Luxury Living in Cyprus: Minthis Hills Development Launched at MIPIM 2008
A new residential resort in Cyprus, which aims to re-define luxury living whilst at the same time having a minimal impact on the environment, launched last week at
MIPIM 2008, in Cannes, France.
The Minthis Hills project has been created by Pafilia, in association with world renowned architect Woods Bagot and landscape architects Lovejoy London. Located in Tsada village, between Paphos, the capital of Cyprus’ western region (15 minutes away) and Polis, the Minthis Hills estate stretches across 4.9 million square metres (1,200 acres) of land, but only 100,000 m2 (24.7 acres) is being built on - the rest will be encompassing all that nature has to offer with 50,000 indigenous plants and trees and being planted to embellish the surrounding area.
Minthis Hills will consist of two, three, four and five bedroom villas, bungalows and junior villas and will incorporate the existing 18 hole par 71 championship golf course, which is being revamped. A large new clubhouse is under construction, and other top-notch facilities will be on offer to residents, including a spa, health club, tennis courts, nature trails (for walkers and mountain bikers), restaurants and a full concierge service.
Sensitive to Nature
The idea behind the Minthis Hills project was to integrate the architecture sensitively with the landscape, make full use of local natural materials and work with the local ecology. The properties are designed to fit in with the contours of the hillside, so they don’t look out of place, and all of the 600 homes will have a view - of the sea, mountains or golf course.
Rob Steul, principal at Woods Bagot, explains how they came up with the architectural design for Minthis Hills, “We spent a lot of time studying Cypriot vernacular architecture, particularly the traditional stone houses and buildings in the mountain villages,” he says.
“These buildings were perfectly suited to their climate and landscape and developed over the centuries, and we wanted to use these building techniques in the house designs. We took the main elements of stone walls, courtyards, natural ventilation and single pitched roofs and reinterpreted them in a modern way. While being of our time, the houses fit seamlessly with the environment as well as the traditional architecture.”
In idea behind the Minthis Hills development is to provide the best of both worlds. Minthis Hills will offer a luxury rural escape for either permanent residents or holidaymakers, at the same time allowing residents easy access to a great range of facilities, amenities and leisure activities.
At this stage it looks promising and it is always good to hear of developments that are sensitive to the existing environment, and built to minimise the impact on the area’s natural beauty and landscape.
