Tag Archives: ecotourism

Off-grid treehouse style villas make up this eco-resort that takes inspiration from Mobula Rays

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Playa Viva is an ecoresort in Juluchuca, Mexico made up of off-grid treehouse-style villas with roofs shaped like the wings of Mobula Rays.

The beauty of biophilic architecture is that nature provides the blueprint. In environments with dense foliage and rough terrain, integrating the natural landscape into the lay of the building helps define the floor plan’s parameters and the building’s structural shape. Immersing guests in nature, biophilic architecture artfully dissolves the barrier between the outdoors and interior spaces. Atelier Nomadic, a Rotterdam-based architecture firm that specializes in biophilic architecture, designed Playa Viva, an eco-resort village of treehouse-style villas that plants guests right on the surf of the Pacific Ocean in Juluchuca, Mexico.

Designer: Atelier Nomadic

Unlike their usual approach, Atelier Nomadic had to meet with the client behind Playa Viva online as a result of the pandemic restricting travel. From these virtual workshops, the architects with Atelier Nomadic envisioned Playa Viva’s structural shape to replicate the flexed wings of a Mobula Ray. A familiar sight to the shores of Mexico, Mobula Rays seem to encapsulate Atelier Nomadic’s mission for integrating nature into their designs, as well as the spirit of Playa Viva. Functioning like a gigantic umbrella, the hyperbolic and paraboloid-shaped roof offers total coverage from the blazing sun and heavy rain. On the opposite end, each treehouse villa is propped up on a collection of wooden stilts that support the larger bamboo dwelling.

Chosen for its speedy regenerative process, Guadua bamboo comprises the build of each villa’s main living volume, roof structure, facade louvers, and ceiling. In the main living volume, guests can find the main bedroom and untouched views of the ocean, while enjoying natural cross-ventilation from the bamboo louvers. Besides Guadua, fishpole bamboo was used to give rise to Playa Viva’s annex building’s walls and facade panels. In each structure, Cumaru timber was chosen for the flooring. In the annex structures, Atelier Nomadic placed the bathroom and additional sleeping accommodation, or a lounge area.

As part of Playa Viva’s eco-resort appeal and mission, each villa is entirely self-sustained, garnering energy from the sun to power each facility and amenity. In close collaboration with the local community, Playa Viva supports health and education services for locals and works on a year-round basis to restore the surrounding land. Offering access to the rugged, unspoiled beauty of Mexico’s land, Playa Viva also works hard to protect it through the La Tortuga Viva Turtle Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization rooted in sea turtle conservation.

The post Off-grid treehouse style villas make up this eco-resort that takes inspiration from Mobula Rays first appeared on Yanko Design.

Semi-trailers transform into luxury caravans in Poland’s first mobile hotel chain concept!

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Good Spot is Poland’s first mobile hotel chain built from renovated isothermal refrigerated semi-trailers found abandoned throughout Poland.

While some of us are ready to commit to the mobile lifestyle, the rest of us want a trial period. Mobile hotels are cropping up in response. Ranging from floating hotels to camp trailers, mobile hotels are even inspiring many to continue with their own mobile lifestyle following checkout.

Inspired by the mobile lifestyle and the movement of wind, Wrocław-based architecture and interior design firm Znamy sie constructed Good Spot, Poland’s first mobile hotel chain concept that transforms disused isothermal refrigerated semi-trailers into two-bedroom mobile campers.

Following a kitesurfing trip in Poland’s coastal town of Hel, the designers at Znamy sie set out to conceptualize a mobile hotel chain designed for guests to travel wherever the wind brings them. Honing in on the hotel’s mobility concept, Znamy sie first coated each dilapidated isothermal refrigerated semi-trailer with a stainless steel exterior similar to the Airstream caravan. Inside each trailer, the designers outfitted the perimeter with all of the amenities and functional elements found in hotels.

Reserving the perimeter of each trailer for the amenities provided more interior walking room, carving out a spacious walking path from one end of the trailer to the other. Custom-built wooden furnishings wrap around the perimeter of Good Spot trailers that include plenty of storage space and seating. Accommodating up to four adults, both ends of Good Spot trailers host two separate sleeping areas where large windows help draw in natural light, brightening the interior’s crisp, white walls even further.

Through Good Spot, Znamy sie remains committed to ecological tourism by bringing new purpose to discarded semi-trailers and providing the off-grid means to explore all of Poland’s natural beauty. Speaking to this, Znamy sie says, “Our project, prepared in cooperation with Good spot, involves upcycling, i.e. increasing the value of the material and changing the purpose of cold storage to hotel rooms. By renovating the trailer, we give it a second life!”

Designer: Znamy sie

 

These conic ecotourism cabins designed with bamboo framing offer panoramic views of Mexico’s natural beauty!

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Stationed atop turquoise rivers and surging waterfalls, Cocoon Villas comprise an ecotourism village in Mexico’s Huasteca potosina region.

