The Hotel Elizabeth Resort and Villas is a cluster of undulating ‘sailwave’ structure in one of the most biological diverse areas in South East Asia- the island of Palawan. The project is aimed at creating a new way of hotel leisure-led development by creating these cultural tapestries of resort typologies. It hosts a series of twelve loft-type sectional villas facing the 15 kilometer San Vicente beach, the longest beach in country. The structure is reminiscent of the “Vinta” a traditional vernacular boat type in the Philippines. The construction highlights the materiality of a sanded down concrete with added local sand aggregates and waterproof sealer giving the building that tactile quality as if it was part of nature and becomes a sort of artefact.

The sectional villas features a ramp-up roof that leads to a sunset view deck with a garden of endemic vegetation to give a dramatic experience for the guests. The ground level which houses the living and dining area sits along the same level of the path walk, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor and offers an extended view of the outdoor spaces. Every villas also has a loft bedroom that offers a picturesque view of the long beach reminiscent of a still life painting. Positioned few steps lower than the villas is a 50-meter lap pool that mergers with the nearby mangrove area- offering a seamless transition between man-made and nature. Along the lap pool, each villas enjoys a sunken bonfire pit that sits below the level of path walk providing the villas with unobstructed view of the beach while at same time functions as a deck of the pool.

From the ramp-up roof that gradually blends with the surrounding nature, to a structure that evokes memory of a Vinta, the building becomes a space that celebrates the natural fabric of the site, the vernacular, and the local ethnography.