Boat International US Edition – June 2019

(Frankie) #1
PHOTOGRAPHY: RALPH TOOTEN

BOAT LIFE

erchedonthesouthern
rimofthe Maldives’
BaaAtoll,aUNESCO-
protectedbio-reserve,
theWestinMaldivesMiriandhoo
Resort seems to have grown
organicallyfromthesilkysanded
coralislandonwhichitsits.The
architecturemirrorsthevividreefs
thatbloominitsgin-clearwaters
and the cetaceans that glide
throughthedeeperreaches.
Thissynchronicityistheworkof
ItalianarchitectGiampieroPeia,

P


aformerpartnerofPieroLissoni
whose Milan-basedfirm,Peia
Associati(startedwithhiswife,
architectMartaNasazzi),hasa
sterling recordin sustainable
development.Whenhearrivedina
monsoontoscoutoutthepristine
setting,theboatcaptainrefusedto
dock.“SoIdivedintothewaterand
despitethesharks,reefsandwaves,
Iarrivedontheisland,”herecalls.
Thelocationwasfertileground
forhisimagination.“Thefirstthing
that I saw on the beach was a clam.”
This inspired the design of the
arrival jetty, and during the five
hours he wandered alone, other
natural shapes hatched in his mind,
among them the kid’s club (a white
whale) and the arrivals lounge
(a whale shark).
The resort sprawls unobtrusively
over the island, its three restaurants,
sunset bar, pool, spa, gym, 70 suites
and villas melting into the lush
green backdrop or set low and
wave-like against the seascape.

Key to the project was Japanese
developer Belluna, which
understood that natural bounty is
the greatest luxury this resort can
offer. The Overwater Villas feature
glass floor sections for observing
fish, and decks with private pools
for watching the passing traffic of
rays and dolphins.
To avoid damaging the reefs that
feed these spectacles, the concrete
pilings for the villas were
positioned with the help of a local
environmental consultant, and they
worked fast. “If works in the water
last too long, the fish won’t come
back,” Peia says. Vegetation was
protected too – instead of ripping it
out and replanting around the new
resort, the design left as much
intact as possible.

Natural attraction


CarolineWhitevisitsaMaldivesresortthat’s
designedtoblendandcoexistwithnature

Browse more
eco-friendly
resorts
boatint.com/
sustainable-hotels

Maldivian coral
reefs account
for five percent
of the world’s
total reef area

The resort dispenses
with the thatched roof
design commonplace
at other resorts

All villas and suites
have private decks,
and the Overwater
Villas have glass-
floor sections

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