Oreno Mountain Retreat Hotel by Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab

Oreno Mountain Retreat Hotel by Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award di Bronzu in Ospitalità Competition Category.

BronzuOspitalità· 2026

Oreno Mountain Retreat Hotel

by Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab

Client: Oreno Retreat

A' Design Award di Bronzu Winner in Ospitalità Category

7,273

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #183604

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Oreno Mountain Retreat Hotel

Oreno Mountain Retreat hè un hotel situatu in Tsepelovo, in Zagori. U bastimentu cuntinueghja u paisaghju circundante rinterpretendu i principii lucali di pruporzione, di materiale è di gerarchia spaziale. I muri purtanti in petra è i sistemi di tettu in legnu applicanu e tecniche tradiziunali à i standard cuntempuranei. Una massa termica elevata migliureghja l'efficienza energetica, mentre chì l'aperture cuntrullate guidanu a luce naturale è a ventilazione. L'integrazione in a falata riduce i scavi. U disegnu crea un'atmosfera calma è raffinata, arradicata in a memoria lucale è in l'artigianatu.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award di Bronzu

Oreno Mountain Retreat Hotel hè un vincitore di u premiu A' Design Award di Bronzu, una ricunniscenza assai prestigiosa attribuita à i disegni eccellenti chì si distinguenu per a creatività, l'ingegnu è l'acutezza. I vincitori di Bronzu sò artefatti largamente abili è sorprendentemente creativi chì autenticanu a vasta sperienza, l'imaginazione è l'ingegnosità di i so disegnatori. Si aspetta chì Oreno Mountain Retreat Hotel sia un oggettu assai apprezzatu, ammiratu è caru, rimarchevulemente prufessiunale è innuvatore. Stu disegnu vincitore di u premiu A' Design Award di Bronzu incorpora e migliori pratiche di l'arte, di a scienza, di u disegnu è di a tecnulugia è hè eccellente per l'attinzione à i detaglii. Oreno Mountain Retreat Hotel suddisfa splendidamente i bisogni, tocca i disideri, incanta i sentimenti è chjama a curiusità.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This design explores architecture as an extension of place rather than an imposed object. Oreno continues the Zagori landscape by reinterpreting local principles of proportion, material, and spatial hierarchy. Its strength lies in balancing memory with contemporary living, solidity with openness. Through restraint, material continuity, and controlled light, it creates a quiet, refined atmosphere rooted in authenticity.
Dimensions & Packaging: Constructed with load bearing stone walls and timber roof systems, the building employs traditional techniques adapted to contemporary standards. High thermal mass improves energy efficiency, while controlled openings optimize daylight and ventilation. The integration into the slope minimizes excavation and enhances environmental performance, supported by passive design strategies.
Tags: stone, wood, heritage, environment, local, fireplace, wellness, interior
Production Technology: The design was developed through analysis of Zagori architectural principles proportion, material logic, and spatial hierarchy, rather than formal imitation. Local stone and timber systems informed both structure and envelope. Iterative modeling and section studies ensured integration with the terrain, while light and material continuity were refined to create a cohesive, atmospheric spatial experience.
Design Challenge: The main challenge was integrating Zagori historical and social context with modern hospitality standards. Internally, respecting local architectural memory and community traditions guided design decisions. Externally, strict heritage regulations, limited construction technologies, and site constraints demanded careful material selection, precise geometry, and iterative modeling to achieve a balance between authenticity, comfort, and environmental integration.
Inspiration: The inspiration for Oreno emerges from the quiet continuity of life in Zagori. It draws from the memory of people and their rhythms. Gatherings in village squares, the echo of music across the mountains, the slow passage of seasons. Tradition is not treated as a fixed image, but as a living presence, embedded in craft, in material, in proportion. Stone and earth become both structure and story, grounding the hotel in its place, while the spirit of local life shapes spaces that feel familiar, warm, and enduring.
Project Duration: The project started in September 2023 in Tsepelovo, Zagori and finished in Janaury 2026
Team Members: Giannis Efthymiadis
Konstadina Papagianni
Giwrgos Efthymiadis
Maria Kamenou
Dimitra Gakou
Image Credits: Photographer Dimitris Spyrou