In Ray Bradbury’s classic time travel short story “A Sound of Thunder” a metal path floats six inches above the earth to keep all of the visitors to the past from disturbing the environment and altering the future. For anyone who has read the story, you know how important the path is and how devastating the consequences of straying from it can be.
While it’s not as dramatic as Bradbury’s fictional path and the implications that surround it, a new residential development from Zaha Hadid Architects uses a network of suspended footpaths to keep residents from disturbing the ecosystem. These Bradburian footpaths will connect residents to the surrounding woodland preserve, coast and lagoon.
Alai, located in the Mayan Riviera in Mexico, was designed in response to its natural surroundings. The luxury residential development’s design integrates a new residential community in an area experiencing strong growth while also minimizing the effect of the new buildings on local ecosystems. The combined footprint of all residential buildings on the site is limited to 7% of the total area to enable existing vegetation to be retained and a majority of the site to be returned to its natural state.
Rendering courtesy of MIR.
A previous owner originally prepared the site for a complex that was never constructed. In an effort to repair the damage done to the ecosystems by this owner, a new onsite botanical nursery will foster the growth of the site’s biodiversity. This nursery will eventually become an attraction and education facility for the development.
In addition to the suspended footpaths, the residential buildings themselves will share an elevated platform with integrated perforations that allow natural light to flood the ground below and enable tropical vegetation to grow upwards through the platform. Amenities for sport, leisure, and wellness are located on the raised platform, which exists nine meters off the ground. This height ensures local wildlife can cross the entire site on the woodland floor without barriers.
Rendering courtesy of MIR.
Each apartment comes with large living areas and bedrooms and private balconies with unobstructed views of the surrounding landscape and Caribbean Sea. Each building was designed to echo the textures and surface complexity associated with the local Mayan masonry and architectural tradition and is supposed to reinterpret local Mayan heritage in a contemporary adaptation.
Rendering courtesy of MIR.
Rendering courtesy of MIR.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Sep 29, 2020
Washington, D.C.’s first modular apartment building breaks ground
Eric Colbert & Associates designed the building.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 22, 2020
AIA/HUD Secretary's Awards celebrate affordable, accessible, and well-designed housing
Each year, the AIA and HUD partner to celebrate projects that demonstrate affordable, accessible and well-designed housing, proving that good design is not exclusive.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 16, 2020
8 (more) noteworthy multifamily projects to debut in 2020
An office-to-apartment conversion in Clearwater, Fla., and a modular affordable housing community in Portland, Ore., highlight the latest multifamily developments to open this year.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 14, 2020
McShane Construction begins work on Gilbert, Ariz., multifamily development
Continental Properties is the project owner.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 10, 2020
COVID-19: How are you doing?
Multifamily seems to be one sector in the construction industry that’s holding its own during the pandemic.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 10, 2020
EV charging webinar to feature experts from Bozzuto, Irvine Company, and RCLCO - Wed., 9-16
EV charging webinar (9/16) to feature Bozzuto Development, The Irvine Company, RCLCO, and ChargePoint
Multifamily Housing | Sep 2, 2020
8 noteworthy multifamily projects to debut in 2020
Brooklyn's latest mega-development, Denizen Bushwick, and Related California’s apartment tower in San Francisco are among the notable multifamily projects to debut in the first half of 2020.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 2, 2020
New affordable housing in the Bronx is designed for both seniors and teens
Body Lawson Associates designed the project.
Giants 400 | Aug 28, 2020
2020 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
The 2020 Giants 400 Report features more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Sponsored | | Aug 26, 2020
Healthy air systems have become the new “standard equipment.”
As home buyers demand healthy air systems, builders look to differentiate themselves with a “Healthy Home Builder” designation.