LA PLAGE DU PACIFIQUE HOTEL
a project by Kristin Green
Vanuatu, under construction as of July 2014
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A hotel under construction on a South Pacific island is depicted as a collection of architectural ruins in this series of images by Australian photographer Peter Bennetts. Designed by Australian architect Kristin Green, la Plage du Pacifique Hotel is under construction along the beach of an island in Vanuatu - an archipelago over a thousand miles east of northern Australia. Green has bravely allowed Bennetts to present her work at it’s most vulnerable
but revealing such strength of form that we can already imagine the finished work.
Concrete has been used for the structures of each building in the complex, which includes 18 guest villas, a restaurant with a roof garden and sun lounge, and a swimming pool and spa facility.Peter Bennetts joined Green on a site visit to capture the structures in pictures. Although almost complete, the buildings contain few traces of life, which the photographer says created the impression of "a ruin". We see the bones, the inner working, the structure – the important business of architecture before the detailing of surfaces and slick styling. This is architecture at its rawest.
"Like pods of little whales, the off-form concrete villas swim together, entwining with native pandanus and rosewood trees in the face of trade winds and frequent cyclones," he said.
Comparing one structure to both an ancient monument and an iconic Italian villa, he added: "As in an Aztec temple, or Casa Malaparte, a stair leads to a deck on top of a form I'd describe as the architect's dance shoe. In the unflinchingly bright tropical sun the stair casts a shadow that Escher could've dreamed of."
Each structure is designed to be cyclone resistant, with cross-ventilation that will reduce the need for air-conditioning. The architect has also added a series of concrete walls that will offer shade from intense sunlight.
The swimming pool is modelled on the ancient Roman baths at Hadrian's villa in Tivoli, creating another reference to architectural monuments.
"The Colosseum has invaded these new lands, not a new notion for Western man," writes Green. "Here she protects from violent storms; patrons are offered a chance at romance, to dance, dream and escape."
Bennetts’ own unique vision has captured a profound stillness in the half-completed buildings and surrounding landscape. Time has shifted to such a degree that past, present and future/birth, life and decay, merge in one. Light and form create striking compositions that, rather than a direct descriptor, are more evocative of place.
________________________________________________________
A hotel under construction on a South Pacific island is depicted as a collection of architectural ruins in this series of images by Australian photographer Peter Bennetts. Designed by Australian architect Kristin Green, la Plage du Pacifique Hotel is under construction along the beach of an island in Vanuatu - an archipelago over a thousand miles east of northern Australia. Green has bravely allowed Bennetts to present her work at it’s most vulnerable
but revealing such strength of form that we can already imagine the finished work.
Concrete has been used for the structures of each building in the complex, which includes 18 guest villas, a restaurant with a roof garden and sun lounge, and a swimming pool and spa facility.Peter Bennetts joined Green on a site visit to capture the structures in pictures. Although almost complete, the buildings contain few traces of life, which the photographer says created the impression of "a ruin". We see the bones, the inner working, the structure – the important business of architecture before the detailing of surfaces and slick styling. This is architecture at its rawest.
"Like pods of little whales, the off-form concrete villas swim together, entwining with native pandanus and rosewood trees in the face of trade winds and frequent cyclones," he said.
Comparing one structure to both an ancient monument and an iconic Italian villa, he added: "As in an Aztec temple, or Casa Malaparte, a stair leads to a deck on top of a form I'd describe as the architect's dance shoe. In the unflinchingly bright tropical sun the stair casts a shadow that Escher could've dreamed of."
Each structure is designed to be cyclone resistant, with cross-ventilation that will reduce the need for air-conditioning. The architect has also added a series of concrete walls that will offer shade from intense sunlight.
The swimming pool is modelled on the ancient Roman baths at Hadrian's villa in Tivoli, creating another reference to architectural monuments.
"The Colosseum has invaded these new lands, not a new notion for Western man," writes Green. "Here she protects from violent storms; patrons are offered a chance at romance, to dance, dream and escape."
Bennetts’ own unique vision has captured a profound stillness in the half-completed buildings and surrounding landscape. Time has shifted to such a degree that past, present and future/birth, life and decay, merge in one. Light and form create striking compositions that, rather than a direct descriptor, are more evocative of place.
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text and images via:
designboom: http://goo.gl/lfL6g8
Dezeen: http://goo.gl/t0SszW
The Style Examiner: http://goo.gl/khco08
ArchitectureAU: http://goo.gl/M97BmF
Peter Bennetts Photographer: http://goo.gl/Y7e7bY
For more photos, visit this project at +@rchitecture
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For more photos, visit this project at +@rchitecture
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