Located in Mexico’s San Luis Potosí, Huasteca potosina is a geographical and cultural region known for its myriad waterfalls, turquoise river streams, huge canyons, and lush jungle ecosystems. While it’s one of Mexico’s best-kept secrets, people from across the world visit the region for its extreme sports attractions, cenotes, and hiking trails. Adding to the region’s slim catalog of eco-friendly architecture and tourist accommodations, GAS Architectures unveiled visuals for a cluster of conic, ecotourism villas called Cocoon Villas located in the verdant woodlands of Huasteca potosina.

Located next to the river, the Cocoon Villas as currently envisioned offer panoramic views of the surrounding environment through a glass facade that’s crisscrossed with diamond bamboo joists. The diamond bamboo framing supports and protects each villa’s structure with natural waterproof and insect repellent properties, similar to Kevlar. Each villa comprises two floors, the ground level is reserved for social gatherings whereas the top floors are kept for sleeping and panoramic vista points.

In addition to its protective measures, the bamboo joists play with the natural sunlight to form unique shadows throughout the home during the day.

Then at night, the diamond bamboo support framing offers only a touch of privacy, not that you’d need it in the Huasteca potosina jungle.

Ecotourism is an essential subset of tourism, especially in regions like Huasteca potosina–a bountiful, natural oasis in Mexico not well known outside of the country. Ecotourism helps to preserve and sustain natural wonders like Husteca potosina. The cluster of Cocoon Villas from GAS Architectures was designed to immerse visitors in the beauty and adventure of Husteca potosina without disrupting its wilderness.

Designer: GAS Architectures

Neutral beige tones fill out the interior of Cocoon Villas to form a bright, open space during the day.

Outfitted with crescent-shaped pools and a lounge area, each Cocoon Villa would come with its own outdoor deck space.

The cluster of Cocoon Villas forms a tight-knit community. 

The decks are oriented in ways so privacy is always accessible.

This sustainable RV features solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, cork flooring & a green roof!

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ERA Architects is an innovative studio in Barcelona championing sustainable tourism with its Pinea Mobile Ecological RV! The RV uses natural and sustainable materials in its construction along with other eco-friendly features like solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems. Currently, Pinea is a prototype currently located in Mas els Igols retreat in the Penedés winery region of Spain – I, for one, would never move it from there but you can. Eco-tourism is already looking great!

The prototype uses built-in systems for solar energy and rainwater harvesting but what makes it special is its unique green roof. It includes a single solar panel that produces up to 50W retained in a battery to use for charging smartphones and lighting inside the RV. ERA Architect’s design team also mentioned the battery system manufacturer in France gives a percentage of sales to a nonprofit in Africa. The architects sourced different elements for the prototype from different local regions like the green roof is from, the textile manufacturer is from Barcelona, and the metal works have come from Lleida. Pinea also features a specialized system of trays that harvest rainwater for the green roof which is thriving Catalonian vegetation and substrate. This system can hold up to 100 liters of water at a time!

Pinea’s exterior fabric can be unzipped to let in the fresh air and sunlight or rolled up for privacy. The fabric is made in Catalonia using a water-saving dying process and is breathable water-repellent material. Now for the most concerning part about camping – mosquitos – the Pinea RV comes with a built-in mosquito net to keep you safe at all times. The RV comes with a large bed, a table, chairs, and some storage furniture crafted from certified wood (same as the one used to make the walls) and sustainable cork material. Another unique thing about this RV is its cork flooring! The designers also chose to use cork stoppers instead of isolation gravel on the green roof. The team’s aim was to design a self-sufficient eco-suite on wheels and they absolutely came through with the Pinea Mobile Ecological RV!

Designer: ERA Architects

This mobile cabin comes with it’s own cargo drone delivery service that saves the local environment from destruction!

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Nowadays, I can’t even keep track of how often I think about traveling. Following the onset of stay-at-home orders, the travel bug seems to have surged in numbers and we’re all daydreaming about getting away from it all. If only we could tie up hundreds of balloons to our roofs so could finally stop talking about travel and just do it. Well, now you can – sort of. Studio SFSO, a San Francisco-based industrial design duo, noticed the increased urge to travel as well as social media’s role in promoting tourism and conceptualized a new travel experience that transports mobile cabins to uncharted territories with help from delivery cargo drones.

Known for their often bulbous and quirky home designs, Studio SFSO now turns to travel for inspiration. Studio SFSO’s mobile cabin delivery service aims to help mitigate the unfortunate byproducts of overtourism like land degradation and wasteful construction activities. In addition to these preexisting problems, the COVID-19 pandemic has moved many people to either ditch previous travel plans or embrace unsafe modes of travel. In order to offer their own solution to these problems, Studio SFSO’s mobile cabin delivery service incorporates the use of drone technology to first transport prefabricated holiday cabins to unique, faraway places and then, once that travel itch has been scratched, send the mobile cabins back to the user’s home in their respective city. This mode of travel from Studio SFSO promotes nonintrusive tourism that protects the environment and won’t disrupt the local community’s way of life.

To get the whole holiday started, users will decide on a single location from a map made available by the delivery service’s accompanying app and reserve that location as the chosen delivery address for the drone to deliver the prefabricated cabin. After the location is selected, just like how city e-bikes can be returned to any available charging station, the guest’s cabin is picked up from the chosen destination’s closest ‘droneport’ and delivered to the onsite location. All the drone takes care of is the delivery service, so guests will have to unfold and assemble their cabins before enjoying their stay. Once the holidays come to an end, travelers simply fold up their prefabricated cabins and a drone takes care of the rest, bringing it right back to a nearby droneport.

