OCT Spa Resort

With a brief that asked for the entire resort of 19 spa villas and a clubhouse to ‘disappear’ into the landscape, the strategy is in fragmenting buildings, and in doing so reduce their perceived size.

The sizable clubhouse is broken down into four pavilions, under which spaces such as the ballroom, carpark and function halls with large and irreducible footprints are tucked—effectively ‘hidden’.

Throughout the site, buildings are oriented such that walls lay perpendicular to the water edge, leaving only their slim profiles to face the bay. Thus viewed from across, the overall impression is of more landscape than built form.

Within this plan, guests are led through a choreographed sequence through the lushly planted compound—either to villas sited down a quieting length of reflecting pool, or, for those who are not checking in, directly to one of the four bayside pavilions.