Ecolodge

Architect

Nicolás Matzner Weisner

Date of Project

2005 - 2007

Projected area

3790 m2

Location

Punta Pangal, San Juan Bautista
Isla Róbinson Crusoe, Archipiélago de Juan Fernández
V Región, Chile.

The project that I developed to obtain my Masters in Architecture from the Universidad Central de Chile is an auto-sustainable, eco-friendly  hotel on the island of Robinson Crusoe, in Chile. Once I presented it to the University commission and acquired my degree –plus maximum academic distinction- , the Chilean investment company Global Palace showed much interest in making this hotel project reality.

Since they were in the process of developing a chain of eco-friendly auto-sustainable hotels focused on ecotourism -under the name of Mystique S.A- they began to solicit  the necessary land and water permits to build this hotel on the island, all based  on the original project I designed for my thesis.

Location Selection

The Robinson Crusoe island in Chile has the highest rate of endemic flora in the whole world. This characteristic, plus its landscapes, fauna and history make this place a very unique and unbeatable tourist hotspot.

The location selected for the hotel is two kilometers from the main –and only- town, San Juan Bautista. The benefits of this location are two. First, it is far enough away to have visual independence from the urban area though it’s -secondly- near enough to access any services, facilities or to do tourism in the town itself. The main volume of the hotel is to be built on a steep slope facing the ocean. This way, your stay at this hotel will be a constant adventure as you “live” on this beautiful cliff.

Architectural concept

This construction must have very little visual impact viewed from land, but must be visible –and impressive- from the ocean. Its structural model is based on the exoskeleton of a lobster, which is the main source of income on the island. On the other hand, the building materials used are inspired by embarkation and crafts (local vernacular construction).

Its Parts

To achieve the hotels’ self-sufficiency, a marina is projected on the coastal edge. It is linked to the hotel by a set of tours that consists of a funicular and, stairs with viewing-points and a small seating square.

Multifunctional Marina

A sea coast marina, constructed by a pier and a volume that offers marine activity services,  is designed at the foot of the slope.  This marina is subdivided in three sections. The first one is immobile, elevated from the water and has interior spaces to conduct classes, dressing rooms, etc. The second part is a floating raft that moves with the tide and receives boats and water vehicles, while the third part is the connecting bridge between the other two.

Bioclimate

To achieve the maximum auto-sustainability possible within this hotel, many natural resources are incorporated in the project. These new technologies are fused with architecture. These are some of them:

a) Adapting the building to the form of the slope minimizes the movement of earth needed for the construction. This is done always respecting the natural geography.

b) The green roofs placed on the hotel have two benefits. First, they camouflage the volume with its natural surrounding and second, they provide thermal inertia. The water retained in their soil cools the space during the day and warms the inner spaces during the night.

c) The constant winds that blow between 5.5 and 9.5 m/s propel vertical axis wind turbines (they are of compact size and produce no sound or noise). These wind turbines can sustain over half of the electrical energy used by the hotel facilities.

d) The solar galleries facing the sun (in a north east direction) can control  wind drafts. They also have a system of thermal regulation for the interior of the building, thanks to moveable openings.

e) The solar-thermal frameworks are ceiling-roof modules on the front of the construction which capture solar radiation and heat –and store- the water used within the hotel.

f) Natural light practically bathes the whole interior of the building, minimizing the use of artificial light. This sketch shows different scenarios where one appreciates the visual permeability of the construction.

Structural Criteria

Once the design and construction has been planned out, one must bear in mind the difficulties and costs of transporting materials as well as the geographical challenges presented by the island at the time of the hotels’ construction and assembly. Also, it is necessary to have special care with the natural resources of this patrimony of the humanity.

- The foundation and walls of containment are made of armed concrete. This is the only material of the whole construction which is in direct contact with the land.

- The interior structures are made of metal. These can cover more distance and  can be assembled faster.

- The front  of the hotel is a large and curved wall curtain. To achieve a rustic yet technological “look”, columns of laminated wood will be used and to control the lateral forces, metallic cables will be installed.

- The floors are made of concrete slab throughout the complete construction.

Completions

To root the building within its environment, it is necessary to use local materials which will be executed by the local residents of the island.  

- The interior partition walls will be made of boards of local pine, a species present on the island but considered invasive and harmful to the rest of the flora (the municipality and city hall encourage its exploitation).

- The green roofs are composed of “rasterero” fern and “coirón”, which are endemic species, also present on the land.

- The front façade of the hotel employs thermo panel windows which construct solar galleries and go back from their original lead of the front to create terraces.

- The outer layer is made of two ceiling modules.  The first are  solar thermal shells and underneath are tiles made of local cypress (another invasive species).

Proceedings for Mystique S.A

The first challenge of making this hotel project reality is obtaining the sovereignty of the land. To do so, it was necessary to travel to the Robinson Crusoe island with five different professionals and once there, hire local workers to execute the following studies:

- Ground mechanics

- Topography blueprints

- Topography of the bottom of the ocean

- Determine the highest sea levels and beach line

The resulting blueprint information forced us to make the following modifications to the original project.

- Build it within the “80 meter line”

- Adapt the hotel floor plan to the form of the slope

- Re-locate and shrink the marina

- Add rooms more rooms to the hotel to increase make this project more profitable

The modified project was admitted by the DOM (the Municipal Office of Urban Developments in Juan Fernández), who are, at this moment, are processing our project petition.