Coliving Semkovo

Coliving Semkovo is a large-scale project to turn the abandoned communist-era Rila hotel (16,700 sq.m.) into a place for an international community of digital nomads, living in over 200 studios and apartments.

Preserve the character, don’t erase it

Inside, the building combines the brutalism characteristic of the communist era with interior elements from the 1950s. To disregard them and remove materials that are dated but very sound (such as marble, natural wood and solid-wood furniture) would be entirely unsustainable, so we carefully keep them and build on them with contemporary touches.

A lobby of marble, mosaic and brass

The marble floor is polished and covered with a custom hotel carpet that adds acoustics and warmth to the large lobby and complements the large-scale wall detail of hand-laid mosaic. We add more fullness with large brass light fittings of our own design.

Residential sections and a selfie corner

We united the three residential sections, which follow a single line of design: easy-to-maintain polyurethane floors and film-wrapped walls. We also thought of a selfie corner in every corridor, with the complex’s logo; the triangular gradient recalls the stylised shape of an evergreen fir.

The studios and apartments: contemporary, clean and clever

From the shared corridors we move without a transition into an easy-to-maintain polyurethane floor in the kitchen, which also helps visually divide the zones within the studio. The walls are protected and easy to clean and rebrand with film, with a drawing of mountain peaks and a ski lift, themed to the place. The light tones of the walls and cabinetry expand the space, while the accent colours are in fact the colours of Coliving Semkovo’s corporate identity. The laminate, laid diagonally across the floor and walls, expands the space and echoes the detail from the common areas.