Zaha Hadid Architects with AKT II and Hilson Moran have developed a digital architectural platform to create homes for Roatán Próspera. The residential designs are a specific ecological and social response to the climate, terrain and culture of Roatán in the Caribbean, the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras.
The designs learn from the wisdom of the past, integrating the local vernacular tradition of timber construction, climatic appropriateness and spatial experience with new digital design, engineering and construction techniques.
Working with AKT II, the design approach starts from a comprehensive understanding of the local supply chain, logistics and construction techniques to promote the use of local materials, craftsmanship and manufacturing facilities which support the economy of the region.
MVRDV is today revealing its design to transform one of their own seminal projects from the practice’s early years, the Dutch Pavilion at the 2000 World Expo in Hannover. The transformation will convert the former Expo Pavilion into a co-working office building, and two new buildings will be added on the space surrounding the pavilion, one containing student housing and the other hosting offices and parking. MVRDV’s design maintains the qualities – including the forest on the 3rd floor – that made the pavilion an icon of the 2000 World Expo and reinterprets the original project’s concept for the two new buildings.