Project: Netanya, Israel_Current Status: In progress_My Input: 2013-2014
Building Architect: Ranni Ziss Architects
Site area: 8,000 sq.m
Project Description
This small luxury hotel is located on the edge of Poleg nature reserve, some 500 meters of its estuary into the Mediterranean Sea and about 3.5 meters above sea level. The design draws inspiration from this unique natural setting whilst striving to blend in as much as possible.
Responsibilities
My involvement in this project was concentrated on the initial stages, focusing on concept development and preparation of the tender submission to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Design Constraints and Drivers
The landscape design was shaped by a complex and sometimes conflicting set of constraints. The hot-summer Mediterranean climate significantly limited the range of planting species typically associated with hotel environments, while the immediate proximity to a protected nature reserve required a restrained and carefully calibrated planting palette. Achieving continuity between the hotel landscape and the surrounding natural setting demanded a delicate balance between contrast and integration.
The site’s very low elevation, approximately 3.5 metres above sea level, introduced a significant challenge. Flood modelling for rare events indicated water levels reaching as far as the hotel’s parking area, requiring careful consideration of levels, access, and landscape interfaces. A conventional response would have been to elevate the project above this condition; however, requirements set by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority demanded that the development remain gently integrated into the surrounding landscape.
An additional layer of complexity arose from the hotel’s orthodox target audience. Privacy considerations played a central role in shaping the landscape strategy, requiring controlled views and screening to prevent visual exposure from adjacent public paths, including the coastal passage running close to the site boundary.
Perimeter Palette
Landscape Strategy
The landscape strategy is organised around a central communal garden that acts as the experiential core of the hotel. Dense, riverbank-like planting and areas of exposed sand create a sequence of intimate outdoor spaces that allow guests privacy and a sense of retreat. At the same time, clear circulation paths cut through the garden, maintaining legibility and orientation and preventing the landscape from becoming inward or disorienting.
Planting along the hotel perimeter and roof terrace was drawn more directly from the palette of the adjacent nature reserve, allowing the hotel to dissolve into the surrounding landscape, while the inner garden adopts a more cultivated and lush interpretation of a river bank inspired by the natural reserve, calibrated for hospitality use rather than direct replication.
Along the eastern edge of the site, a buffer landscape mediates between the hotel and the adjacent nature reserve. Raised landforms planted with dense shrubs and tall grasses provide visual screening and spatial separation, allowing hotel guests to occupy the edge without imposing on the reserve. Embedded within this zone are informal, natural play elements that echo dune formations, offering opportunities for exploration and use without introducing formal playground structures.
Interior Palette
