ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo

CLAD people

Bill Bensley

Project - JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, Vietnam


For his latest Southeast Asian resort project, designer Bill Bensley has taken inspiration from an unlikely combination of themes: the work of pioneering French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the importance of higher education, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – and mushrooms.

Bensley’s typically whimsical design touches feature throughout the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay resort in the south of Vietnam – a project the designer has described as “perhaps my best”.

The luxury 243-room property is in the grounds of the 19th-century Lamarck University. The eponymous founder built the university to further the study of the natural world. The large complex is formed of many small, one- and two-storey buildings centred around a main street.

The buildings – which have not been used since 1943 – have been transformed into the hotel’s suites and villas, where, Bensley says, “every guest feels as though they’re in their own boutique, departmentalised hotel.”

“The key idea is to break down the scale of a large hotel into a series of smaller ones,” he told CLAD. “The idea of re-inhabiting, reusing and reinventing an old university is a cool one, in that almost everyone loved their days in college. It was one’s heyday, and to be able to re-live part of that joy on vacation, on a pristine beach, well, that is just totally a new experience.”

The design concept is focused on the process of learning and discovery and the influence of Lamarck – who laid the groundwork for Darwin’s theory of evolution. Hand-painted walls depict flora and fauna, sculptures of animals are present in the buildings, and objects preserved from the university can be seen throughout the hotel.

“In this very competitive world of hospitality design it’s paramount that everything we do is original,” said Bensley. “Creating layers and layers of stories that our guests can live seems a clear way forward.”

A key component of the resort is the Spa Chanterelle, with six couple’s treatment rooms, a body treatment suite, a hair salon and steamrooms and saunas. Located in the university’s old physical education department, the design is inspired by mushrooms – which Vietnam’s French colonists believed have therapeutic properties, and which residents of Phu Quoc traditionally foraged from the jungle.

Mushroom shapes are found in the furnishings and stencilled artwork on the walls, and botanical illustrations adorn the ceilings, adding a surreal quality. References from Alice in Wonderland also feature heavily. In one corridor, asymmetric arches curve at angles to create a layering effect, echoing Alice's fall down the rabbit hole.

“Mushrooms provide a historically correct fantasy element that seemed to be a perfect match for this spa,” Bensley said. “I’ve collected some 20 samples of dried, foraged mushrooms and these are on display at the entry to the spa and in a turn-of-the-century French shop cabinet. Unique touches like that are important. To coax guests from the comfort of their rooms, the spa has to be even more enchanting.

“The references to Alice in Wonderland are there because the book was published in 1865, the year the university was inaugurated.”

Gallery
Click on an image to open the image gallery
company profile
Company profile: Art of Cryo
Art of Cryo is a new division of a renowned family business with 30 years’ experience in ultra-low temperature equipment. A 28-year old legacy of building the best quality solutions for whole-body cryotherapy is the foundation to offer our high performance cryo chambers - The Art of Cryo Vaultz®.
Try cladmag for free!
Sign up with CLAD to receive our regular ezine, instant news alerts, free digital subscriptions to CLADweek, CLADmag and CLADbook and to request a free sample of the next issue of CLADmag.
sign up
features
Concept for the Beauvais Theatre project which didn’t proceed
Nicolas Moreau & Hiroko Kusunoki
"With big projects like this one, there’s always going to be controversy. Of course people are concerned"

The shock winners of the competition to design the Guggenheim Helsinki have kept a low profile – until now. Magali Robathan goes to Paris to meet them

The Kunsthaus Bregenz stands on the shore of Lake Constance in Austria. It is made from glass, steel and cast concrete
Peter Zumthor studied in Basel, Switzerland and New York. He launched his practice in Haldenstein in 1979
"I like to take my time"

The Pritzker Prize-winner on those LACMA renderings

The club has been designed to encourage socialising among its users, with several spaces for relaxation
DMAC’s Dwayne MacEwen
"The hotel concept came late in the game, but it was an inspired idea"