Constructed from a combination of both plastic and wood, the cabins are cuboid boxes that measure 2.2 meters in length, 1.5 meters in width, and 2.2 meters in height. To help reduce overall waste, each cabin collects leftover food and garbage in tanks that leave no trace of tourism behind. Further reducing the problem of waste brought on by tourism, Studio SFSO’s mobile cabin delivery service also delivers pre-cooked meals to guests in a similar fashion to airline dining services. Once the cabin reaches the chosen destination, additional furniture, blankets, and portable toilets are subsequently delivered. To provide heating, electricity, and water, each cabin is also outfitted with the necessary equipment to provide comfortable stays for safe modern travel.

Designer: Studio SFSO

Glamping gets a sustainable upgrade with what designers call ‘architectural ecotourism’!

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The O’Reilly’s campground is nestled in Queensland’s lush Lamington National Park and is an example of how glamping can be eco-friendly if we make the right design choices! The project shines a light on architecture-inspired ecotourism with a fully functioning campsite equipped with all amenities. O’Reilly is different because it was created keeping sustainable building practices at its core so as to not disturb the pristine landscape but at the same time let guests be immersed in it.

The campground includes buildings featuring a kitchen, common gathering spaces, a fire pit and more. All the facilities were carefully constructed by consciously choosing to make it environmentally friendly – lightweight structures used sustainably sourced timber, an on site sewer treatment to avoid adding waste to natural water bodies, collecting rain water, having passive solar access, cross ventilation to reduce power consumption, growing and preserving vegetation and more.

Guests will be able to enjoy an authentic camping experience without the hassle of bringing their own equipment (such as safari tents, linen, firewood and food) or pretending to be on an episode of the Survivor. The campground has universal design so it is accessible and inclusive of all groups of people who want to spend time in nature. Guests can choose to stay in glamping safari tents or bring their RVs as the site provides a place for both powered and unpowered vehicles.

O’Reilly’s architectural design was the bridge to help facilitate a deeper connection to the environment and that commitment is seen in every element of the campground – skeletal structure resembles a tree canopy so it can provide shelter while protecting the views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the interior elements are filled with linear structural design details to represent the linear patterns of the surrounding rainforests! The glamping site is an embodiment of a beautiful, respectful and playful relationship between humans and nature.

Designer: Aspect Architecture

This retro nautical-inspired teardrop caravan adds a dash of luxury to your camping experience!

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In the age of COVID-19, it seems that the only type of trip we can responsibly get away with is camping. Since it’s such a specific way of traveling and new to many of us in 2020, it’s helpful when our budget permits the use of luxury camping vehicles like teardrop caravans. Newer caravan designs such as La Carapate from the French manufacturer, Carapate, were conceptualized a few years before the quarantine of 2020, but with camping’s popularity only surging, they already stand the test of time.

While the caravan was not designed to resemble a teardrop, but rather a trapezoid, the makers behind it still call the final design a teardrop caravan. La Carapate has many features that set it apart from other caravans on the market. For instance, instead of a swinging door, you might expect to see on a classic caravan, La Carapate’s door functions as a sturdy flap, which locks into place by means of gas pressure swings, in order to provide campers with ample shade and easy access to both the caravan’s interior and the outdoors. Adjacent to La Carapate’s flap door is a drawer that converts from handy indoor storage space for cookware to an exterior cooking unit that could also extend into a table for further use as an outdoor dining area. The true appeal of this camper lies in its trapezoidal shape and the blue and yellow nautical color scheme. The rounded edges with a bold yellow trim and the unique side-door that swings open to reveal the surprisingly spacious interiors – it brings to mind the wooden interiors seen in older cars and the result is touchingly nostalgic.

Users have the option of purchasing a fully-operative kitchen which includes a gas cooker, sink, set of tableware, and additional saucepans. A simpler version could be purchased for less, which includes all you need for camping: a gas cooker and a 12-liter sink. The main part of the caravan comes with mattresses that provide lots of space for all the campers using the caravan – a big upgrade from sleeping in tents. Equipped with a solar panel, La Carapate is manufactured and utilized in an ecologically responsible way. Everything from the material used, to the compact size of this caravan, and the hyperlocal approach to sourcing and manufacturing speaks to the founders’ commitment to ecotourism and sustainable travel.

La Carapate comes fully functioning with panoramic views and miniature living space. Camping doesn’t necessarily require prerequisites, but it typically brings together those who feel passionate about traveling, alternative accommodation, and the natural world. For the founders of La Carapate, these passions came together and inspired their own interpretation of the teardrop caravan. La Carapate is filled with lots more exciting, hidden features: skylight, mosquito net, blackout shades, fire extinguisher, CEE plug, cigarette lighter, some 220 volts outlets, USB ports, vanity mirrors, and many more. Scroll through the photos below and find out for yourself!

Designers: Fabien Denis, Jean-Marie Reymond x Carapate