design et al are delighted to announce that Eco.id have been shortlisted for Hotel Under 50 Rooms – Africas and Gulf States Award in The International Hotel & Property Awards 2019.
As Desroches is a private island, the intention is to create an escape into the rustic, laid back nature of a secluded island. To welcome guests into a private estate on a remote island, the hand-built aesthetic becomes a necessity to give the island an artisanal feel. One of the starting points was for this remote island resort to look better with age, to develop a patina and this was kept in mind from the architectural details to the soft furnishing. In terms of location, their design had to respond to the tropical climate when they selected materials and executed details.
In terms of influence, they drew inspiration and references from African aesthetics such as tribal crafts, black and white patterns and the bold use of colours (the pink peacock chair and the banana leaf prints on fabrics). Ecoid designed the resort with the starting point that the forces of nature will age the property with a patina, hence the careful selection of materials, construction methods and the robust quality of the Lighthouse Restaurant. Showcasing grille on the ground floor with a roof top bar that overlooks the island and dining on the beach under lights that hang from the trees, surrounded by the calls of the nesting shearwater birds, is a dining experience like no other.
Ecoid believe in the appeal of homestay vacations. The ones with stronger characteristics are not manicured from a collection of identical items but curated overtime from a collection of memories and objects. Ecoid hope that they can reach the wide audience of the International Hotel & Property awards to appreciate the raw beauty of design, achieved through low tech construction. The island resort works well not just due to the architectural and interior elements but how it melts, blends and borrows the natural environment to create the feel of a luxurious castaway escapade.
