Name & Location: ANAHITA VILLAGE AT ANAHITA IRS, MAURITIUS
Built-up area: 2,3144 sq. m
(In case of Public Building minimum built-up area should be 1000 sq. meter)
Description of Project:
The Anahita Waterfront Village is the heart of the Anahita Integrated Residential Resort on the east coast of Mauritius. The village provides the homeowners with their own retail, leisure and recreational facilities. The project consists of various facilities, including:
Reception centre and management offices
6 nos. Retail units
Hair salon and spa
Restaurant
Beach bar
Kids club
Village cafe and deli
Pool and changing facilities
Boat house and diving centre
Tennis courts
The buildings which create the village are grouped around a village square, called Place Belgat, which is overlooked by an old limekiln. From the village square the pathways lead to different facilities; either cross a watercourse to the adjacent apartments, or down an old alley of trees to the pool, beach bar and jetty, or through the square to an amphitheatre of waterside steps and beyond to the waterfront restaurant. The village is bounded on the east by the lagoon and the Indian Ocean beyond, to the west and north by an Ernie Els 18-hole golf course and to the south by a man-made river mouth served by an old watercourse from the hills behind the estate. The buildings of the village are of differing designs, exactly like any village. There are thatched retail shops and a thatched beach bar, a glass circular reception building contrasting the adjacent limekiln and a low profile glazed restaurant.
Materials of Construction Details:
The materials used throughout the buildings of the village differ from building type to building type, and as required by the client’s brief, which was to create a “New Mauritius,” there are both traditional and modern materials. These differing materials were blended together to create a comfortable village atmosphere.
The materials utilised included:
Local field stone and sugar cane thatch
Framed glass panels
Imported structural timber
Steel and concrete were the base materials
The use of frameless glass was not permissible due to the cyclonic conditions which can prevail in Mauritius, however large glass panels framed with aluminium and protected by horizontal solar screens were used to create both the circular Reception building and the waterfront façade of the village Restaurant. In both cases the glazing was complimented by local field stone walls built in the traditional manner.
Special Features:
The most exciting feature of the village is the curved glass facade of the Village Reception adjacent to the old limekiln. This translucent building is in total contrast to the solid basalt stone of the limekiln. At night the Reception building glows from inside, a feature exaggerated by the warm colours of the central lantern light within, whereas the limekiln reflects the light from the Reception building and the landscape lighting around it. The reflective qualities due to its lime mortar jointing and the lime washed stonework from which this historic building is constructed.
Both buildings sit above the village square and in their differing ways make a strong statement within the village structure. One, the Reception building, is transparent, vibrant and welcoming whereas the limekiln is solid, static and historic. All villages have the old juxtaposed with the new. In this case both buildings make a strong statement whereas the village Restaurant is an understated building where the glass facade reflects the activity on and across the water in front of it.
