Žabljak Petrova Strana
Set in the mountain landscape of Žabljak, Montenegro, Petrova Strana is conceived as a new anchor for tourism and social life in the northern region. The project introduces a 280-room hotel with spa facilities, multipurpose spaces, and a restaurant, designed to extend Žabljak’s appeal beyond seasonal tourism and support a year-round destination.
Embedded in its natural surroundings, the hotel balances hospitality, wellness, and public life. Conceived as a mediator between nature and social life, Petrova Strana creates spaces for retreat, gathering, and year-round activity.
Rather than constructing large, fixed urban blocks, the project follows a different approach: a sinuous wooden structure that embraces the landscape and emerges organically from its green surroundings. The proposal brings together multiple hotels within the valley, creating a shared framework that connects municipal sports facilities, local businesses, developers, and investors.
In every challenge, we see an opportunity. Although the plot is oriented away from the most scenic part of the area, Black Lake and the surrounding mountain peaks, a generative, parametric approach was used to identify an optimal form that maximizes the number of rooms with open views toward the landscape.
We design for today with the future in mind, creating resilient and future-proof architecture. A series of environmental analyses revealed strong passive heating potential during colder months and informed the optimal placement of solar panels across the façade. These strategies enhance thermal comfort while supporting an energy-efficient envelope. With an optimized solar design, the system is capable of supplying up to 80% of the building’s annual electricity demand, significantly reducing operational energy use and the project’s carbon footprint.
