Mint Resort Santa Theresa, Caribbean Hotel Building, Architecture Images
Mint Resort in Santa Theresa
Hotel Project in Costa Rica, Central America – design by Studio Saxe Architects
3 May 2018
Mint Resort, Santa Theresa
Architects: Studio Saxe
Location: Santa Theresa, Costa Rica
Mint Resort in Costa Rica
Stepping down a steep hillside and overlooking the ocean, Mint Santa Theresa is a new hotel that blends a European design aesthetic with Costa Rican craftsmanship – created to ensure that guests can commune with nature, each other and local people.
The Swedish owners fell in love with Santa Theresa as a surfing paradise, as well as its burgeoning yoga community. Inspired by Greek architecture, minimalism and Scandinavian design, they commissioned Studio Saxe who have developed a reputation for their approach to architecture that harmonises with tropical landscapes.
Hotel residents occupy individual pavilion-like structures where they can retreat into a private zone and yet still interact with the nature around them. The spacious guest rooms can be opened up completely to a personal terrace with an ocean view to the front and a garden with tropical plants in the rear. Even the bathrooms have an open layout, giving the guests the opportunity to shower while listening to the sound of the crashing waves.
Each room is afforded its own rooftop terrace, complete with lush plants, a sail for shade and furnished with rattan furniture made in Sarchí, a Costa Rican town famous for its inhabitants’ craftsmanship. The architects have used locally-sourced materials throughout the project, such as in ceilings that are made of “caña brava” (a type of grass) installed in an intricate fishbone pattern. Local craftsmen have also created custom furniture made of local wood and using traditional techniques in new ways.
The heart of Mint Santa Teresa is the communal lounge area with its infinity pool and sunset bar. It is open on all sides save for a single wall of plants by the entrance, providing the guests with some privacy while maintaining the natural setting. The lounge serves as a meeting spot for guests, owners and locals of the area. In the morning, a breakfast buffet, is eaten at a communal table and later in the day stories are exchanged over drinks by sunset. The experience at Mint Santa Teresa is part of a new form of tourism, where visitors want to learn more about a destination and get a sense of what it is like to actually live there.
Benjamin Garcia Saxe explains his vision: “Hotels traditionally became vast objects in the landscape that bear no relation to their surroundings and are devoid of genuine human interaction. At Mint, we endeavored to create a contextual design that adapts to its landscape and offers a new type of experience for a breed of traveler seeking authenticity. We worked hard on creating spaces that combine an appreciation of natural beauty with a rich array of possibilities for social and cultural interaction. The result is a completely unique way of thinking about hospitality and wellness.”
Mint Resort, Santa Theresa – Building Information
Location: Santa Teresa Costa Rica
Date of completion: 2018
Client: Jonas Thorrel / Johanna Johansson
Area: 660 sqm
Architecture Team: Studio Saxe
Design Director: Benjamin García Saxe
Project Architect: Cesar Coto
Project Coordinator: Laura Morelli Structural Engineer: Sotela Alfaro Ltda. Electromechanical
Engineer: Dynamo Studio
Builder: Matta Duran
Photography: Andres Garcia Lachner
Mint Resort in Santa Theresa images/ information received 030518
Website: Saxe Architects
Location: Santa Theresa, Costa Rica
New Architecture in Costa Rica
Contemporary Costa Rican Architectural Projects
Costa Rica Architecture Designs – chronological list
The Gilded Iguana Hotel, Nosara, Costa Rica
Architects: Studio Saxe
photo : Andrés García Lachner
The Gilded Iguana Hotel in Nosara
Joya Villas, Santa Teresa
Architects: Studio Saxe
photo : Andrés García Lachner
Santa Teresa Property
CasaAltamira, Ciudad Colón
Design: Joan Puigcorbé
CasaAltamira
photo : Rodrigo Montoya / Joan Puigcorbé
CasaAltamira
A Costa Rican house design:
Containers of Hope, San Jose
Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture
photo : Andres Garcia Lachnere
Costa Rica Home
Another Costa Rican house design:
Iseami House
RoblesArq
photo from RoblesArq architects
Costa Rican House
Costa Rican house design wins World’s Best Private House at World Architecture Festival Awards 2010:
A Forest for a Moon Dazzler
photo : Benjamin Garcia Saxe
A Forest for a Moon Dazzler
Website : Benjamin Garcia Saxe
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