Design studio Nomadic Resorts has created six ‘bioclimatic’ bamboo treehouses, complete with bedrooms, bathrooms and lounges. Jenny Southan reports

Inspired by theflattened, prismatic bodies” of Mobula rays that swim past in the sea, Nomadic Resorts’ treehouses are attached to a cluster of transplanted coconut palms that were moved to pre-determined locations by the site’s permaculture manager.

The result of a collaboration with David Leventhal, pioneer of the regenerative travel movement, the naturally ventilated treehouses allow for Playa Viva to accommodate up to 12 additional guests in a low-impact way.

One of the treehouses has a master bedroom with a hammock net balcony facing the sea, while an annex treehouse at the back contains the bathroom downstairs and a second bedroom/lounge upstairs with daybeds and a desk. Stays cost from about US$300 per night.Playa Viva treehouses Playa Viva treehouses Playa Viva treehousesOlav Bruin, Atelier Nomadic’s creative director, says: “The design of the bamboo treehouses offered us a unique opportunity to develop a cuttingedge bamboo structure in an incredible location without compromising our environmental ethos.”

Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing renewable building materials in the world. Tough Guadua bamboo was used for the main structure, roof, façade louvers and ceiling, while Phyllostachis Aurea was used for the wall and façade panels in the annex building. Flooring is cumaru timber.

The architeecturally striking treehouses feature “hyperbolic paraboloid” roofs that were winched into position and fixed to the tree trunks before the prefabricated panels were erected by “enigmatic bamboo maestro” Jorg Stamm and his team of local craftsmen.Playa Viva treehouses Playa Viva treehouses Playa Viva treehousesNomadic Resorts says the final product is a far cry from the “box on a beach” development model, espoused by many traditional hospitality groups. The company’s CEO, Louis Thompson, says: “Sleeping in the Mobula Ray treehouse is a liberating personal experience.

“After months of isolation and lock downs, here, guests can connect with their environment once more listen to the sound of the waves, feel the breeze sway through the palm leaves and taste the salt air, unmasked, as they lounge on the hammock suspended over the beach, staring at the stars. This is beyond wellness, it’s catharsis.”

Nomadic Resorts specialises in the creation of tented pods, treehouses and eco resorts. Its interdisciplinary design team works from offices in the Netherlands and Mauritius. Using a holistic approach, the team creates projects that “reflect a sense of place and fit organically into their natural surroundings”.

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