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Belgium-based Polo Architects and Going East embraced understated elegance for Barefoot Luxury Villas, a series of 30 serviced dwellings on the archipelago of Cabo Verde, off the coast of West Africa. The design team were collectively mindful of the island’s natural characteristics, thereby making decisions for the architecture, interiors and landscaping that are respectful of the arid, rocky terrain.

A maximum of four storeys high, the villas are constructed with a raw concrete framework and then clad with stacked basalt stones dug directly from the surrounding valley. As well as being aligned with the traditional Cabo Verdean method of building walls, the rustic ochre and brown tones of the stone work in harmony with the colours of the land. A network of basalt stone roads interconnects the villas.

Patrick Lootens, co-founder of Polo Architects, says, “For this labour-intensive method, we counted on the expertise of local specialists from Santo Antao, proving that it’s possible to create contemporary structures with local techniques and typologies.”

The island is exposed to harsh winds, so each building is arranged around a central outdoor patio with a pool and kitchen. Large panels of kotibé timber surround the patio space, and pivot in order to block the wind. Strips of rattan cover tall pergolas, which Going East implemented for an ‘inside-outside’ effect.

Anaïs Torfs and Michiel Mertens collaborated with local craftsmen for most of the furnishings, recalling “We scoured Mindelo’s markets for objects that connect these residences to their locale”.

The rooms are strewn with welcome reminders that guests are on African soil, from shark teeth to local Awale game boards, wicker baskets and manioc mortars. The interiors comprise board-marked concrete surfaces framing full height windows that look out toward the ocean.

In an area that is still largely untouched by tourism, Polo Architects and Going East succeeded in achieving a standard of luxury while maintaining authentic connections to island life.

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