Responsible Tourism
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
Zen Minimal Luxury Housing is an award winning hospitality project located in the coastal area of Tyros, GR. Seeking to be recognized for their efforts in sustainable design & operation, Zen partnered with EarthCheck gaining EarthCheck Evaluate recognition by designing a sustainable and socially cohesive project.
"I’ve always believed in the importance of social sustainability as a means of social interaction, environmental protection & enhancement of biodiversity and inclusive economy"
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Zen Minimal Luxury Housing is an award winning hospitality project located in the coastal area of Tyros, GR. Seeking to be recognized for their efforts in sustainable design & operation, Zen partnered with EarthCheck gaining EarthCheck Evaluate recognition by designing a sustainable and socially cohesive project.
"I’ve always believed in the importance of social sustainability as a means of social interaction, environmental protection & enhancement of biodiversity and inclusive economy"
Key objectives for sustainability
As an entry level program, EarthCheck Evaluate assesses an operator’s economic, social and environmental impact. The program uses internationally recognized criteria, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to report on management performance covering a wide range of areas including environment, risk and quality management.
ZEN is built and operated on more sustainable principles, since sustainable tourism has gone beyond simply ‘going green. We manage and improve compliance in areas such as environmental emissions, energy efficiency and waste management, that are able to save costs, support local economies, conserve natural resources and cultural heritage; and finally help to improve the quality of life for locals and visitors alike.
The most important may be the fact that we try to educate, both locals and the broad public, on the benefits of Resilient and Responsible Tourism promoting Agendas that are relevant to the issue, through our social media network.
We support involvement of both locals and visitors in promoting the natural beauty of our region by participating in hiking adventures with the local community. For that we are also a GOLD member of the Hikers Friendly Hotels group.
We offer local, hand made and eco-friendly products, such as groceries, fruits and olive oil from our garden, offering guiding and educative tours to our little friends.
Last but not least we promote our heritage, our Tsakonian Dialect, which is considered the only descendant of Doric Greek, a classical Hellenic language last spoken more than 2,000 years ago around the military city-state of Sparta. Tsakonian managed to survive in this corner of southern Greece, whose hilly and rocky paths discouraged foreign occupiers and hindered contact with other regions. UNESCO has labeled Tsakonian a “critically endangered” language spoken by about 300 people.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
Through this smart housing project and its conceptual balance between architecture, nature, mind and spirit, we bring into life the meaning of “Zen”, that of being in a total state of focus incorporating a total togetherness of body and mind, thus to say, feeling peaceful and relaxed.
While the previous situation was characterized by a 120 square meters multi-cabin structure of a total twelve rooms, the new design promotes functionality, privacy and comfort.
This is achieved by creating three individual and fully private apartments of 54, 27 and 27 m2 each, placed strategically to generate natural lighting and ventilation, turning it into a property destination noted for its flawless architecture and its immediate relationship with the picturesque, surrounding landscape.
The biggest challenge has been the one of saving as much space as possible, while creating clean forms, fully comfortable and welcoming. The inspiration rooted to the Scandinavian minimalistic approach of interior place-making and adapted to the Greek contemporary design.
The first step has been the placement of all storage areas, which are perfectly integrated in the design, in a way that makes them both invisible and accessible at the same time. The second gesture of place sparing included the idea of mirroring.
The two smaller apartments are located back to back so that each one is the mirror image of the other. This gesture does not only help save as much space as possible, but also created the perfect circumstances to a more accessible and time saving working environment while under construction.
Materials, scale and lighting vary from area to area. The main background color is white, creating a relaxing atmosphere which is strengthen by the wide openings, bringing in the natural Mediterranean sunlight and emphasizing the surrounding nature.
All amenities are characterized by high-end, eco-friendly technology for minimizing energy losses and maximizing option availabilities.
Key objectives for inclusion
During the design, all the necessary minimum distances have been taken into consideration in order to achieve comfortable passage for people with mobility problems or other physical difficulties. The design of all fixed architectural elements and the choice of furniture has been done in such a way (scale consideration) to promote a safe and friendly child environment, by avoiding dangerous corners that could cause possible child injuries. The choice of non-slip materials in areas with possible presence of humidity, such as bathrooms, create a friendly environment offering a sense of security to everybody, younger and older.
Finally, common areas for sociability are created, such as the garden area at the very entrance, with tables, chairs, umbrellas and a plethora of local flora, in order to create a joyful common ground for our visitors to meet and connect.
How Citizens benefit
Citizens are benefiting from and affected by the project by feeling active participants of authorized sustainable practices offered by us to them. They carry with them a sense of participation and involvement in helping tourism industry more sustainable and responsible, they comply with our recommendations on saving water and electricity and finally managing their waste in provided recycle bags.
Civil society and locals are directly involved in this project since the very beginning. The majority of construction materials and all technical staff and workers are local or coming from the broader region. Collaboration with local communities regarding outdoor activities, traditional hand craftsmanship, like the famous tsakonian textiles, and the promotion of the tsakonian dialect in collaboration with the local community of the Tsakonian Dialect are all a great example of how we include local society in the project and the promotion of it.
Innovative character
The innovative character of the project can be highlighted here:
1. "EarthCheck Evaluation" membership for Sustainable and Responsible Tourism
2. "Hikers Friendly Hotel" Gold membership for safe outdoor hiking experiences at the Arcadian landscape
3. Collaboration with the local agency "Travel2Peloponnese" for expanded outdoor activities (hiking, wetland hiking, Parnonas trails, Sea Kayak, food experience, cross country bike, mountain bike, climbing, yacht tours)
4. Welcome kit with family, biological products (groceries, fruits, olive oil)
5. High-end technology amenities (touch screen kitchen, bluetooth air-conditioning, smart TV, wind sensor shading systems, solar panels)
6. Award winning design project "BigSEE Interior Design Award 2019" and "BigSEE Tourism Award 2019"
7. Participation at International Tourism Fairs with "BENVENUTTI IN GRECIA" 2021, using remote working operating systems for virtual events by Virbela
8. Automate light sensors for saving energy on ZEN logo sigh
9. Accessibility and safety measures with sighs and lighting design (specify paths with edge limits, lighting design indicators of paths and entrance points)
10. Integration of Professional Lighting Design at the project, as an essential element in quality environments that support health and wellness while reducing energy use
