LOW FOOTPRINT HIGH IMPACT RESORT Attabad lake, Pakistan

Abstract

High influx tourist destinations are turning into concrete islands disrupting the natural ecology. Many tourist spots in Pakistan are avoided by people now due to overcrowding of built structures ruining the beauty of the site itself. The aim should be to make sure no more natural ecology is damaged or ruined in the process of developing ecotourism sites for economic gain. UN Sustainable Development Goal 9 states to build resilient infrastructure and foster innovation and Goal 11 states to make human settlements safe and sustainable. But the construction at Attabad lake, being unregulated, is disrupting the environment. As the lake was formed by landslides, the area around it is made up of lose debris and therefore unusable. So, construction of massive resorts formed by dumping sand into the lake and putting stacks of concrete on it damages the site. A low footprint, sustainable reinvention of traditional resort architecture can provide a basis for future developments to avoid turning more ecotourism sites into concrete islands while preserving the site itself as well. This thesis approaches the site as a topographical challenge and aims to reinvent traditional resorts into low footprint, high impact architecture, aiming to explore form finding to make the resort part of the attraction to the site instead of a hindrance. It will try to touch the ground lightly and be as minimally invasive as possible, because nothing, however elegant, can ever justify its footprint in such a fragile, pristine setting.