Nadir Función principal: Resort by Paolo Demel

Nadir Función principal: Resort by Paolo Demel is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award de Bronce in Deseño de Arquitectura, Edificación e Estruturas Competition Category.

BronceArquitectura· 2026

Nadir Función principal: Resort

by Paolo Demel

Client: Paolo Demel

A' Design Award de Bronce Winner in Arquitectura Category

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Verified Award Winner
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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Nadir Función principal: Resort

Texto do libro: Nadir é un resort situado no deserto de Atacama, deseñado como unha arquitectura que semella extraída da propia paisaxe. Volumes rectilíneos e baixos axústanse á rocha, formando loxias profundas, patios protexidos do vento e limiares sombreados. A auga emprégase como espello refrixerante, con estanques exteriores que reflicten o ceo do canón e pozas afundidas que ocupan cámaras escavadas. Os interiores confórmanse mediante superficies de pedra estratificada e aberturas tipo óculo que admiten unha luz diúrna controlada, reducindo o resplandor e a calor. Unha paleta contida de cantería de cor area, iluminación e mobiliario mínimo salienta o refuxio e as vistas amplas.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronce

Nadir Función principal: Resort gañou o A' Design Award de Bronce, un recoñecemento altamente prestixioso outorgado a deseños sobresaíntes que se distinguen pola creatividade, o enxeño e a sagacidade. Os gañadores Bronce son artefactos amplamente hábiles e sorprendentemente creativos que autentican a vasta experiencia, imaxinación e enxeño dos seus deseñadores. Espérase que Nadir Función principal: Resort sexa un obxecto moi apreciado, admirado e querido, notablemente profesional e innovador. Este deseño gañador do A' Design Award de Bronce incorpora as mellores prácticas da arte, a ciencia, o deseño e a tecnoloxía, e é excelente pola súa atención ao detalle. Nadir Función principal: Resort satisfai espléndidamente as necesidades, toca os desexos, encanta os sentimentos e atrae a curiosidade.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: A monolithic resort in Chile’s Atacama Desert, carved from stratified stone where architecture is defined by void rather than object. Thick, high thermal mass walls, shaded courtyards, and top lit oculi provide passive cooling and controlled daylight. Water elements temper the microclimate and enhance reflections, while a restrained stone and wood palette delivers timeless, durable luxury integrated with the canyon.
Dimensions & Packaging: The resort covers approximately 5,000 square meters and features an outdoor pool, 3 indoor pools, as well as a full wellness area with a Turkish bath, sauna, and relaxation area. The pools range in depth from 1 meter to 3 meters.
Tags: Atacama Desert, desert resort, carved architecture, Nadir oasis, Nadir resort, design oasis, Nadir concept
Production Technology: Developed through iterative massing and void carving studies plan and section first, then 3D parametric modeling to control oculi, courtyard proportions and shadow lines. Material assembly logic is based on locally sourced stone or stone veneer on RC frame with high thermal mass, ventilated cavities, concealed linear LEDs, and waterproofed pool shells designed for low maintenance desert operation.
Design Challenge: The hardest part was balancing excavation with comfort and safety in an extreme desert: creating shaded, quiet interior oases without losing daylight, views, or a clear guest journey. Limited water, harsh sun, thermal swings and fragile geology pushed us to use the rock mass as a climate buffer, minimize exposed facades, and choreograph light wells and courtyards.
Research: design research and site study. Objectives: create a low glare, sheltered resort embedded in rock, with water as an oasis cue. Methodology: climate solar mapping, spatial sequencing, and iterative massing tests. Data Tools: sun path, wind data, 3D models
Inspiration: Inspired by the Atacama’s stratified geology and pre Columbian desert settlements, the project treats architecture as a carved refuge space shaped by subtraction, shade, and silence. Research into thermal mass, controlled zenithal daylight, and evaporative microclimates informed courtyards, oculi, and water basins to create comfort with minimal mechanical demand.
Project Duration: Nadir Resort is a hospitality concept developed from august 2025 to February 2026 for a site in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The proposal integrates architecture with existing rock formations by partial excavation, forming protected courtyards and interior pool spaces. The project was prepared as a design competition submission and visualised through iterative spatial and material studies.
Operation Flow: Guests arrive from the open desert and slip into a cooler, carved threshold. A gentle descent leads through shaded passages where sound, texture and warm light guide the way. Skylights and cuts in the rock reveal a sequence of indoor outdoor oases: pools, lounges and quiet rooms. Movement shifts naturally from social spaces to private retreat, while the surrounding stone keeps the atmosphere calm and temperate.
Image Credits: Image #1 : Paolo Demel (designer), Image #2 : Paolo Demel (designer), Image #3 : Paolo Demel (designer), Image #4 : Paolo Demel (designer), Image #5 : Paolo Demel (designer)