Studio Saxe has completed a boutique hotel and yoga studio set into the tropical landscape of Nosara, Costa Rica. Photography by Andres Garcia Lachner

The project is another in a long line of sustainable buildings from the practice that blend contemporary design with local craftsmanship, embracing the natural environment that surrounds and frames the architecture.
Nosara has become a destination for visitors from around the world for health, wellness and surfing and so the owners of Hotel Nalu-Nosara, Nomel and Mariya Libid, wanted a design that reflects the attitude of their guests. The yoga studio, which has also become incredibly popular as a multipurpose gym space, is enveloped by lush vegetation on all sides and therefore becomes a jungle retreat for exercise and relaxation.
Guests at the hotel are provided with individual pavilion ‘homes’ rather than rooms, located just a few minutes walk from the ocean. By breaking up the mass of the traditionally monolithic hotel, the architects were able to scatter living spaces amongst the trees and create a sense of privacy while surrounded by the natural world. Each pavilion has been carefully positioned following meticulous research into wind and sun patterns, while ensuring they are all provided with an individual view out to the landscape. Overlapping timber roofs project out over each pavilion providing shade from the intense equatorial sun. These roofs are made of recycled Teak planks, creating uneven patterns that further emphasise this tension between local craftsmanship and modern design. Rooms are connected via corridors that filter dappled sunlight down from the pergola roofs above and frame more views out the lush surroundings.
Architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe said: “Our project Nalu represents the power of simple, low-key, modern tropical architecture. It has quickly become a town favourite, which shows that there is a real desire to occupy spaces that bring people closer to nature, while addressing the needs of contemporary life.”