12. The Bahamas

_Kapoor Studio, Harbour Island_

Anish Kapoor, one of the most successful and highly regarded living artists, has commissioned London based practice, Gianni Botsford Architects, to design a new studio house on a beach on Harbour Island in The Bahamas.

Gianni Botsford Architects explain that “the commission includes the master planning of a large site with an existing house, the refurbishment of the main house, re-landscaping, and a number of new, smaller pavilion like projects within the landscape. The first of these is a new studio and bedroom hovering over the dune at the edge of the beach. The primary concern we identified was that to be truly comfortable spaces, the effects of the prevailing wind from the east would have to be an important driver for the design. Various construction methods are being investigated primarily focussing on prefabrication alongside local craft skills. The in-situ concrete structure it’s made of completely waterproofed concrete relying on crystals growing and filling the capillary pores and micro-cracks in the concrete, blocking the flow of water as time passes ensuring continuous waterproofing over the years.”

Below are images of the concept model of the in-situ concrete structure: