A growing demand for rustic vacation units located at the Sea of Galilee.

The ‘Riviera’ vacation complex is located on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee, an area rich with archeological sites, dating thousands of years back. These archeological sites were an inspiration to us throughout the design process. Similar to excavation sites, divided into digging areas at varying heights and connected by overhead passageways, we designed both public and private spaces on different levels, creating a 3D movement throughout the complex and providing diverse points of view over the different architectural components.

The resort contains 800 basic modular residential units in the standard size of 32sqm that complies with the Ministry of Tourism’s regulations. The plan’s flexibility allows the modification of the basic unit into larger suites.

The layout, which was inspired by the archeological digging sites, includes different heights and levels connected by an upper passageway that allows free movement between public spaces and private holiday units. We used the location’s main asset – the view – and planned all units to face the Sea of Galilee. This resulted in an open space under some of the residential units that was converted into public use.

Wooden decks cleanly integrate in the natural landscape and walkways that lead from the residential units to the beach provide natural ventilation and breeze and comply with the principles of green building.

We kept the natural flora of the surroundings and also kept development on the beach to a bare minimum: the east side of the complex meets the Kinneret trail and light shading solutions are provided on the beach. Two piers were planned for the south side of the beach: one is intended for light water sports and a restaurant, and the other for motorized water sports.