villa nai 3.3 is a luxury hotel carved into a hill under a hundred-year-old olive orchard

crafted by renowned croatian architect nikola bašić, villa nai 3.3, a luxury 5-star hotel located in the middle of the adriatic sea, on the dalmatian island of dugi otok in croatia, will offer its visitors an oasis of hedonism. besides being included by forbes magazine among the 9 dreamiest upcoming mediterranean hotels, the establishment is also featured in the leading hotels of the world. villa nai 3.3 is the second smallest hotel in this organization, and the only one hosting a production facility.

all images courtesy of nikola bašić
the villa is carved into a hill and its exterior walls replicate the traditional stone walls from the enclosing olive orchard

the specificity of this hotel by nikola bašić is its perfect sync with the surrounding. the villa is carved into a hill with its exterior walls replicating the traditional stone walls from the enclosing olive orchard, making only glass surfaces stand out from the rest of it. to achieve maximum environmental sustainability, the stone was excavated from the very site and used as a building material. as it is sculpted out of the hill, the hotel has a distorted geometric shape and angles.

the stone was excavated from the very site and used as a building material

the villa’s architecture rests conceptually on the local heritage, and its structure matrix is derived from the elements of dry stone walling – a traditional dalmatian method of building stone walls without any mortar to bind them. the property is surrounded by an orchard boasting 1000 trees, the third of which account for 500-year-old olive trees. the guests can reach the orchard over their private patios, forming a bridge between the modern interior and the surrounding nature.

the hotel was named after a globally awarded olive oil nai 3.3

the complex, which is for adults only, features eight differently designed luxury accommodation units, including 5 rooms and 3 suites for 16 persons in total. guests are invited to take part in the olive harvest and processing as one section of the estate hosts a small oil mill and a tasting room. moreover, the establishment incorporates a wellness haven with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, finnish/bio sauna and offers revitalizing spa treatments based on olive products. the hotel also has a bar and a restaurant, grotta 11 000 and 3.3 respectively, serving authentic dishes made in combination with innovative modern culinary techniques.

nai means snow in old dalmatian. according to centennial measurements, the island of dugi otok has on average 3.3 days of snowfall a year, when olives produce a better yield.

the hotel was named after a globally awarded olive oil nai 3.3, whose producers, the morovic couple, are both owners of the villa and of the company in charge of its construction works (morovic marking). the oil’s and the hotel’s visual identity as well as the oil’s packaging was assigned to bruketa&zinic&grey, an internationally awarded design agency. moreover, nai 3.3 is one of the best organic olive oils worldwide as proven by 24 awards with numerous health benefits.

the villa is located on the dalmatian island of dugi otok (long island in english)

project info:

name: villa nai 3.3

architect: nikola bašić

construction: morovic marking 

visual identity: bruketa&zinic&grey 

bottle design: brigada

location: žman, croatia

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom