Project Architect: Norman Foster, London
Project type: Boutique Hotel + Resort
Client: Manly Development Services
Landscape value: € 20,000,000
Project description: The Corniche Bay Integrated Resort Scheme is situated on the south western coast of Mauritius on the border of the Le Morne World Heritage Site. The scheme comprises 120 hillside villas, a Gary Player signature Golf Course, a 150 room beachfront Banyan Tree Hotel and Spa. A master plan for the project was conceived by Foster + Partners Architects of London in collaboration with ARUP engineers. NLA + GREENinc, were tasked with reviewing and informing the master plan, conceptualising the landscape design approach, detailed landscape design and research for the establishment of an on-site indigenous nursery.
The landscape design is a shift from the thematic responses that are most frequently encountered on similar commercial projects and hopes to be a contemporary place rooted within the patterns of the island’s ecological, cultural and built environments. The design immerses the visitor into the layers of the landscape through a network of spatial (in situ) and informative (ex situ) references …. The intention is to not only allow the visitor to enjoy the obvious resort experience but to be connected to the culture – historic and contemporary - of Mauritius and be grounded in the landscape of the place. The landscape design is not yet finalised, but is in continual dialogue with the client, the architects, the engineers and most importantly, the environment within which it proposes to fit and express.
For its sustainable approach and contextual sensitivity, the project has already been cited in development guidelines by the Mauritian government as an example for future developers.