The newly renovated Chicago Midtown Athletic Club features a boutique hotel, a pool-come-ice rink and spaces designed by Venus Williams

Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
To advertise in our catalogue gallery: call +44(0)1462 431385
features
The Ned’s spa is built around the 20m indoor pool and also features a pink Moroccan hammam
Lund has worked as a designer for Soho House since 2014. She co-led the design of The Ned
"My favourite part of the building is the original bank vault, in the belly of the building. It once stored gold bullion deposits of £335m"

On the challenges of creating The Ned

Heatherwick’s 1000 Trees development in Shanghai, China
"The entire way of living is changing in Asia, and the need for communities is on the rise"

The new wellness communities changing the face of residential design in Asia

Some 1,100 trees of 
23 different species will line the building façades
Stefano Boeri is working on a number of major green schemes in China
"We’re creating new spheres, where people, trees and animals can coexist in an environment of wellness"

On how the vertical forest model promotes wellness

features
Tom Lindblom
"Public spaces support the widest diversity of experiences"

At last concrete proof that design is the critical factor that turns good experiences into great ones says Gensler’s Tom Lindblom

Steve and Marie Nygren
Steve and Marie Nygren
"The vision was to create a community that feels as though it’s always been there"

Eco community Serenbe was launched in the heart of the Giorgia countryside to provide an alternative to the traditional American suburb. As work starts on a new wellness hamlet, we speak to the founders

cladkit product news
Eden project uses drones to spell out climate change warning
Magali Robathan
Almost 300 drones were used to signal an environmental message above the Eden Project’s biomes, during the UN Climate Change ...
Codelocks develops new glass door smart lock
The new lock model allows facilities and building managers to create and manage access via an app or online portal
Megan Whitby
Codelocks has launched its first glass door smart lock to bring intelligent access control to modern spa, leisure, fitness and ...
Mather & Co and ITV unite to create Coronation Street Experience
Mather & Co has transformed the visitor centre into the ultimate haven for ardent Coronation Street viewers
Magali Robathan
Experience designers, Mather & Co, have orchestrated a remarkable collaboration with ITV to unveil the new Coronation Street Experience, a ...
cladkit product news
Eco Resort Network conference to convene in Mauritius this May
The event will be hosted in the Mauritius in 2024
Megan Whitby
Hospitality industry event Eco Resort Network is set to take place at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Turtle Bay, Mauritius, from ...
Koto Design introduces wood-fired hot tub
Koto is known for crafting modular, energy-neutral cabins and homes
Katie Barnes
A striking wood-fired hot tub has been unveiled by Koto, an architecture and design studio which has a passion for ...
Alberto Apostoli and Newform collaborate to launch the A.Zeta showerhead
The showerhead offers two modes; rainfall or waterfall
Megan Whitby
Italian architect Alberto Apostoli has renewed his partnership with Newform – an Italian wellness company – and designed A.Zeta. A.Zeta ...
cladkit product news
Siminetti unveils iridescent decorative panelling range inspired by plants
The Clematis design
Megan Whitby
The Botanicals is Siminetti’s newest Mother of Pearl decorative panelling collection, inspired by the distinctive patterns found in botany and ...
Alberto Apostoli designs tech-forward Wellness Therapy furniture collection for Varaschin
The furniture collection draws on absolute geometries, pure lines, neutral colours and strong references to nature
Megan Whitby
Furniture manufacturer Varaschin has unveiled the new Wellness Therapy range, designed by Italian spa and wellness architect and designer Alberto ...
Jaffe Holden helps bring Academy Museum of Motion Pictures alive
Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics for the Academy Museum
Magali Robathan
Acoustical consulting firm Jaffe Holden provided architectural acoustics and audio/video design services for the recently opened Academy Museum of Motion ...
ISPA Conference & Expo
ISPA Conference & Expo