A listed former sanatorium in the fir forests of Arcadia is restored as a 32-room hotel, preserving its monumental stone structure while introducing local materials, contemporary hospitality spaces and a restrained new layer of timber, terrazzo and stone.

Manna Arcadia in Vytina, with architectural and interior design by K-Studio and technical design by Monogon, revives a former sanatorium built in 1929 on Mount Mainalo. Set at an altitude of approximately 1,200m within the Arcadian forest, the listed building has been transformed into a 32-room hotel while retaining the architectural character and material traces of its previous life.

Originally conceived as a tuberculosis sanatorium, the building was designed around the belief in the restorative qualities of fresh air, isolation and the mountain landscape. Following its abandonment, parts of the structure and its materials were removed or repurposed elsewhere. The contemporary intervention therefore begins with the preservation and reconstruction of a building whose original fabric had survived unevenly over several decades.

 

Restoring the existing building

The design retains as much of the original construction as possible and treats the surviving material fabric as the basis for the new architecture.

Rather than returning the building to an idealized historical condition, the intervention preserves its visible age and introduces new surfaces that remain compatible with the existing structure. Natural renders, stone, timber and terrazzo establish a restrained palette whose textures reinforce the solid and austere character of the former sanatorium.

Where the original terrazzo floors were severely damaged, they were replaced with new mixtures using locally sourced gravel. Stone is introduced at ground level in the dining and spa areas, as well as at thresholds and sills, while chestnut timber adds a warmer layer to the interior.

The approach establishes continuity through material character rather than exact reproduction.

 

Extending the original programme

The restoration also reactivates parts of the original building that had been lost or left incomplete.

A new volume occupies the footprint of a ruined auxiliary structure, while the reconstruction of the roof creates an additional attic level. These interventions extend the usable area without introducing an independent architectural language detached from the historic building.

Across approximately 2,982m², the programme includes 32 guestrooms, reception and lounge areas, a bar, restaurant, spa, gym and supporting hotel functions.

The arrangement preserves the scale of the main communal rooms while allowing smaller and more secluded spaces to coexist throughout the building.

A timber grid organizes the guestrooms

Within the guestrooms, a timber framework establishes the principal system of spatial organization.

The brushed timber grid defines areas for sleeping, bathing and dressing, while its geometry is repeated in the patterns of the terrazzo and marble floors. Furniture and fixed elements are therefore integrated within an ordered system rather than introduced as independent objects.

The material palette remains deliberately limited. Timber provides warmth against the more mineral surfaces of stone and terrazzo, while the restrained colours maintain continuity with the architecture of the existing building.

The result avoids the conventional repetition of a standardized hotel room and instead emphasizes the relationship between structure, material and use.

 

Existing traces and new materials

The project places particular emphasis on the way new materials age alongside the original construction.

The surviving building is not treated as a pristine historical object. Irregularities, traces of wear and variations in texture remain legible, while new finishes are selected for their ability to acquire their own patina over time.

This approach is especially evident in the relationship between rougher mineral surfaces and carefully detailed timber elements. The new interventions remain identifiable without becoming visually detached from the original shell.

Metal-framed openings introduce another precise layer within the heavier masonry envelope, allowing daylight and views towards the forest to remain central to the experience of the interior.

Shared spaces and retreat

The former sanatorium provides an unusual framework for a contemporary hospitality programme.

Large communal rooms support gathering and social activity, while more secluded areas retain the sense of retreat associated with the building’s original use. The hotel therefore combines collective spaces with smaller settings for privacy and quiet.

The restaurant and lounge occupy some of the larger interiors, while the spa develops the project’s relationship with wellbeing through more enclosed, materially dense spaces.

This alternation between gathering and retreat extends the logic of the existing building rather than imposing an entirely new model of occupation.

 

Architecture within the Arcadian landscape

The surrounding forest remains fundamental to the project.

