Silver Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2020
Kuara Hotel
by David Guerra
- A' Design Award 2020 Silver Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: David Guerra Arquitetura e Interiores
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 19,230
- Verification code 2F7348A8E4 · Verify this award
About Kuara Hotel
Kuara is a hotel built in a preserved rain forest area on the coast of Arraial d'Ajuda in Bahia, Brazil. The architecture combines vernacular and modern forms and seeks a close relation with the surrounding nature. Wood is used on floors, walls, louvers, brise soleils and panels, with species such as cumaru, tatajuba, ipe and peroba. Bamboo, natural fibers, straw, wicker, leather and Brazilian stones are combined with stone imported from Italy in floors and bathrooms. All native vegetation was preserved, and the new buildings stand where the former hotel buildings stood.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The architecture, thought primordially in establishing solid symbiosis with the richness of the reserve, in a vernacular and modern construction, also answers to the sophistication, essential to every refugee destined for leisure and resting. Therefore, the briefing asked for a modern and established project, which could underline the privilege of being constructed in a preserved rain forest area. This dialogue merges with architectural and interior details, that rescues the Brazilian bossa.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The complexity demanded not just the rough work of experienced carpenters, but the creation of an entire workshop on site to optimize the job. Bamboo, natural fibers, straw, wicker, leather, Brazilian stones, and other handmade elements counterbalance with Florim stones, imported from Italy, used in floors and bathrooms, which despite presenting an industrialized production of the highest standard, still presents the sensation of natural rock, without the inconvenient of water infiltration.
- Tags
- hotel, brazil, tropical, wood, sun, nature, bahia
- Production Technology
- In the choosing of materials, it has become necessary to use diversity, in the search for interaction, with great focus in the beauty of wood, in its natural state, executed with perfection by carpenters, whom were disciples of the master Zanine Caldas. The work is abundant in the surfaces, such as floor and walls, as well as architectural elements like venetians, brise soleils, and standard panels, with species like cumaru, tatajuba, ipe and peroba.
- Design Challenge
- This richness of memory and diversity could not be ignored, opting, thereby, for the preservation of all native vegetation, using the structure of the old hotel to build the new one on the same places as the old buildings. The landscape architecture takes that into account.
- Project Duration
- The project started in Arraial DAjuda, Brazil, in 2010, and finished on site in 2017. The hotel inaugurated in the end of 2017.
- Operation Flow
- Privacy, intimacy, and silence were key words in the program of necessities. Also, the sounds from the waves and birds, the aroma of the vegetation and the sea, and of course the unforgettable views from the very preserved coastline, were treated as untouchable, and make the stay in Kuara not only a time of opportunity and relaxing, but active experience of contact with nature.
- Research
- This lush nature is inserted on site, since way before the idea of an occupation. An organic composition, which main axis is the Mucuge river. The rain forest flourishes in conjunction with the mangue (a kind of swamp endemic for this region, which hosts a unique biome), between the famous cliffs of Arraial DAjuda. The 200 meters of beach take us to the unforgettable horizon offered by the Atlantic Ocean, on which, about 500 years ago, the portuguese caravelas came from the west, beginning a new phase on Brazilian history.
- Inspiration
- Kuara, meaning sun for the indigenous Tupi-Guarani. The house of Tupan, the supreme god. Kuara Delivers, every day, energy, heat, life, all elements that make Bahia, the province on which the portuguese discoverers disembarked in Brazil. The Brazilian, indigenous at first, but not only, mixed through dozens of generations, in an ethnic pluralism, bringing an unique diversity to our people, strength in a fascinating narrative about the roots of this country.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Jomar Bragança
Image #2: Jomar Bragança
Image #3: Jomar Bragança
Image #4: Jomar Bragança
Image #5: Jomar Bragança
Video Credits: Coletivo Imaginário
Colors of Kuara Hotel
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Grand Interview about Kuara Hotel
The Tupi-Guarani culture inspired the concept of Kûara from its very name, which means “sun.” This heritage guided the creation of a Brazilian, natural, and sensorial architecture that celebrates our origins and the bond between nature and spirituality.
The greatest challenge was balancing luxury and environmental preservation. We maintained the soul of the place, part of the existing structure, and all the native vegetation. The project doesn’t impose itself — it listens to the land, returning respect for the landscape in built form.
The woodwork, executed by artisans connected to Zanine Caldas, was essential to expressing the idea of contemporary Brazilian identity. This collaboration brought texture, authenticity, and a dialogue between the handcrafted and the modern, defining the hotel’s character as sophisticated, authentic, and distinctly Brazilian.
The relationship with nature was always the starting point. We sought an architecture that rested on the topography and allowed itself to be guided by the site’s natural elements. The Atlantic Forest, the mangrove, and the sea shaped the design, turning the hotel into an organic extension of the landscape.
I sought to reinterpret Brazilian building techniques with sophistication and lightness. The intention was to merge vernacular methods with contemporary solutions while respecting the essence of Brazilian architecture. This balance between the simple and the refined is what makes the project both authentic and timeless.
The sound experience was also considered from the very beginning. We wanted the sound of the sea and the birds to be part of the atmosphere, creating a sensorial environment that enhances the feeling of immersion in the landscape.
The Mucugê River and the mangrove defined the layout and positioning of the complex. They were natural references that guided the design and ensured genuine integration between architecture and environment, shaping visual axes, flows, and the site plan itself.
The seven years of development allowed the project to mature alongside the place. There was time to understand the climate, the light, and local dynamics — factors that were progressively incorporated into the architectural decisions.
The combination of local woods with Italian stone reflects the pursuit of balance between the natural and the technological. This mix creates a tactile and visual experience that reinforces the hotel’s identity and the dialogue between the artisanal and the contemporary.
I believe Kûara represents a new perspective on sustainable luxury: comfort aligned with nature and simplicity. It’s a project that values human experience and connection with the environment more than ostentation. I hope it inspires other projects to find beauty in what is essential and authentic.