Bleu Blanc Spa&Wellness is located in Çukurpınar town, which is connected to the center of Kırklareli province. neighboring the famous Strandja forests and OTUGROUP INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT CO. It is planned on 5.400m2 land owned by the company. The construction of the hotel, which will start in 2024, is planned to be completed in 2025. It is planned to build 15 ultra-luxury hotel units in the project, which has a total construction area of 3.157m2.
The result is two buildings, one hosting the public area with a reception, bistro, bar, and wellness area, the other the private area with a total of 15 guest suites. At first glance, they appear singular and together they form a permeable courtyard context. However, there is an ingenious connection, a hallway that elegantly vanishes under an artificially created hill – hence disappearing out of sight.
The two buildings also establish a strong bond with the existing structures in their design language. You can find traditional gable roofs, as well as a very dynamic façade design with reinforcing slanted elements, that replicate the design of the struts and brackets of the historically listed barn while translating them into a modern statement. This allows the facades to be perceived differently – depending on how one approaches the edifice. This way, the east and west façades break strongly towards the outside, while the north and south sides appear as a homogeneous envelope. The trapezoid windows catch the eye in a striking way. The upper, slatted structure that stretches over the entire length of the building almost disguises the stories and creates a homogeneous appearance.
Stepping through the steel front door through the entrance area, one experiences an intense and extraordinary breakthrough, an immersion into something that atmospherically represents the future – because the entire interior is characterized by a colorful, horizontal dichotomy: A soft beige - communicates feelings of being grounded, familiar, delicateness – meets a mystical blue that embodies the future, the mysterious, the uncertain. This expressive, clear-cut division line is consistently drawn through both buildings – once horizontally, once vertically.
In the public building, the sharp-edged transition between beige and blue takes place at eye level, at a height of 1.60 meters, to make this “in-between zone” tangible. But the concept is not centered only on the floors, walls, and ceilings: All the furnishings – from the curtains, through the furniture to the light fixtures – are part of a holistic approach.
As a kind of tightrope walk between “being rooted” and “wanting to fly,” an interior concept that seems completely detached from place and time unfolds before the eyes. On the ground floor, a multi-functional room opens up to the visitor. While the reception, which features a discreet desk, welcomes the guests, the bar, with its unique details, catches the eye and invites to explore the surroundings: a large wine display in the middle of comfortable bistro tables, the panoramic parlor that can be flexibly played with, the lounge area with open fireplace and mirrored ceiling, as well as the reading corner with hanging sofas, somewhat out of the way, define the space. Large window surfaces allow the surrounding nature to become an integral part of the room.
The wellness area is located on the first floor of this building. On the way up, one “dives” through the horizontal blue and finds oneself in the opposite color concept: as a symbol for water, the blue is now below. Once past the inviting fruit bar and the drinking fountain, the wide relaxation space, and adjoining terrace open up. But the spa has much more to offer. The spectacular, half-covered outdoor infinity pool juts out from the southwest side of the building, affording spectacular views. It can be reached via a platform, the top level of which marks the “water’s edge,” marking once again the alternation between blue and beige.
Just a few more steps up is a separate relaxation area that one can use as a meditation room, for yoga or relaxation. Right in front of it, in the outdoor area, is a whirlpool on a roof terrace with a view of the Dolomites. Immediately below, to the southeast, is the textile-free area. The steam bath and the Finnish sauna are accessed through an anteroom with a large drinking fountain and shower facilities. While the steam bath is located in a rather “introverted” position and directs the view to the water fountain and the sauna, which are more extroverted and open, with a view of the surrounding mystical woods.
The second building, which unlike its counterpart has three floors, hosts the 15 suites of the new hotel. The two buildings are connected to each other via an underground corridor, and here too the division of the color worlds takes a 90-degree turn: What was horizontal is now vertical. There is a deliberate psychological effect in play here, because from here on you can immerse your whole body in the respective area, which has an overall relaxing effect.
Basically, there are three types of rooms, which differ in size and furnishings. The 35- square-meter (377 sq ft) junior suites open up from the entrance and bathroom area with freestanding washbasin and open shower into the living area with desk, private bar, and lounge, and finally into the sleeping area, which flows out into a 15-square-meter (161 sq ft) terrace or balcony. The idea of giving the bed in particular this unique position in the room with an expansive view is based on the famous idyll of the “bed in the cornfield.” The suites on the ground floor also have a private whirlpool on their terraces. The larger suites, each measuring 55-square-meters (592 sq ft), have an additional living room with a hanging double bed and open onto the magnificent mountain panoramas on both sides. Another highlight in the truest sense of the word is the Gallery Suite, where an internal staircase leads up to a living platform on the roof, where you can watch the sky through the opening in the roof.
In terms of color division, no compromises are made in the suites either: about one-third of their surface is blue, two-thirds beige, where a certain blending of the areas takes place through the dynamics applied. The light, partly floating, linear furniture takes inspiration from the architecture and is divided ruthlessly into two. The walls are covered in fabric, almost dematerializing them with a surface that is not perceived as a wall.
Thus, the haptics that comes into play here and a certain indefiniteness arouse curiosity and call to start a journey of discovery: With a cleverly staged changeability, which is created by the consistent linear clash of two deliberately selected colors, noa* gives guests the opportunity to have a unique spatial experience, which possibly goes far beyond the previously known.
OSMAN TOLGAY ULUSOY - Chairman On Board & Architect
OTUGROUP INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT CO.