Velika Plaza, Montenegro

Client: Montenegrin Government

Role: Environmental Services and Masterplanning

Creating a sustainable tourist destination which protects and regenerates the site’s ecological and cultural assets while acting as a catalyst for the economic regeneration of the country as a whole.

PRP’s comprehensive site wide sustainability strategy for this 13km stretch of Montenegrin coastline addresses key energy and transport infrastructure issues in creating a new tourist destination.

A Sustainable Tourism Strategy has been designed alongside the newly designed urban form to create year round activity necessary for the economic development of the country and support for the local resident community. Considering agri-business, sustainable fisheries and protected wildlife habitats, our strategies aimed to preserve the essence of the existing heritage and enhance the fabric of the social infrastructure, its culture and highly prized ecological assets.

Eco-tourism lies at the heart of this new destination – we have designed an eco-village placed around the highly scenic Bojana Nature Reserve, with nature trails and a visitor centre where people can learn about the natural environment without disturbing its inherent unique qualities.

The hotels are all specified to the highest environmental standards with the luxury hotel and apartments at the nature reserve aiming to achieve zero carbon status. Climate change mitigation plans were also considered to take account of the flat topography, the potential rise in sea levels and the future risk of flooding.

Walking, cycling and horse trekking are all being proposed within the sustainable transport strategy to protect the existing biodiversity.