davit and mary jilavyan envision tiny 'dolmen shelters' as hotels built into the stone

davit and mary jilavyan envision their ‘dolmen shelter’ as a tiny cluster of boutique hotels built into the rock. beginning with three small stone-shaped dwellings, the development is designed to grow and accumulate. the design team initially intended each dwelling to be constructed of blocks, a strategy which was abandoned in favor of the more organic stone volumes. the team, designers of the vibrant sonora houses, comments: ‘everything created by the nature is perfect. people can never achieve that perfection but we can see and learn from the nature, the greatest creator, so the shape is made of reinforced concrete and faced with plaster imitating natural stone.’

images by davit and mary jilavyan

davit and mary jilavyan propose their dolmen shelter as a rejection of the typical contemporary housing. the duo elaborates: ‘we are tired of modern house projects which look like aquarium, with four sides of glass, so there are just a couple windows, we didn’t want much light to come into the house. also there are not very much furniture but enough for comfortable living, a rectangular volume with an entrance space is built into each house‘

with their dolomen shelter, davit and mary jolivyan seek to introduce a cavernous, earthen atmosphere. the team continues: ‘caves are the places where our ancestors all lived, isn’t it interesting to feel that but have all you need to live comfortable? we believe that in such place people could really abstract from the current nervous lifestyles and concentrate on themselves and their inner voices. to give themselves the rest they deserve.’

project info:

project title: dolmen shelter

architecture: davit and mary jilavyan