INTERVIEW / FANTALIS

FFANTALIS Architects is an interdisciplinary team creating unique rural tourism infrastructure facilities. The bureau's projects are conceptual hotels and complexes in remote and hard-to-reach areas of Russia, responding to the demands of modern tourists and setting a new standard for comfortable, eco-friendly, and sought-after facilities in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Since 2003, the FANTALIS team has been implementing country hotel projects, and for over 10 years they have been developing the tourist potential of Kamchatka, deeply immersed in the specifics of the region and local tourism. Project solutions, master plans, material selection — the priority throughout is preserving nature and integrating the facility into the surrounding context.

In this article, we spoke with Anna Kulikova, Partner at FANTALIS Architects.

What are the core values of your bureau? What are your fundamental design principles?

For our projects, we choose some of the most incredible corners of Russia. These places amaze with their beauty and are in no way inferior to foreign resorts. And of course, we strive to create projects that will become not just a place to relax, but an extension of this nature, context, and experience. And this is undoubtedly a great responsibility. Eco-friendliness for us is not just a trend, but a conscious choice. We try to adhere to this principle throughout the entire design process, starting with the materials we use in construction. In our projects, we try to treat nature and existing facilities with the utmost care; we renovate outdated sanatoriums and holiday camps—and life returns to them. Often, such facilities are places associated with the childhood memories of local residents. And as experience shows: if the locals are happy, then the tourists will be happy too.

For over 10 years, we have been designing in Kamchatka, which for many people is associated with a completely different planet. And for those who come there, the hotel should become part of the experience of interacting with the environment.

Which projects are particularly significant for you and why?

The most special projects for me are our two facilities in Kamchatka: the Laguna SPA Hoteland the Aurora Extreme Hotel.

Laguna is significant because it is a renovation project for one of the oldest family vacation resorts in Kamchatka. In its time, it was immensely popular among local residents. Before the reconstruction, the facility had a rather low reputation and was in a neglected state, but something else was important to us—Laguna had a history, memories of many generations, and we wanted to preserve that. Over 6 years of work on the project, we managed to create a unique point of attraction in Kamchatka for tourists and locals, practically from the ashes. For me as an architect, and for our bureau, the most valuable thing is to see the path of rebirth of this facility, which is still ongoing. We continue to improve it; every year the project acquires new features that make it better than before—and it lives and develops.

Our second project in Kamchatka—the Aurora Extreme Hotel—is special because the design solutions and inspiration for it were entirely based on the surrounding Kamchatka landscape, which is itself unique and inimitable. In creating Aurora, we drew on the traditions of the local indigenous peoples, the Itelmens and Koryaks, as well as the practice of bridge building in Ancient Rus. And when choosing the location, we made sure the hotel was as far from civilization as possible—so that the visitor can experience the real Kamchatka.

Why did you decide to specifically design tourist facilities?

Initially, I didn't have a goal to specifically design hotels. But I always dreamed of working with large natural territories. I had this understanding since my university days; I knew that working with the city wouldn't be as interesting for me.

And when I joined FANTALIS, I had a clear position that we don't just create hotels, we design natural territories. Because it's impossible otherwise: we work with living nature, and, as a rule, with unique landscapes, so the project is not limited to just the concept and construction of a hotel. The facility is integrated into the surrounding context; communications, logistics, interaction with other facilities must be thought out—it becomes an entire ecosystem. And this approach is very close to me, so to some extent, there was no question about what kind of projects I would create. And hotels are just a part of the larger-scale projects I always dreamed of.

What specifics about hotel design should architects know who want to move into this field? How does hotel design differ from creating any other residential or public projects?

Public building projects differ significantly in function from any residential projects, so the design approach is completely different. The main difference is the end user. If you are designing an apartment for a specific person with their characteristics, needs, and individual lifestyle, then when you create a hotel for the same person, you will understand that they will have completely different needs in a hotel, a behavior and leisure scenario different from their usual life. These nuances must be considered in the design of any public building, including tourist facilities.

