Hotel Sotelia’s Green Roofed Tiers Fold Seamlessly into the Landscape

Oftentimes, choosing contemporary lodgings means having to stay in a cold, featureless high-rise building that's about as connected to nature as a block of cement - not so with the Hotel Sotelia in Podcetrtek, Slovenia. The jagged, artistic structures that make up the complex mimic the surrounding hills and are blanketed with grassy <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/green-roof/">green roofs</a>. Designed by <a href="http://www.enota.si/">Enota</a>, the low-lying group of buildings blends seamlessly into the landscape and allow guests to enjoy the forest surrounding them without giving up any of the amenities that you would expect at a modern hotel.

Sotelia lies between two existing hotels, making use of the once unoccupied space.

While its sister hotels are pretty standard airport-area Holiday Inn style buildings, &lt;a href=&quot;<a href="http://www.enota.si/">Enota</a> chose to take Sotelia in a totally new direction by letting the surrounding nature, instead of the man made structures, influence its form.

As such, one of the primary concerns was to shun a massive block-like building (as is typical of many hotels).

The end result was a volume that is broken up into smaller units arranged in landscape-hugging tiers.

Thus, the four storey, 150-room <a href="http://inhabitat.com/de-vrouwe-van-stavoren-wine-cask-hotel/">hotel</a> has the appearance of a much lower, more intimate structure.

From afar, the hotel's form resembles a red mountain range with jagged peaks and ridges.

Upon closer inspection, the facade's vertical wooden slats are visible, giving it a modern appeal.

In addition to the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/green-roof/">green roofs</a>, there are planted balconies and wooden terraces for guests to take in the idyllic scenery.

A view of the hotel at night.

The site of the hotel.