Costa Rica Villa

Peninsula Papagayo

Four Seasons, 2014

2014-2016

This villa is designed for a steep hillside located in an unspoiled part of the world tucked between the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Caribbean on the other in the Papagayo Peninsula in Costa Rica. With strict construction & environmental regulations Costa Rica has become a jewel of a country for sustainability and one of the most environmentally sensitive in nature conservation and wildlife.

The property is a breathtakingly beautiful, secluded 1.2 acre sanctuary and a hideaway in the luxury resort area of Four Seasons Development.

Inspired by this extremely eco-rich land with embarrassingly lush landscape of sandy beaches, rugged coastline, cloud-forest havens and rainforest canopies we designed this villa.

The villa has 14,000 SF of indoor and outdoor spaces oriented towards the most spectacular coastal views and memorable Technicolor sunsets. The intension is to create a contemporary villa in harmony with its surroundings. The villa is smart (wired), Green, & environmentally sustainable. The main structure is a 2 story volume in concrete & Glass lifted up from the ground with a wrapper holding the different parts and levels together. All roofs are green, the lower level is open and  provides cooling, air circulation while being occupied for recreation.

One arrives to the villa via a driveway sloping down the hill from the main road to an entry court area landscaped with native trees and tropical plants. A stone retaining wall and a bamboo covered Care Taker/garage structure sets up the relationship to the textural and local identity of the island’s architecture within the contemporary and modern villa.

Upon entry with few steps downward a bridge connects to a spectacular void space with high ceiling separating the indoor public areas of living, dining, kitchen from the private bedroom wing. The void is also the outdoor living space on the upper level with a meditative pool of water on one side.

A Stairwell & an elevator connect the main level to the lower floor with a large indoor/outdoor living, dining, bar area and a large pool and spa, where one could literally walk from the living space into the pool. The pool is being used for cooling and an open courtyard with few sculptural palm trees provides cross ventilation for the living spaces. This lower indoor/outdoor space is separated from the hillside with a retaining wall in blue tiles from the area assimilating the Caribbean sea vertically with different shades of blue.