SamaYa Eco Resort

SamaYa is an eco-resort on a beachfront site in Corumbau, Prado, in Bahia, Brazil. It is composed of independent, self-sufficient villas inspired by the Asian villa concept found in places such as Bali, where each guest unit is a private retreat set within the landscape.

Each villa combines enclosed rooms under hipped roofs with deep verandas, pergolas and a private pool. The architecture is built on vernacular techniques and truth to materials: exposed round-timber structure, lime-rendered walls, timber louvred shutters, natural fibres and polished cement floors.

The project was shaped by extreme limitations imposed by both the client and environmental legislation. No native vegetation could be removed and the natural terrain could not be altered, while the eco concept had to be carried to its fullest extent in every detail.

Siting, construction methods and material choices all had to minimise interference with the existing ecosystem, from the restinga vegetation to the coastal dunes.

The villas were placed in the natural clearings of the site, raised lightly above the ground and arranged around existing trees, so the landscape remains intact. Generous roof overhangs, ventilated ceilings and full-height louvred shutters provide shade and cross-ventilation, reducing the need for mechanical cooling.

The result is an eco-resort that respects its surroundings and unites comfort, luxury, simplicity and ecological awareness in every solution, offering guests a genuine, unhurried connection with the coast.