Architects:
Foster + Partners
Location: La Gaulette,
Mauritius
Project Team: Foster + Partners, Jean Michel d’Unienville & Associates Architects
Interior Décor: Foster + Partners, Jean Michel d’Unienville & Associates Architects
Project Year: 2006
Photographer: Foster + Partners
Website: www.fosterandpartners.com
Structural Engineer: Arup Sigma
Quantity Surveyor: Gleeds, Hoolooman Project Services
M+E Engineer: Arup Sigma
Additional Consultants: Hodges Ward Elliot, Pam Golding International, Pam Golding International, PHA, Manly Development Services Ltd, BLC Chambers, Watson, Farley & Williams, Hawtree Gold Ltd, Imagine, C&M Consultants
From the Architects
The masterplan is for a discreet and environmentally intelligent architecture that blends harmoniously with the lush and extensive landscape.
Green fingers of lush vegetation extend down towards the sea, with a series of contemporary buildings inserted amid tropical plantings to create an architecture that at once responds to the contours of the landscape and recedes into the green totality. Forming a sculptural family, dramatic undulating timber-shingle roofs unify the built elements and reinvent island architecture.
Combined, these elements provide an idyllic haven in a luxuriant tropical garden, a pervading sense of tranquillity and luxurious relaxation.
Sustainable design principles are at the heart of the architectural approach, ensuring that the masterplan is not only energy efficient, but also helps regenerate the landscape. Built from natural, sustainable materials, the rich organic palette creates a seamless relationship between the buildings and the landscape.
Volcanic rock collected from the very site will be used, anchoring the resort to its surroundings, and other natural materials such as timber shingles, vegetation and water are dominant features in the masterplan. The striking wave-like, curving roofs are designed for optimum natural ventilation, and to collect rainwater for treatment and reuse.
Solar power will be harnessed and electric vehicles will be available for transport around the site. Offering privacy and exclusivity, the scheme creates a new model of luxury resort living.
If you want your own avatar and keep track of your discussions with the community, sign up to archiDATUM >>
The experience that RBTA has gained in the construction of housing developments was called on by the Algerian government, through the age...
Hassan Fathy would be proud standing on one side of the red sea and glaring into the yonder, eyes fixed on the red adobe architecture rep...
I was looking out from the fifth storey of a university building in the heart of Rome. A large window framed my view southwards to a mast...
Christian Benimana wants to build a network of architects who can help Africa's booming cities flourish in sustainable, equitable ways --...
This project fundamentally features contemporary architectural style as witnessed by the building’s design to respond appropriately to th...
Government buildings, in any developing country should set the pace for innovation, technology, sustainability and high-tech solutions fo...