Designing for extreme climates

NAME has worked on a number of hospitality projects in diverse regions and climates reflecting the trend for travellers to explore the furthest reaches of the globe in a quest for new experiences and adventure.

Designing for extreme climates presents its own challenges. We have designed in regions as diverse as Lapland, Saudi Arabia and in Thailand, encountering temperatures of plus and minus 40 degrees either way, and extreme humidity.

Each of the projects that we have undertaken has presented a set of challenges. Accessibility in these areas is one of the main challenges. In the most extreme heat and cold, construction is not always possible, so projects require careful, phased programming and a prioritising of work stages which may mean starting several seasons before a resort is scheduled to open. We also have to take into consideration the sustainability and performance of materials in particular climates, and whether or not you can build on site or whether it is better to transport and construct pre-fabricated elements.

In any climate, design always has a role to play in mediating relationships between inside and outside. But in extreme conditions, this becomes even more important. In Lapland there is such a marked difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures it is impossible to allow the outside air inside. At the same time, we need to design in a way that doesn’t make people feel cut off from the very landscape that they have come to experience. At our Arctic Lodge resort project, we employed an approach of environmental layering which gradually mediated the temperatures between external and internal environments, whilst maintaining strong visual links to the outside. In the desert, any movement between indoors and outdoors is equally problematic with scorching midday temperatures that would make even the shortest time outside unbearable. Resorts by their nature often involve many buildings – rooms, pools, hotel lobbies, restaurants - so the choreography of daily movement becomes central to their layout. Adaptability is key. In the desert we might also use shadows or filtered light to mediate heat, which can change dramatically within a few hours from very hot days to very cool nights.

Landscape is another important factor. In Lapland the site can look very different at varying times of year with more vegetation visible in the summer, and the winter months typified by a visually monotonous covering of thick snow. In this environment design has a role to play in placemaking and way finding. Visible streetscapes might be created with lightweight building elements that protrude through the snow or lighting used to create visual cues for visitors leaving or returning to their accommodation.

Whilst visitors seeking new experiences in beautiful locations has been a driver of the tourist industry in recent years, design still needs to respond in a way which is authentic, respectful of place and culture, and which touches down as lightly and as sustainably as possible. Lightweight and off-site construction techniques can help mediate the impact of new building and there is an increasing level of consciousness of the importance of environmental responsibility amongst architects, hotel operators and guests.

A path navigating between the trees to create a natural promenade - Koh Tao Island Resort - Thailand

In Thailand, we designed a resort set at the bottom of a steeply sloping site covered with rich vegetation. The slope inspired the overall masterplan with a circulation route that made its way carefully around the existing trees. Accommodation pods were designed to sit on lightweight, pre-fabricated structural columns, minimising construction intervention and impact on the ground.

Accommodation pods - Koh Tao Island Resort - Thailand

Tourism can also help local communities thrive socially and economically, providing employment opportunities, keeping cultures alive and helping to educate new audiences about their existence. Local craft and industry can also inspire design, as in Lapland where the building façade referenced the patterns of traditional local textiles.