In Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico, Casa Gruta by architects Salvador Román Hernández and Adela Mortera Villarreal draws inspiration from the region’s ancient cenotes. Through curved concrete vaults, secluded courtyards, and tranquil bodies of water, the 254-square-meter house offers a poetic interpretation of Mexican architecture, where nature and light take precedence.
At Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino in Greece, A.N. Tombazis & Associates Architects and K-Studio draw on the mandria, a traditional rural stone enclosure, to shape a resort around the coastal terrain.
In Hefei, China, Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee of HAS design and research bring together local travertine, concealed irrigation, and drifting mist at Botanica Meditation Center. Designed for meditation, yoga, and tai chi, the botanical garden turns water infrastructure into an atmospheric setting for quiet reflection.
Laiva Plaza sits a short walk inland from the sea in San José del Cabo, pink and hard to miss. The Mexico City studio RA! took the rhythm of papel picado and made it a facade. The vivid pink is Rosa Mexicano, a color that runs through Mexican textiles and folk art.
At Palacio de Godoy Cáceres, Curio Collection by Hilton, interior designer Szymon Keller introduces Peruvian influences and bespoke furnishings into a restored 16th-century Renaissance palace in Extremadura, Spain. His interiors balance contemporary hospitality with architectural heritage, drawing on Spanish and Andean traditions without concealing the building’s past.
Athens-based architecture firm Block722 shapes JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa around light, stone, proportion, and sky, translating the island’s culture of slow living into a restrained architectural language on the hillside of Akra Pelegri.
ANSAYA PHUKET reinterprets traditional Thai architectural principles for contemporary residential living in Phuket, using passive ventilation, climate-responsive planning, and a Double-I villa layout shaped by local conditions.
AvroKO designed the lobby, Luso and Cante at Canopy Bangkok Sukhumvit, which opened August 4 on Sukhumvit Soi 12. The hotel’s design story was inspired by Asoke’s industrial heritage and the nearby Sri Krung Sound Film Studio, one of Thailand’s early sound-film studios.
Shma organized The Standard’s first Thai resort around 234 trees, turning the walk to the beach into a “Journey of the Unexpected” in Hua Hin’s century-old royal seaside town.
For WATG, preservation became a design method on an eco-sensitive island resort.
