2007
Second Prize Winner International Design Competition – Cotton Bay Estates, Eleuthera, Bahamas

The villa project on the Cotton Bay beach (a luxurious private territory on the Bahamas’ Eleuthera Island) won the first prize in an architectural contest it had been specially created for.

The fact that the island is patronized by members of royal families and international movie stars added a special flavour to the contest, challenging architects to satisfy the most exquisite taste.

We came up with a solution that met all contest requirements: the villa design would combine elements of the Bahamas’ traditional colonial style, while the building meets toughest ecological requirements. The project makes plenty of room for actively using sustainable natural resources (solar energy and wind power).

The building is neatly fitted into the hilly landscape that descends to the sea.

The slight difference in altitude levels on the site made it possible to turn the building so it would face the coastline: the main entrance is a little lower than the courtyard level. Mimicking the landscape, the pronounced terraces of the facility step down to the sea.

The bulk of the one-storied volume with a stylized tower and a corridor in the middle is parallel to the coastline, while the two wings are perpendicular to the beach.

Sharing a common roof, the villa’s three volumes do not have common walls – they are separated by two through corridors that follow the perimeter of the buildings to make deep open-air terraces. That provides an effective solution for the natural ventilation of the building: in the daytime the sea breeze blows from the sea to the shore and in the opposite direction at night, perfectly cooling the premises, as it uses the corridors for open-circuit wind tunnels.  The façade’s stained-glass windows and doors smoothly link the villa’s interior premises to the open space of the terraces, which contributes to constant air circulation and creates a natural microclimate.  Thanks to the abundance of protruding projections and verandas the shape of the villa expands the total area of open-air terraces and ensures easy communication between the functional areas.

The bulk of the courtyard is occupied by the pool, which matches the lines of the façade. The difference in altitude levels prompted a cascade system of fancy pools. The project provides for the use of solar batteries for the villa’s extras electric power supply, and suggests using ecologically friendly construction materials: limestone and locally available wood.