Kursaal Centre, San Sebastian

Images: idiggitt

On the shores next to the city of San Sebastian sits two opposing glass cubes housing a congress center, a theater hall, exposition hall and cinema. This beautiful building by Rafael Moneo is made of planks of solid translucent glass; though the glass you can see into the building and the shadowy figures as they go between the different facilities. The building has 'windows' of clear glass in the opaque glass panels, and these frame views to the ocean.

Cite de l'ocean et du surf, Biarittz, France

Image:idiggitt

Steven Holl's new surf museum in Biarittz occupies a fantastic site, with landscaped connection down a valley to one of the local beaches. Its forms emulate skateboard ramps and flowing waves and it contains exhibits about the coast, the surf and weather of the region.

Does it work - questionable! its external spaces are austere and hot in the summer sun; the glass of the restaurant and cafe are not protected form the sun even with their new tech sandwich panels, and the use of the site and its connection with the landscape is unsuccessful - seeminly wasteful. It is, however, a great credit to the city to commission such a significant piece of architecture in such a prominent site with such an ambitious brief.

Musee de la mer Biarittz, France

Image: idiggitt

Just on the headline near Cote Basque in Biarittz is an old aquarium that has been updated by cutting a new large tank into the rock http://www.museedelamer.com/. You enter at ground level and work your way up through the building until you emerge on top of the headland where a new grass covered glass box contains a shop.

Potato Head Bali

Images: idiggitt
Potato Head Bali is the second club of that name produced by Ronald Akilia and Jason Gunawan, the first being in Jakarta. The most interesting part of the building is the entrance screen made of a myriad of recycled screens apparently from local second had shops and demolished buildings.
Visitors pass through or around a single level entry building that doubles as a shop – as you pass up a ramp, you enter through this screen and continue up inside the double skin. These clubs, similar in concept to the original KuDeTa, offer access to the beach for the public, which is being increasingly denied by large hotels commandeering beach front on the island. However, the beachside of Potato Head is less well constructed, with a large open and undefined grass area leading to a pool alongside the beach. This could have benefitted from a more structured landscape that defined a series of different spaces, and lush tropical landscape.
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Alila Resort Bali

Images:idiggitt

On the road to Uluwatu in Bali, a discreet sign takes you down a farm lane which becomes increasingly manicured as you approach the front gate to Alila http://www.alilahotels.com/, the new resort designed by WOHA wohadesigns.com .
Passing through the gate, the front lawns cascade down the slope towards you in a series of terraces reminiscent of paddy fields. The centre of the resort sits slightly elevated from the entrance, with villas set behind embedded in the hills – only their individual Bale’s visible in the trees.
The man building is a single storey structure – simply modelled and laid out with colonnades which always end in a controlled landscape feature of water, sculpture, and greenery. The man entry which is open has endless views through the resort to the horizon.
The whole composition sits on the edge of a 400m cliff top, with the feature Bale cantilevered dramatically over the edge – stand there if you dare!
Openings are serrated with local stone, thin concrete lintels separating them from breezeways above. The only anomaly being the connection of the modernist restaurant canopies that does not meet the main structure easily.
The landscape is equally finely crafted, balancing the level and depth of water to create patterns and junctions of superb quality. The central space playing with levels and materials, link strongly with the man building and bind it to its setting; even the roofs are green so the building disappears as you look over it from the villas.

Sustainably, the resort uses local volcanic stone in detail, and for the roofs, where it acts as a natural insulation and also supports growing of ferns - other stone is from Bali or Java reducing transportation. Local craftsmen - of whcih there are still many in Bali, worked the stone, and created the furniture.

The planning of the site followed closely the exisitng contours reducing excavation - any necessary excavated material being used in construction.

The landscape uses indigenous planting that lays dormant in the dry season - naturally requiring less water for the dry savanah environment. Rainwater is collected and stored in retention ponds - sewerage and grey water treated on site.

Ailia is one of the first eco-friendly yet luxury resorts in Bali, showing the two can co-exisit. Its a showcase for this type of development.