Treetop Villas | Paul Raff Studio

The Treetop Villas integrate a dense community of housing into a steeply sloped tropical jungle. Filled with mature indigenous trees, the vegetation enhances the environment of varying ranges, from exquisite views of the beach below to the expansive horizon beyond.

A total of 17 villas are perched above the landscape atop concrete stilts and are interconnected by a system of elevated footbridges. By limiting the construction of retaining walls or re-grading, the architecture is organically at one with the dramatic geography of a steep and curving slope. To preserve the topography and the trees, driving access is restricted to the high edge of the site, and the valley is spanned with a series of pedestrian foot-bridges which are oriented exactly north-south. The housing is distributed along the bridges in small-footprint, low-impact buildings and connected down to the beach with a network of pathways on the ground. Entering the site along a footbridge, one would find oneself immersed in the tree canopy 20m above grade.

Using modest local materials and construction techniques, the villas are simple concrete and glass boxes wrapped on four sides by a bamboo screen. Their strict geometries, by juxtaposition, accentuate the flowing landform and jungle.