“Simultaneously solid and hollow; uniform and heterogeneous; impregnable and permeable; foreign and familiar.”


Timeless and enduring the Karma Sierra seems to grow naturally from the lush, windswept coast of Bequia, a celebration of monumental and heterogeneity. The resort is meant to be a standout from the landscape meanwhile blend into nature surroundings. It creates a dynamic balance between presence and absence. Developed from one non-differentiated object, through rotation and repetition, the one object gives rise to differentiation. The resort is a monolithic mass with highly articulated space, allowing economy and simplicity of form and consistency of external appearance. Twenty units are assembled as one single structure, bold enough in its overall shape to command the coastline, yet composed diversely enough in its parts, both interior and exterior, to satisfy the genuine need for individual expression and identity.

Located in Bequia overlooking the Caribbean Sea, the resort is where one could escape the pressure of urban living and truly enjoy nature. The resort is open to views and sun yet sheltered for privacy. It is a concept of cluster designated to preserve the openness of a rugged and beautiful site. Instead of flattening and leveling, the project creates an inhabitable nature through thickening the landscape. Using the topography as a skeleton for manipulation, modules are multiplied along the landscape and formed into an artificial natural landscape. The architecture does not compromise to the landscape but seeks for a partnership with the site.

Starting from a field of modules, the field is deformed by the topography, modules slides and offset towards each other. At the lower portion of the landscape which slops are gentler, modules tend to merge horizontally while at the upper portion where steeper slope occurs, modules tend to offset and merge vertically. This dynamic between topography and modules creates an artificial modified landscape based on the exiting landscape. From below to the top, the mass transit from horizontal to vertical; from porous to solid; from monolithic to heterogeneous. The resort contains considerable planimetric and sectional complexities within strict volumetric restraint.

Energy efficient and environmentally sensitive the Karma Sierra has an overall commanding form but one of identifiable individual parts. It is at once casual and modest, open to the beautiful views and sun yet restrict to only you and your love ones. Echoing the landform of the surrounding cliffs and the simple geometry of the local Caribbeanian vernacular, Karma Sierra is built in harmony with the nature. The resort binds the building to the rugged landscape and the history of Bequia.