossa, Killarney
Co. Kerry
+353 (0)1 6711400
info@gottsteinarchitects.com
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