Located in the hills near Uvita town in Costa Rica, Achioté is a residential space by Formafatal. The project features two villas located 300 meters above sea level that cantilever off the hill for views of the beautiful Pacific Ocean from the lush, jungle landscape.
The Achioté villas are designed for short-term rentals and are similar in floor plan, orientation and materiality. However, their interiors feature differing color palettes, which make them distinct from one another. For the designs, the architects wished to celebrate the genius loci, which means “spirit of the place.” This was done by orienting the building to maximize views of the ocean and the site’s topography. On the interiors, the color palettes were selected based on the perceived energies for each part of the plot. Despite the villas being only 12 meters apart, the land on which they stand radiates different energies, which therefore dictates the interior design.
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Moreover, each villa is designed to look humble from the entry point. However, as you walk through the spaces towards the cantilevering terraces, this changes. The interiors adopt a modern, minimalist approach with their crisp lines and forms. These contrast with the organic, natural qualities of the surrounding landscape.
The villas are open plan and the only interior door in each bungalow is to the bathroom. Hence, after walking through the door, the space opens up to the view of the ocean, master bedroom and infinity pool. To match the minimalist aesthetic of the exterior, the interiors feature custom-made concrete furniture. These pieces complement the meticulously-selected luminaires and accessories made by designers from across the globe.
Energy and color palettes
The Jaspis Villa reflects yin energy. The word Jaspis means “jasper” or “bright,” and refers to the villas’ connection to the ocean and sky. This connection is both visual and through the plot’s perceived energy. To reflect this, the Jaspis villa’s interior color palette features light colors and sandy tones.
Conversely, the Nefrit villa evokes yang energy. Nefrit means “jade” or “dark.” In this space, inhabitants are more connected to earthy elements, such as the lush forest and ground plane. To reinforce the connection between the ground and the interior, the concrete floor slab is the same red-terracotta shade as the jungle soil.
Elegant material palette
While Achioté’s architectural design is minimalist and contrasts with the lush landscape, the material palette is carefully chosen to match and celebrate the tropical surroundings. This includes rammed earth walls and frameless glass to blend the interior and exterior environments.
All of the project’s load-bearing perimeter walls are made from rammed earth. The walls utilize soil extracted solely from the construction excavations for the project. Additionally, the earthy qualities of the walls match the rawness of the concrete floor and ceiling slabs.
Besides its beautiful aesthetic qualities, rammed earth was chosen as it works well with Costa Rica’s tropical climate and humidity. The architects worked with a specialist from Brazil who trained local craftsmen to realize the rammed earthwork for this project. In fact, Achioté is the first rammed earth implementation in Costa Rica.
For optimized views, all facades that are oriented towards the ocean feature frameless glass. These sliding and stationary elements recess into groves in the concrete slabs and create a blur between the interior and exterior spaces, thus uniting the manmade form with the beautiful, tropical landscape.
Images via BoysPlayNice
