Minimalist Hotels

Made up of 19 roomy loft flats in angular concrete structures that increase from the lush landscape like granite boulders, Hix Island House is the antithesis regarding the all-inclusive resorts generally connected with Puerto Rico. Ponies wander home gardens tamed through the dense forest, and trade winds move through open air guest spaces, which feature glassless house windows, sprawling balconies, and outside baths.

Architect John Hix along with his partner, designer Neeva Gayle Hix moved to Vieques from Canada into the 80s and set about creating a sustainable sanctuary in Caribbean, a fusion between conservation and design. “we make an effort to offer our guests a contrast of experience from their boring environment, if it is suburbia or even the center of a robust town, ” John Hix informs The Creators Project.

Away from the active traffic and crowded beaches of San Juan, Hix Island home is situated from the island of Vieques, a remote idyll house to simply 9, 000 people and 3, 000 wild horses. I acquired truth be told there via prop jet, traveling reduced adequate to watch the sprawl of San Juan dissolve into lush woodland hugging cerulean sea. though it was utilized by the united states Navy for test bombing till 2003, Vieques seems pristine, with kilometers of untamed, deserted beaches, while the world’s brightest bioluminescent bay.

The island’s warm environment and natural splendor causes it to be a perfect location for independent design, a renewable building rehearse Hix has actually pursued throughout his profession. Architects which stick to the principle believe buildings should conform to nature, not aim against it. Ac is a great example; many buildings tend to be sealed from the elements, eating huge amounts of electrical energy to pipe in cool air. The Hix Island home, conversely, is powered by solar energy panels, gathers rainwater in cisterns, heats liquid using the sunlight, and utilizes runoff from sinks and baths to irrigate good fresh fruit woods on the property. “We should discover that your house does not contain the machine but that the household is the device, ” proclaims Hix.

The house is influenced because of the Japanese viewpoint of wabi-sabi, which honors imperfection. “The pure modernist design, the aesthetic of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, cannot tolerate a crack or something like that showing wear, ” Hix says, “whereas wabi-sabi honors and tolerates put on. A wood handrail that shows use signifies the historic pleased use of the user.” The large apartments are minimalist bungalows, with integral cement eating tables, desks, and system beds draped with mosquito netting.

The confluence of beauty, sustainability, and acceptance neatly sums within the attraction of Hix Island House. It’s a sanctuary for town dwellers trying to relax and unplug amidst nature, without damaging the earth. Hix states, “I thought it could be great to concentrate on a single area and place my power into a location that will portray how you ought to develop when you look at the Caribbean.”