Instead of competing with the scale of the landscape, the intervention concentrates on restoring the existing structure and strengthening its relationship with the terrain. Natural materials, views towards the forest and a landscape design integrated with the mountain setting reinforce this connection.

Manna Arcadia consequently operates as an adaptive reuse project in which the previous identity of the sanatorium is neither erased nor reconstructed as a historical image. K-Studio and Monogon retain the building’s structural and material presence while adapting it to contemporary hospitality through measured additions and a limited architectural vocabulary.

 

The project was first published in print in ek282 | November 2023, in the RESORT section

A Global Resort Rooted in Place

Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino is a luxury destination resort that upholds the standards of a global hospitality brand while remaining deeply rooted in its context. Set above the bay of Navarino in Messinia, Greece, the resort balances large scale with an intimate experience, luxury with restraint, and high-end amenities with a meaningful connection to land, culture and environment.

The project engages with a site of historical significance, ecological value and powerful natural beauty. Rather than treating the resort as an object placed in the landscape, the design develops a system of habitation, hospitality and environmental adaptation.

A Masterplan Inspired by Rural Typologies

The masterplan draws inspiration from Greek rural typologies, particularly the mandria: organic stone enclosures that adapt to the terrain and organize sloping land with quiet pragmatism.

This strategy is applied at a larger scale, organizing the resort’s different building units along the contours of the hillside. The 48 earth-sheltered villas are arranged in stepped, undulating rows, ensuring uninterrupted panoramic views from every unit and creating successive horizons across the site.

Most villas are organized in pairs, with only two visible sides that disappear into the ground and independent entrances naturally separated by planted slopes. In this way, the architecture develops as an extension of the hillside, rather than imposing itself upon it.

 

 

Privacy, Autonomy and Semi-Outdoor Living

The dispersed organization of the resort enhances the guest experience in several ways. Each villa enjoys privacy, autonomy and surrounding gardens, while the relationship between interior and exterior is structured through a sequence of transitions.

Interiors flow smoothly into shaded semi-outdoor living areas. Wide overhangs, deep-set openings and filtered views create a sense of calm and refuge, while maintaining contact with the broader landscape.

Restraint, Luxury and Material Presence

The resort combines restraint with richness. Stone and terrazzo are used in tactile, understated ways, while the interiors refer to Mediterranean textures and tones. Curated international details evoke the spirit of travel without distancing the experience from the place itself.

Space planning is intuitive and guest-centered, ensuring clear orientation, comfortable scale and carefully framed views. Circulation takes place outdoors wherever possible, allowing nature to remain a continuous presence throughout the resort.

 

 

Operational Foresight and Flexible Management

The resort also demonstrates operational foresight. Its layout supports scalable operation, as clusters of rooms or villas can be brought into or out of use seasonally, optimizing energy consumption.

Open-air circulation reduces the need for cooled corridors, while semi-protected spaces such as covered terraces and entry courtyards temper climate extremes, reducing mechanical loads and improving guest comfort.

A Contemporary Hybrid Typology

Creatively, the project avoids spectacle in favor of serenity. It does not mimic history, but listens to it. Traditional forms are abstracted rather than replicated, and reinterpreted through contemporary materials and construction methods.

The result is a unique hybrid typology, where the aesthetic of the “village” is not reproduced literally, but translated into a contemporary hospitality system. Architecture preserves local memory without becoming trapped in imitation.

 

 

Passive Strategies and Ecological Ambition

Sustainability guided every decision. Passive strategies include planted roofs, thermal mass and cross-ventilated spaces. Materials were sourced locally whenever possible.

Water-efficient landscaping, low-impact lighting and energy zoning further reinforce the ecological ambition of the project, aligning guest comfort with a lower environmental footprint.

A New Model for Hospitality

Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino offers a new model of resort-making: one that privileges relationship over image, groundedness over excess.

It demonstrates that a resort can be both luxurious and low-impact, international and deeply local — a place where architecture, landscape and guest comfort coexist in elegant alignment.