studio MK27 unveils its village of 'islands within an island' in the maldives

dubbed ‘patina maldives,’ a sprawling spa resort by studio MK27 celebrates the solitude of its island context while encouraging social interactions. the team at the são paulo-based architecture practice designs its boutique hotel as a celebration of the company of others within nature. a radical living experience, the space invites its visitors to escape the pressures of society and retreat into a new, dream-like reality. respectful and sensitive to the landscape, the architecture itself is realized as a grouping of tiny volumes which touch the ground delicately. standing low, the rooflines never rise above the horizon — the shelters seek to dematerialize into the surroundings to amplify the island over the architecture.

images by fernando guerra | @fernandoguerra

studio MK27‘s ‘patina maldives’ islands within an island follow the natural curves of the coastal topography. a series of footpaths emerge almost naturally from the lush plant life, its trails seeking to erase any traces of man-made gestures. the only built path, in wood, determines an axis that organizes the whole program for the hotel. along one side of this walkway is a main building and most of the villas. the other side of the axis sees a spa and communal areas. the buildings themselves are expressed with minimal ornament, as the landscape itself serves to ornament the island. the canopy of trees creates privacy for the villas and unfolds to highlight the most important common buildings, establishing a hierarchy of focuses to the different built structures of the village.

the patina maldives hotel is a kaleidoscope of atmospheres which studio MK27 organizes in an ascending way — from private to public, from isolation to belonging, from simplicity to sophistication. the spa is a building invaded by skies and dense vegetation from all sides. massage rooms, whether in floating boxes or inside the main building, enjoy framed, postcard views of the surroundings. meanwhile, further into the village on land, the buildings dissolve into the sand. the threshold between the island and the indoors is blurred with the invading plant life.