Costa Navarino in Greece is celebrating a new international golf award after the clubhouse on its Bay Course was voted ‘Clubhouse of the Year 2020’ by Golf Inc magazine.
The striking earth-sheltered building, which has received global attention after being unveiled last summer, took first place in the ‘public clubhouse’ category of the magazine’s annual awards.
The uniquely-designed clubhouse covers an area of 2,000m2 and blends seamlessly into the natural landscape. Only clearly visible when playing the closing hole, its indoor and outdoor spaces afford stunning views across the Robert Trent Jones Jnr-designed course to the Bay of Navarino.
Nuno Sepulveda, director of golf and sports business development at Costa Navarino, said: “We are delighted to have received this award from Golf Inc. magazine. The feedback that we have received from guests has been overwhelming since we opened the clubhouse, the architects have done an incredible job and the view from the upper floor and terrace is truly memorable.”
Designed by Athens-based AETER Architects – with interiors by London’s MKV Design – the Bay Course clubhouse is aligned with Costa Navarino’s sustainable principles to preserve and enhance the local environment. The clubhouse is ideally located in a varied landscape with features that combine a pristine coastline with tree-lined hills, olive groves and sweeping sea views.
Based on the doctrine of bioclimatic architecture it features planted roofs which include a total of 27,500 plants and trees – both around the clubhouse and on its roof – as well as materials and systems that maximise the building’s energy efficiency.
Charry Bougadellis, architect at AETER Architects, said: “It’s a great honour to receive this award, and we’re very pleased with the construction and overall execution of this project. Our favourite part is how the majestic view is spectacularly revealed to the visitors once they enter the interior of the clubhouse. The visitor arrives to the almost ceremonial entry plaza and the building’s entrance front functions as a theatrical curtain that conceals the protagonist, which is the landscape itself. Then they enter, and the stunning view unfolds.”