Beso del Sol version 1: Rebuild

The existing villa is a two-bedroom, two bathroom dwelling elevated on columns and a cistern approx. 9’-0” above grade. Two traditional wood sided, hipped roof pavilions, are elevated by a modernist tapered concrete columns which support both the suspended floor slabs and the roofs. These square hipped roof pavilions are joined by a central elevated veranda. This veranda is also topped by a rectangular hipped roof and extends to uncovered balconies in front of the Master Suite Pavilion and the Living pavilion which also includes the guest bedroom and bathroom. The site has large boulders at and just below grade. Much of the site is forested and it straddles a small ghut/ gully.

The clients desired a four (4) bedroom 4.5-bath home with an elevated swimming pool in a modern industrial aesthetic, to replace an existing villa. On this flat site, with multiple boulders, we opted to build the cistern entirely above grade similar to the existing villa. The design uses pan-formed concrete for all exterior and key interior structural walls. Other walls are stud framed and clad in cement-board finished with uncolored acrylic plaster. The expansive roof deck allows clear views to the sea. Several wood-louvered doors and windows are recycled from the original villa for use in this scheme and vertical wood slats surround the entry stairway and line the lower hallway which is effectively a covered exterior space. Unfortunately, budget and time concerns prevented the execution of this scheme. The clients opted for a remodel instead. See BESO DEL SOL VERSION 2: REMODEL.

SPRING BAY, VIRGIN GORDA, BVI
Published in the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024