Zala Springs Project - Design Process Visualization

Zala Springs Resort is Hungary’s first master planned and biggest golf and thermal spa resort community, which is unique both in Hungary and in Central Europe. The $125 million, five star residential and golf complex on a 500 acre (202 hectares) estate alongside the Zala River, will encompass a Robert Trent Jones Jr. 18 hole championship golf course, natural hot spring spas, a wellness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a clubhouse, wine club, breathtaking vineyards, restaurants and bars with large terraces and fireplaces, and many sports and recreational offerings available all year round. The Resort is being built around the thermal springs that have made the area famous since Roman times, and will be in the heart of the ancient wine-making and tourist region of Balaton.

Development of Phase 1. After a series of plan and building program studies, a concept plan for phase 1 was generated in illustrative form to highlight the main entry drive through ornamental vineyards, the golf course, and to the Village Center. The building massing was oriented to have maximum natural daylight into the main gathering areas of the facility and also created outdoor plazas and gathering areas for visitors and guests. This illustrative site plan served as a "working" plan to test and re-test and confirm design ideas on the site.

Town Center Character Sketch. As the design vernacular of the buildings were being formalized and priced for availability in Hungary, a character sketch of the Phase 1 Town Center was generated based on the overall building and site plan. The color and textural swatches were placeholders at this point because we wanted to only see how elevational proportions, stone, and glass were going to work together as a overall composition. This was produced using two-point perspective grids because we did not have time to create an accurate 3-D digital model.

Establishing "Materiality". The Town Center Character sketch was then an underlay to provide notations, ideas, thoughts, and design bench-marks to provide direction to the professional illustrator. Coordination was facile and quick as most of these design discussions were done with a smart phone camera and email.

Final Illustrative Perspective Drawings. After a week of finalizing views and architectural and landscape elements, the architectural illustrator was tasked to bring the project to life. The vibrancy and rustic quality of the renderings told a great story about the development and it's place as one of the top destination resorts in Europe. (Illustrator: T.Prosek)