Luxury of freedom

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Third product designers of the 2018 season

There are moments that can marked the BB Experience. Moments between space and time. We had the amazing chance to experience this feeling lately in BIG BERRY Kolpa River with our third group of designers for the 2018 BB Product Design Project. After Poke Studio and Hana Karim & Janža Dolinšek, we were so happy to welcome Rok Žnidaršič and Jerneja Fischer Knap from Medprostor architectural atelier from Ljubljana. A three days experience of work, conversations and contemplation in this LUXURY OF FREEDOM that we wanted to summarize.

Our two architects from the Slovenian capital city arrived in Friday afternoon, just before the Mastermind Jam with Starkmat team. This first day was this opportunity for them to get to know more BIG BERRY, the team, the environment and of course the BB Brand and the BB Elements.

On Saturday morning, it was time to start the project. We met them at the end of the BIG BERRY Kolpa River Resort, beyond the BB Open Lounge Houses, in a wild space surrounded by trees and plants where Kolpa expresses its full wildness and beauty. It was the beginning of an amazing project in a place that seduced our architects.

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First of all, Rok and Jerneja were observing and feeling the space before anything else. After that, they started their field analysis by drawing, touching and smelling the environment. A real scientific work of topography in order to get all the elements and forms on a scheme. It was the first step of the project in which they also started to think of how it could be incorporated. A necessary thinking process to launch the project.

After this complete and interesting analysis, we took time together to relax a bit and taste some delicious berries! A short and cosy moment followed by a long working session until sunday interspersed by BB Lunch and a movie night.

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What about THE project called the Zen Area? It will be situated in a marvellous and wild place surrounded by big trees. There are also five little springs in this same space with the sound of the water, the shadows of the trees and the different combinations of light. It is almost very zen already. It looks like this place was founded in order to welcome a nice purpose project. The place will stay the same as much as possible to keep this atmosphere and expose it as it is already. The challenge is to emphasize some very interesting elements like the old trees, the rocks, the water springs and the looks on the landscape.

The only element needed to be add is a path - an entrance. The challenge for our two designers was to define this path through the physical and spiritual point of view. The aim is to prepare the visitor to live and to feel the experience.

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They decided then to look back in past to understand some general elements and organization of traditional zen spaces in Japan. By doing that, they realized that it is necessary to create an entrance which will prepare the visitor to come into a real microcosmos: “It will help to forget from where you come and invites you into something else”.

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They used of course our BIG BERRY elements and materials so the whole intervention is based on existing elements and designs even in the construction models and logic.

From there on, there will be just some steps, artificial stones - reminders of examples of traditional zen gardens - and a bench on the small island behind the trees where the visitor will be able to relax, enjoy the lights and sounds of the nature and also the canvas of the shadows on the constructed pathway.

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It is a slow and minimalistic approach to keep this intact nature and to feel and hear what our place can give you. “It is made in a very Japanese way: you always know where you are but you can never see everything, just some parts of this small environment”.

A deep breathtaking project immortalize through an amazing handmade model!

“After that, now can start the project!”

We are very thankful to have welcomed those creative, professional and interesting architects. It was a true pleasure to assist them in their creation and to be able to talk about their work and about life in general here at the BIG BERRY Kolpa River Resort.

Click here for more pictures!

By Augustin Martinez