The Dutch architectural firm ZJA has designed a casino in Belgium overlooking the North Sea that will look like a coastal sand dune with a boulder-shaped hotel on top. It is intended to look like the area’s original landscape.
ZJA’s project to be called Casino Middelkerke is being done by a consortium called Nautilus.
Besides a casino and hotel, the project will include a restaurant and events hall.
A press release from ZJA explained, “Inspiration for the design was found in the story of the town’s origin Middelkerke originated on the island of Testerep and was able to grow into an abundant fishing village through the natural protection of a dune and a direct connection to the North Sea via a natural canal. The dunes and water channels of Middelkerke disappeared as a result of urbanization over the last century.”
The project will offer “spectacular views of the beach and the sea. The volume of the hotel has a strong visual presence and yet a modest footprint, and stands like a boulder amidst this elevated landscape” said ZJA.
