Pine To Sea

Urban Renew for Yanci Chen

Pine to Sea is an eco-hotel and landscape masterplan designed to restore the Lignano Pinewood while offering a sustainable tourism experience. Elevated cabins, floating walkways, and wetland regeneration create a minimal impact retreat that blends architecture with nature. Using modular prefabrication, passive design, and adaptive reuse, the project preserves biodiversity while redefining eco-hospitality, ensuring long-term environmental resilience and community engagement.

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Pine to Sea by Yanci Chen

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Urban Renew by Yanci Chen

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Yanci Chen Pine to Sea

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Unique Properties

Pine to Sea is an eco-hotel and landscape masterplan that seamlessly integrates hospitality with environmental restoration in Lignano Pinewood. The design preserves and enhances the natural ecosystem through elevated architecture, reforested wetlands, and adaptive reuse of existing infrastructure. Elevated walkways and floating cabins minimize site disturbance while maximizing guest immersion in nature. By blending sustainability, biodiversity, and experiential design, it redefines eco-tourism.

Tags

eco-hotel, sustainable tourism, modular architecture, elevated cabins, coastal reforestation, wetland restoration, passive design, biodiversity conservation, low-impact development, adaptive reuse

Production Technology

Pine to Sea employs lightweight timber construction, elevated steel foundations, and modular prefabrication to minimize site impact and protect the fragile pine ecosystem. The project integrates bio-based insulation, permeable surfaces, and passive cooling strategies for sustainability. Digital terrain analysis and parametric modeling optimized building placement, ensuring minimal disruption while enhancing biodiversity through reforestation, wetland restoration, and water-sensitive design.

Design Challenge

The biggest challenge in Pine to Sea was balancing eco-tourism development with environmental preservation. The fragile pine forest and wetlands required low-impact design strategies, overcoming challenges in elevated construction, water management, and habitat protection. Zoning restrictions and ecological guidelines shaped design decisions, while limited data on reforestation impacts necessitated interdisciplinary research. The project redefines hospitality by merging conservation with immersive tourism.

Project Duration

2024 Lignano, Italy

Operation Flow

Pine to Sea offers an immersive eco-tourism experience by seamlessly integrating architecture with nature. Elevated cabins provide a minimal-impact retreat, allowing guests to stay within the pine forest while protecting the landscape. Visitors explore the site through floating walkways, reforested trails, and wetland observation decks, fostering a deep connection with the environment. The design enhances biodiversity while ensuring comfort, sustainability, and ecological awareness.

Research

Pine to Sea is based on environmental and architectural research exploring sustainable eco-tourism in fragile coastal landscapes. The objective was to design low-impact hospitality solutions that restore biodiversity. Using GIS mapping, ecological surveys, and case studies, data was collected on forest regeneration, water flow, and visitor behavior. Results confirmed the viability of elevated structures and reforestation, influencing sustainable tourism policies and nature-based design.

Inspiration

Pine to Sea is inspired by the fragile balance between tourism and ecological preservation in Lignano Pinewood. The project seeks to restore degraded landscapes while offering an immersive eco-tourism experience. Drawing from research on coastal reforestation, habitat regeneration, and low-impact architecture, the design integrates elevated structures, natural water filtration systems, and adaptive reuse strategies to harmonize human presence with the evolving coastal ecosystem.

Image Credits

Yanci Chen,Jing Chen,Zhuoran Liu,Xian Chi,Jingzi Cui,Jiming Bai

Project Overview

Pine To Sea Urban Renew has been a Bronze winner in the Urban Planning and Urban Design award category in the year 2024 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

Bronze Recognition

Yanci Chen was recognized with the coveted Bronze A' Design Award in 2025, a testament to excellence of their work Pine To Sea Urban Renew.

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