EDITOR ’ S CHOICE
The first dedicated resort-residence development in the Maldives
- SHIGERU BAN ARCHITECTS -
Infinite Maldives will be a 5-hectare resort-residence of 44 over water and beachfront villas designed by Pritzker Architecture prize-winner Shigeru Ban for Sri Lanka ’ s premium developer Crystal Property Group .
Located within the Male Atoll 1 island , Infinite Maldives has been designed to embrace the Maldivian vernacular and champion biophilic sustainability through using natural locally sourced materials and timber .
As well as access to the resort style luxury amenities including a fitness centre , spa and wellness facilities , each resident will have a private infinity pool with outdoor lounging space . The structures will be formed around four landscaped gardens designed by landscape architect Michel Desvigne , who has taken inspiration from Sri Lankan gardens such as Lunuganga by Geoffrey Bawa .
“ What makes Infinite Maldives unique is that the resort blends in with the sea and the green nature in an ‘ infinite ’ manner . Conventional resort design usually starts by designing and arranging buildings first and placing water features and vegetation after , using the spaces left between the buildings . For Infinite Maldives , we first considered the resort ’ s landscape design by carefully defining the relationship between water , land , topography , and vegetation , to make the most of this sense of place . The individual buildings were then carefully designed and placed within the landscape , with a focus on creating continuity and comfort between interior and exterior spaces , including the intermediate area .
To minimise the amount of transport and energy for construction and material production , we use various innovative pre-fabrication methods and focus on applying lightweight materials as well as recycled
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