Oppenheim Architecture’s illa Bimini is a new environmentally sustainable eco-resort offering a secluded retreat that invites residents and guests to foster a deeper connection with the landscape. Set on a 9,000-foot stretch of Bimini’s coastline and featuring the first overwater bungalows in the Bahamas, the resort is a holistic community where every element is designed to blur the boundary between architecture and the landscape, bringing residents and guests closer to nature.
illa Bimini’s design takes its cues from the natural beauty of the surroundings. Private villas feature floor-to-ceiling windows and are carefully sited to open up unimpeded views over the Atlantic Ocean and Bimini Bay. Each of the buildings—from the 54 villas and 49-room hotel to the library, restaurant, lounge, and communal pavilions—is designed with local materials that offer a contemporary take on the vernacular architecture of the island. These buildings are connected by a string of outdoor spaces—including a beach-front pool, an overwater spa, terraces with plunge pools, fruit gardens, bocce ball and tennis courts, and a marina—that invite guests to spend their days outside and connect with the surrounding landscape.
The villas themselves are each designed as a collection of small volumes that enclose an outdoor pool and garden, creating secluded pockets of privacy in the community. A walking path through the garden connects the villas’ main living spaces to the sleeping pavilions, softening the distinction between indoor and outdoor space.
Ecological responsibility is central to the design of the resort, which features a solar array, a state-of-the-art energy management system, fully integrated smart-home technology, and back-up generator applications.
Leading Caribbean real estate development firm Island Developers tapped Oppenheim Architecture for the overall master plan, the design of each of the buildings, and the interiors. The landscape was designed by renowned Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles.