ricardo bofill drapes terraced green resort across coastal forest in albania

a light-touch resort by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

Set along the mountainous coastline of Dhërmi, Albania, The Veil by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura proposes a resort that recedes into its setting. Conceived under the direction of Pablo Bofill with design principals Hernán Cortés and Alborz Mohammadi, the project navigates a sensitive ecological context where dense deciduous forests meet steep coastal terrain. Here, architecture operates with restraint, preserving the character of the site while minimizing disturbance.

Distributed across two plots, the development comprises 366 apartments and 77 villas organized into sixteen typologies. Rather than reshaping the land through excavation, this dense yet permeable fabric of green-toned volumes that rise among existing trees and open toward the Adriatic Sea follows existing contours, settling onto platforms that step with the natural slope. This strategy allows the built fabric to read as a continuous, lightweight layer across the terrain, a ‘veil’ that touches the ground lightly and adapts to its irregularities.

all images courtesy of Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

the veil shapes living within the contours of the albanian forest

A network of paths and stairs emerges from a base of locally sourced stone, calibrated to match the tones of the surrounding landscape. Four color variations, derived from on-site samples, establish continuity between architecture and terrain. The Barcelona-based architecture studio preserves existing trees wherever possible and leaves vegetation largely undisturbed, reinforcing the low-impact approach of the project.

Within this horizontal framework, buildings rise vertically among the trees to capture views of the Adriatic Sea. Generous windows, terraces, balconies, and private pools extend living spaces outward, giving the resort a porous and open character. The volumes vary in size and configuration, yet remain visually cohesive through a shared palette of concrete and glazed ceramic tiles that reflect light and shadow.

At the heart of the development, currently under construction, a principal communal building hosts a social club, restaurant, gym, and a series of pools. Its central courtyard diverges from the otherwise rectilinear logic of the project, curving gently around a cluster of ancient trees.

terraced volumes step along the steep coastline