Kwanari Ecolodge – Dominica, West Indies.
HM Design is the lead Consultant, concept architect and landscape architect for an ecolodge in the eastern (Atlantic Ocean) side of the Commonwealth of Dominica. The lodge will open in summer of 2011. It will be the first planned and designed ecolodge in Dominica and there are many benefits to the only Native American territory in the Caribbean – Kalinago who live 6 kms north of the site. HM Design and their local team of consultants are providing full services including construction supervision. The master plan includes an ecolodge and wellness center, forest and ocean cabins, tree house, infinity-edge swimming pool, conference hall, library and trails (1/07 to present).
HM Design, with the help of local Architect Joff Greene is introducing a whole new style of architecture in the Caribbean – Forest Caribbean – which is a hybrid of the classic Caribbean architecture (with its intricate fretwork, balconies, dormer windows) and the ‘cabin in the woods’ (logs, stone, rustic, contextual design) architecture prevalent in North America and Europe..The built fabric and interior design celebrate the most striking quality of the site – the meeting of forest and sea. Every building has a theme that connects it with either the secondary forest or the Atlantic Ocean. The lodge treads lightly (all buildings are on stilts, downlighting, boardwalks) respecting the sites topography, hydrology, flora and fauna allowing all natural systems to function and grow uninterrupted. The project will be a showcase for the crafts of the local communities and the Kalinago peoples themselves are constructing the mouinas (Gazebos).
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