Sometimes situations arise where an architect designing a hotel for the first time doesn't see why the layout should be done one way and not another, and why some aspects are so strictly regulated. In a private house, you can allow yourself much more than in what appears to be a similar guest house. Private projects imply a long-term living scenario, while in a hotel, a guest stays for a few days or weeks, and then is replaced by another. For example, furniture in a hotel interior will wear out much faster during operation, so the same chair you might choose for an apartment cannot be placed in a hotel room.

You need to understand that whatever the configuration of a hotel room, in terms of function and scenarios, they are all roughly within the same typology. There is a standard for what should be in a hotel room, where and how switches and sockets should be located, in what quantity and why. For example, a place to put a suitcase or hang outerwear. Accordingly, when designing this space, we must think about how a new visitor will move around the room, plan logical navigation so they can comfortably place their belongings and then get into bed or sit at the work desk. We are currently developing our own in-house hotel design standards, which we will use to train new bureau employees.

What are the features of designing tourist facilities in such unique natural places as Kamchatka?

The first feature of designing in such regions is seasonality. The deadlines for any project are always the same: you either need to complete the project by the start of the high season, or by the New Year. This immediately puts the project team under tighter deadlines.

The second aspect is complex logistics. All materials and interior items are purchased either on the "mainland," as locals call the main territory of Kamchatka, or in Moscow. Whether it's windows, chairs, finishes, or even a simple napkin—everything "floats" to the site within 1.5 to 2 months, which greatly affects the work schedule. Our Aurora Extreme Hotel project is inherently difficult to reach: it is located far from civilization, so the most convenient option for travel and transportation is a helicopter. And in winter, logistics are further complicated by severe weather conditions.

Another difficulty and feature is author's supervision. The construction of a facility located in the forest, far from the city, where within walking distance there is only a dormitory and a canteen for the builders, complicates the long-term presence of architects on site. Project implementation has to be monitored remotely, periodically organizing team site visits together with supervising builders.

And, of course, when creating a project in such a remote location from the city—you cannot forget that it is still a hotel, and guests expect an appropriate level of service. The facility must be completely self-sufficient, so it is necessary to design an autonomous energy and water supply system, as well as consider the accommodation and living arrangements for service and management personnel.

What do you like most?

The most valuable thing for me is to see the end users. Since our facilities are public, we have the opportunity to observe the impressions of the people who stay there. And, of course, reading these reviews, you experience incredible emotions. Right after the Laguna project, in the first years of its operation, I studied literally every review. Sometimes they weren't even related to the architecture itself, oddly enough. But we managed not only to restore past memories of the facility but also to provide the opportunity to create new ones. Local residents now have a place where they can come with friends and family, spend time together, and have new experiences. Someone even wrote to us that their child learned to skate specifically at our skating rink—and, of course, that is very touching. Now there are dozens of such messages during the winter season.

In the design process itself, what I like most is being in the middle of this unique nature and interacting with it. Kamchatka is very different from any other place, even within Russia itself, and it is very inspiring, for the team as well. We are very lucky that part of our work involves participating in the construction process, and all of this surrounded by volcanoes.

How do you want to see hotel projects in the future?

I hope that in the future we will see tourism projects created specifically by professionals. Often in Russia, we see hotels built on the principle of "I want to build a hotel," which suffers the quality of both architecture and service. The culture of conscious consumption is developing strongly now, and it seems to me—this is a serious impetus for designers. The modern user is becoming more educated and knows exactly what they want, so hotel projects must also be meticulously thought out and consider the needs of guests, as well as the surrounding context.

How do you see the future of FANTALIS Architects?

Since Soviet times, we have inherited a huge number of incredible tourist architecture facilities—sanatoriums, tourist camps. Some still amaze with their beauty, although most are in a derelict state. In their time, the creation of these facilities was handled by design institutions; they set the standard and determined the quality of the projects.

I would like our bureau to continue to develop, expanding both the size of the team and the geography of our projects. So that we can create more projects where people can enjoy being, enjoy life, relax and recharge, and restore their health. And when we are no longer here, I want to do everything possible so that our principles and approaches continue to work and improve, thereby setting new standards of quality and aesthetics.

Source: https://locusmagazine.ru/tpost/8jzr4f3ms1-intervyu-fantalis