Structure studios Edmonds Worldwide and Rockwell Group have collaborated on The Version resort group’s newest property in Mexico’s Quintana Roo state, which can be founder Ian Schrager’s final for the model.
The Riviera Maya Version at Kanai took the staff seven years to finish, however lastly opened earlier this yr on a nature reserve near Playa del Carmen.
Spanning nearly 200,000 sq. metres alongside two miles of seaside, the placement is essentially populated by mangroves and varieties a novel wildlife habitat.
The property was initially masterplanned by architect Richard Meier, who laid out a sequence of perpendicular volumes and elongated linear routes by way of the location.
Edmonds Worldwide took over the architectural design, making a sequence of linear buildings with sloping facades as a up to date interpretation of close by historical Mayan pyramids.
The entire constructions are constructed over the plush panorama on slits in order to not disturb the protected ecosystem.
New York-based Rockwell Group was liable for the interiors, which mix The Version’s minimalist type with tropical supplies and daring accent colors to swimsuit the placement.
Upon arrival, a pergola leads company to a grand staircase that arrives right into a hovering three-storey foyer house.
Vertical teak panels positioned over a shallow pool pivot open, revealing views throughout the location in the direction of the ocean and offering pure air flow by way of the constructing.
The verify in space is to the correct, whereas a lounge space and a pool desk under an set up of hanging crops might be discovered to the left.
Past is the Foyer Bar, which additionally has three-storey-high ceilings and a wall of over 100 native artefacts introduced in a grid of cabinets that stretches the total peak behind the bar.
Vibrant purple velvet curtains drape over the alternative wall, whereas the seating is upholstered in yellow and pink to mirror the vibrancy of Mexican artwork and craft.
The Riviera Maya Version’s signature restaurant Kitchen can also be situated on this quantity, whereas one other eating possibility known as Ki’is and a convention centre are hidden among the many mangroves.
The place the resort’s three essential constructing’s intersect, their white partitions swoop down right into a decrease stage the place the spa and health centre are situated.
This type is paying homage to a cenote – the subterranean swimming pools discovered inside holes within the area’s porous limestone bedrock, which the Mayans believed have been portals between the worlds of the residing and the lifeless.
“At this dramatic convergence, a plaza commemorates the traditional celestial occasion which rained down from the heavens, giving beginning to the paranormal Mayan underworld,” stated Edmonds Worldwide.
Above floor, a undulating lattice of woven bamboo strands varieties a pavilion that is used for outside yoga courses.
A pool of water within the centre of the cresent-shaped pavilion is seen from the spa under by way of a skylight, casting dappled lighting into the white leisure space.
From the primary swimming pool and terrace, a 100-metre sandy walkway flanked on both facet by enormous palm timber results in the So’ol seaside membership, the place the restaurant and one other infinity pool overlook the ocean.
A number of cabanas and rows of loungers can be found on the seaside, whereas a picket jetty that stretches into the shallows options extra cabanas and springy nets positioned instantly over the water.
The Riviera Maya Version has 182 visitor rooms and suites, together with a 2,000-square-metre rooftop Sky Villa that comprises 5 bed room suites and the most important outside terrace of its sort in North America.
Visitor rooms on the bottom lodging flooring have entry to non-public plunge swimming pools, whereas these on the higher ranges get pleasure from balconies which can be angled in order to not overlook each other.
Schrager, who based The Version in 2013, introduced in 2022 that he was stepping away from his full-time position throughout the group – which is partnered with Marriott Worldwide – however will stay a guide for the model.
The Riviera Maya Version is the final property that he has seen by way of to completion for the group in a management capability.
“I feel the model can be superb [without me],” stated Schrager throughout a press convention for The Riviera Maya Version’s opening in February 2024.
“The staff has been working with me on this for 15-16 years… and they need to by now know tips on how to do it. I am all the time blissful to assist and I am all the time right here to help.”
Famend because the co-creator of legendary New York nightclub Studio 54, Schrager can also be credited for birthing the boutique resort when he opened Morgans with enterprise associate Steve Lubell in 1984.
The nineteenth resort in The Version’s portfolio, the Riviera Maya location is located beside the St. Regis Resort Kanai, which can also be operated by Marriot and was accomplished by Edmonds Worldwide, however is laid out as a sequence of interconnected rings and curves.
The images is by Nikolas Koenig until said in any other case.
Undertaking credit:
Architects (agency): Edmonds Worldwide
Principal architect: Michael Edmonds
Inside design: Rockwell Group
Panorama design: Madison Cox
Contractor: ALHEL
Consumer: ALHEL
