Reimagining the apartment building as Villas in the Sky

AL_A created villas in the sky, rather than an apartment building, for an invited competition for a development in Albany Marina in The Bahamas.

The efficiency of the arrangement of villas minimised unnecessary circulation space and maximised living space. Individual villas were expressed by pulling and pushing them to demonstrate the interlocking strategy and appear as a more visually interlaced form. This increased the apparent transparency of the building and reduced its mass.

The building form responds to the site – there is no front or back façade. Instead, both are afforded equal importance, generated in part by the orientation of the vistas that are opened up to the green landscape and golf course, as well as the marina.

The individual experience of the villa begins upon exiting the lift, with a private and exclusive lobby as an extension of the home, with views out to the marina and directly into the living space.

Each villa has a private garden. Unlike a terrace, the large garden becomes a part of the living area. It has areas for both sun and shade, so it can be used more often, and together with the living area forms the heart of the home.