Resort Torquay, Australia

The scope of this project involved concept and master planning and is a fine example of Australian architecture. The Esplanade resort in Torquay is a 500 bed beach-front hotel on the ocean road, an hour and a half out of Melbourne, Australia. The underlying concept for this resort development was: from bush to the surf. It is designed in modern Australian style using stone-rubble, wood and frameless glass on the exterior and clean and finely honed surfaces internally.

Two giant waterfall curtains flank the entry signalling the arrival point for the guests and beckoning the visitor into the spacious lobby and the garden beyond. The internal garden transforms into a rainforest, typical of the area, with skywalk bridges connecting the upper levels of the hotel and offering guests a tree-top journey of discovery. Three quarters of the bedrooms are disposed in a pavilion type accommodation set in landscaped surrounds of the natural Australian bush.