AIASF International Practice Committee featured event with support of Urban Design + Infrastructure Committee as part of an AIASF multi-committee program on waterfronts:
“International Waterfronts Panel Presentation including Ayia Napa Marina & Resort, Cyprus, and Lustica Bay Marina Village, Montenegro”

The events in this series are exclusively available online courses during CoViD-19 pandemic until the reopening of the AIASF facilities. Please register at link below to gain access to the Zoom Panel Discussion with Q&A session at end.

This International Architect Panel presentation is the second in a series of Waterfront Design events featured by the AIASF International Practice Committee.

SmithGroup’s Chad Brintnall, Bill Ash, and Margaret Boshek will present their Ayia Napa Marina & Resort project in Cyprus, alongside SB’s Mark Sopp presenting their Lustica Bay Marina Village Project in Montenegro for a conversation on best practices around design and delivery of large-scale leisure waterfront developments with Q&A to follow.

This session offers an exchange of ideas around very complex and multi-phased project typologies. We present this at a time when reduced Port activity, underutilized land and sea-level rise present unique development opportunities and challenges San Francisco’s waterfront. San Francisco’s is one of the world’s most well-known and storied global waterfront cities. It faces significant challenges though now in protecting historic assets, improving resilience, activating and improving access along its diverse waterfront edge. International cities can offer lessons learned through their successful waterfront planning, design and development. This event aims to feature holistic project lessons to the AIA community in San Francisco through featuring multidisciplinary teams from major waterfront redevelopments.

Presentations from international practices on global waterfront projects of significant scale offer lessons for current challenges faced on the City of San Francisco’s waterfront.

Learning Objectives

After attending this program, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the mix of uses required to create a vibrant leisure destination including the balance of residential, hospitality and commercial entertainment programming.
2. Discuss the challenges of creating land uses on waterfront edges and the technical solutions to address wave action, sea level rise and marina protection for a boating community.
3. Discuss different approvals processes between Cyprus and Montenegro, as well as the common strategies for creating master plans that incorporate international standards for waterfront tourism.
4. Discuss the cultural and climatic influences on the design of the various residential, hospitality and commercial facilities and open space.
5. Illustrate sustainability strategies for creating new communities where land meets the sea.

Featured Projects

Ayia Napa Marina & Resort, Cyprus
Presenters: Chad Brintnall, Bill Ash, and Margaret Boshek
Masterplan/Architecture/Landscape Architecture: SmithGroup
Developer: M.M. Makronisos
Local A/E counterparts: J+A Philippou Architects Engineers; ALA Planning Partnership
Construction Company: TERNA S.A. and TERNA Overseas Ltd

Ayia Napa Marina & Resort creates a premier resort destination centered around a 600-slip mega-yacht marina. This mixed- use development, includes private residences, a high-rise condominium tower, community event center, retail, and luxury resort amenities.

Because the site is exposed to massive storm waves 6 to 8 meters high, harbor protection is critical to project success. Applying the latest in coastal modeling and engineering technologies, the design uses massive manmade armor units to create a breakwater that can withstand this punishing sea. The resulting harbor creates a tranquil setting for a vibrant marina village featuring amenities and attractions for residents, visitors and the Ayia Napa community. The architecture is also highly responsive to its coastal setting, emphasizing vernacular materials and innovative sun shading.

Lustica Bay Marina Village, Montenegro
Presenter: Mark Sopp
Masterplan/Architecture/Landscape Architecture: SB Architects
Developer: Orascom Development Ltd.

The Lustica Bay Marina has become the heart and soul of the greater Lustica Bay development and was the primary component of the first phase of development. The goal of the architectural design was to preserve the architectural character, cultural integrity and natural gifts of the land and its people. Deeply rooted in the sense of place that is unique to this breathtaking region, each element of the design works to provide a physical and emotional connection to the surrounding land and sea.

The design evokes the picturesque seaside villages that are so deeply intertwined with the history and fabric of the Mediterranean in general, and of Montenegro in particular. All the visual references to traditional Mediterranean hillside towns are evident in the architecture of the Lustica Bay Marina. Tightly knit village structures that step down the hillsides, a busy yet cohesive multitude of tile roofs, stone bases that seem to rise out of the land itself, intimate stairways and courtyards, deeply framed windows and balconies, and wood shutters are but a few of the myriad details that create a sense of authenticity in the architecture. Yet each historic reference within the design of this marina village is interpreted through a modern lens – lines are slightly cleaner, edges a little sharper – resulting in a unique architectural language that perfectly blends the region’s past and present.

Coming up next in this series:

• • Online Panel: Waterfront project presentation, July 2020
  • Online Panel: Canadian Waterfront Project Presentation, August 2020
  • AIASF Waterfronts Symposium, Date TBD
    • Led by the AIASF International Practice Committee and supported by the Urban Design + Infrastructure Committee and their guests, addressing local application of the preceding events.

For more information about the Committees and their events:

• AIASF International Practice Committee
• AIASF Urban Design + Infrastructure Committee