Quemado Hotel  --

Set into the cliffs, overlooking the central beach at Al Hoceima, the Quemado Hotel has a stunning view over the Atlantic Ocean and is sheltered in a setting of luscious and colourful local vegetation. The landscaping around the hotel was carried out in close collaboration with the architect and was highly integrated into the building design. The access and vistas were at the heart of the design process in order to maximise the views towards the sea and the understanding of the site, which is highly dependent on the natural elements. The existing vegetation was maintained. When a building footprint fell on an important specimen tree, it was transplanted to a different location within the hotel gardens. Large planted joints create patterns in the paved areas and allow water percolation into the ground, thus irrigating the planted beds. Using a sustainable development approach, the plant species chosen are highly sun loving and drought tolerant. Furthermore, no lawn areas are planned for this project in order to limit the watering requirements and to encourage better resource management. Parking areas have been designed using local gravel on a permeable honeycomb structure, to ensure stability and durability and to reduce large areas of impermeable materials.