ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION
5★ Hotel construction
La Pointe du Bout, Martinique
An exemplary hotel
For decades, the seaside activity and the privatization of the seashores have participated in the transformation of the French and international coasts by the construction of facilities inherent to these mass tourist flows. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, these constructions have often had a negative impact on their environment and the stability of the surrounding biodiversity. It is therefore essential today to reduce the environmental impact of this activity. The challenge of the competition will be to find sufficiently innovative architectural responses to limit the environmental impact of construction and allow the development of biodiversity.
How can a hotel complex be built today while minimizing its carbon footprint and offering sustainable and responsible construction techniques for a local activity that needs to be revitalized and perpetuated?
An idyllic island in the French overseas territory, Martinique is a dream destination for many French and international tourists. With more than a million visitors a year, tourism is not the main economic activity of the island but remains one of its pillars. The exceptional geographical location of the project imposes respect for the surrounding nature, which is both its showcase and its main asset.
The ambition of this competition is therefore to build an exemplary building at the service of sustainable tourism.
WINNING PROJECT
4 FINALIST PROJECTS
rdai architecture
aw2 architecture
Selected teams
find out which teams will participate in the first step of this competition :
- An exceptional site
The Pointe du Bout in the municipality of Trois Îlets overlooks the bay of Fort-de-France. The project site faces the capital of Martinique and reveals an exceptional panorama.
Before being a popular seaside destination, the village was inhabited by farmers and potters since the 17th century, producing cocoa, tobacco, sugar, rum and pottery, which were then exported to metropolitan France. At the far end of the site, there is a former military fort erected to cope with the incessant incursions of the British in the 17th century. It has been classified as a historical monument in 2014 and its enhancement will be part of the competition.
Since the 1960s, tourism has intensified and so has the urbanization of the peninsula. The Pointe du Bout was one of the first bathing areas developed in the form of successive lagoons. On the plot, one of the most beautiful in Martinique, was the Hotel Le Meridien, the emblematic hotel of the island. Too old, it closed its doors more than 10 years ago before being demolished. This gap was initially to be filled by the reconstruction of 300 rooms before Leader Hotels won the call for projects.
Paradoxically, the construction of this plot, currently enclosed in an urbanized area, will have to participate in the protection of wooded areas.
- Imagining one of the most emblematic hotels
in the CaribbeanCreated in 1986 by Daniel Arnoux and Patrick Vial-Collet, the Leader Hotels group is one of the few independent hotel chains in the French Caribbean. Owner of five hotels in Guadeloupe, including La Toubana (5 stars) and La Creole (4 stars), the group has established itself as a major player in the high-end hotel business in the French West Indies.
Relying on its platform "Des Hôtels et des Iles" created in 1990, the group manages the marketing, e-Marketing and promotion of 22 Caribbean hotels in Europe, the United States, Canada and Latin America.
Wishing to live up to this exceptional site, the group decided to launch an architectural competition to design the first 5☆ hotel in Martinique, and to make it one of the most exceptional hotels in the Caribbean.
The objective of this competition is also for them to question the future of the hotel industry with regard to growing environmental issues.
Inspired by the Creole Caribbean identity and proposing a new way of living that can find a more general echo in the design of ecological housing on the island, the project should embody an innovative design of the hotel of tomorrow, integrating a low carbon construction, and offering for example solutions for rainwater harvesting and production of renewable energy.
The Program
a €40 millions ecological hotel
The project envisages the construction of a 5-star hotel comprising approximately 80 suites with areas ranging from 40 to 160 sq.m., as well as their common areas, swimming pool, bar, restaurant, spa and gym, with a total surface area of approximately 7,000 sq.m.
The project also provides for the development of the Pointe du Bout fort, a former 17th century military fort, classified as a historical monument since 2014.
The estimated cost of the works is approximately 40 million euros.
Specifications detailing the programme will be sent to the teams selected to compete.
HOW TO REGISTER?
1registration process
Pre-register and receive detailed instructions on the registration process.
2portfolio
Create or complete your BAM portfolio. A portofolio will have to be created for each member of the team (Architect, Interior Architect, Design Office, etc.).
3Application
Validate your application via the application form. Each team will have to write a letter of motivation.
CALENDAR
registration
Registrations are closed
competition
May, 2020 - announcement of applicants invited in the competition
July, 2020 - presentation of projects intentions and selection of 3 finalist teams
September 2020 - final presentations
October 2020 - winner announcement
ORGANISATION
Background information
teams selection
- 3 to 4 teams admitted to compete will be selected by the project owner, on the basis of their portfolio and a letter of motivation.
- Each team admitted to compete will be compensated up to 35,000€ HT for its participation in the competition.
registration fees
- Registrations are free of charge until March 19th at 8pm UTC-4.
- Candidates or teams who complete their registration after this date will have to pay a late registration fee of 80 € VAT excl.
- The deadline for registration of applications is 27th March 2020.
elegibility requirements
- The competition is open to all French or foreign architects authorized to practice in France.
- It is strongly recommended that an interior architect / decorator, and design offices specialized in energy and environmental performance, with references in low carbon and high environmental performance buildings, be part of the team.
- The association with a local partner for the follow-up of the works can be a plus for the constitution of the team, but no exclusivity is imposed on this subject.
FAQ
is it mandatory to respond with specialized design offices or other consultants?
It is strongly recommended to partner with design offices with references in low carbon or high environmental performance constructions, in case the architects do not have any. The amount foreseen for the fees is specified in the regulations.
is it possible to attach a pdf portfolio to my application?
In the interest of fairness, portfolios in PDF format are not accepted. Only projects and items uploaded to the BAM portfolio will be analyzed.
can design offices or consultants create their portfolio on bam?
Yes, design offices or consultants can and must create their portfolio in the same way as architects, by selecting "Design Offices / Consultants" when creating the portfolio. References can be added by integrating photographs and graphics.
is it imperative for the architectural firm to partner with a decorator
In case the architectural firm does not have this competence and references in hotel construction and decoration, the association with an interior architect / decorator is strongly recommended.
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