The estate emerges among surroundings intended as a "green oasis" and the residential project proposes that this should remain so. The gardens evoke the idea of rest with sensory strategies which incorporate water, the panoramas, the fragrance and colours of the vegetation. The natural backdrop is the most important feature of the estate, integrating and bringing relevance to the different parts of the programme at different levels of the hillside. Buildings blend with the vegetation and adapt to the shape of the slope to take advantage of the best views and aspects. In every case boundaries between indoors and outdoors have been toned down, although always with feasible technical and functional alternatives. On the highest part of the hill, maintaining their privacy, lie the hotel and the apartments. Linked courtyards, and rooms that are open to the landscape, structure the way from public to private zones, adding the enjoyment of rich spatial quality to that of repose. Lower down from the hotel, lies the Spa, staggered into three levels and positioned to face the best views. On the intermediate part of the hill, as far down as the existing estates, villas and apartments are arranged with a greater proportion of green areas around them, and, highlighting this fact still further, with garden roofs on top.
Within the Las Colinas complex an estate of SFD villas is projected. As with the rest of the complex, the striking prevalent topography exerts a decisive influence. Two clear concepts are used for the design; first of all, the year round excellent weather makes the study of the relationship between indoors and outdoors very special. From the inside of the house (habitable area) to the outside (specific views, panoramas, centred outlooks) a gradual progression is established which takes the resident through various spatial experiences. The textures chosen reinforce this transition, especially where the ground cover ranges from natural stone indoors to the greenery of gardens and pools outdoors.
Secondly, spatial organization is evaluated for a house which has to make the small scale typical of a permanent resident compatible with the greater scale needed to provide accommodation for a large and temporary number of occupants. The resulting compact exterior geometry opens up onto the inside, giving rise to internal sequences and visual connections with the surroundings.
The hotel is situated on the top of a hill, surrounded by greenery that isolates it from the rest of the estates and that merges with the building so that its impact on the landscape is softened. The gardens have been integrated as an essential part of the architectonic design, and in the rooms the limits between indoors and outdoors have been toned down with fold back glazing.
The main building with its communal areas and rooms for guests draws our attention due to the refined lines of its design and its stone walls. Linked courtyards and rooms open to the landscape structure the way from the communal to the private areas, adding the enjoyment of rich spatial quality to that of repose. There are different types of rooms, so as to diversify the accommodation on offer, but all of them have balconies with panoramic views. The complex is completed with apartments, also run by the hotel, situated on the slopes surrounding it except to the north, and lower down so as not to interfere with the views.
Benahavis, Málaga
Hotel: 11,925 m²
Hotel Apartments: 9,145 m²
Tourist Apartments: 11,503 m²
Residential units: Between 480 and 750 m²
2, 3 and 4 storeys
2005
