Vista Lago wins two awards in this year’s International Property Awards: Best Development and Best Architecture in Spain.
It’s good to be recognised. It’s good that we, and our clients, can recognise the best when we see it, but it’s even better when others, taking a critical and independent look at what we’ve done, can verify that the results of our efforts are indeed the very best in the world right now. Or so far, in part of it…. Vista Lago Residences has won in two categories in this year’s European Property Awards: Best in Spain for “Architectural Multiple Residence” and “Residential Development”.
Article by Vivion O’Kelly
The International Property Awards are the accepted benchmark for excellence in all sectors of the property industry worldwide, covering categories ranging from the design, construction and presentation of properties and developments to architectural and interior design, real estate and marketing. Candidates enter at national, regional and international levels, in that order. The awards, founded in 1993 by Stuart Shield, publisher of the International Property and Travel Magazine, describes them as similar to the “the Stirling Prize for architecture, but super-charged.”
Vista Lago Residences is the award-winning development and “we”, as in our opening paragraph, means the very successful collaboration between the architectural and interior design company UDesign and the development company BRIGHT, whose world-class designs have already won the Best in Spain and Best in Europe in the same Property Awards in 2019 with the one-of-a-kind Villa Alcuzcuz. In that case, the awards were in the “Architecture Single Residence” category. This year’s win is, in fact, a double for Vista Lago, in that the Architectural Multiple Residence award went to UDesign as the architects and the Residential Development award was for BRIGHT as developers.
The win automatically nominates Vista Lago Residences for the upcoming “Best in Europe” awards in these categories. Winning here would set the development up for the grand final “Best in the World” awards at the end of the year.
BRIGHT and UDesign joined forces when BRIGHT’s CEO, Michael Rodziewicz, asked his counterpart in UDesign, Jason Harris, for help in designing his home in Marbella. Both men shared the same mission in life: to bring high-end residential architecture and design to the Costa del Sol at a level that had not existed before. Rodziewicz brought a lifetime of experience in the luxury development field and Harris contributed the proven skills in creative design that he and his team had built up over the years in Marbella. The extraordinary success of the collaboration is evident.
Design for Living
So what’s all the fuss about? What’s the big deal in another luxury development on the Costa del Sol? What makes Vista Lago different from all the others? The answer would fill a book on luxury residential architecture in Southern Europe in the 21st century, but we’ll explain it in fewer words.
The short answer is design. Not simply the appearance, inside and out, of each of the Vista Lago villas, but design in the broadest sense of the word. Architectural design, interior design, environmental design, sustainable design, technical design: design for living. All aspects of Vista Lago, both as an entire development and as 18 separate and individually designed homes, have been design-led at the highest level possible in the world today. The result is what the fuss is all about.
Michael Rodziewicz, BRIGHT’s CEO explains the company’s design-led philosophy, “We think in terms of design, always. This is the primary expression of our creativity, always aiming for a certain feeling that creates a framework for a certain lifestyle. A great home should improve your quality of life, probably more than any other single factor. Every villa in Vista Lago is both a stunning property and a unique home.”
It starts with location, and this is an area of 6.5 hectares high in the hills above Marbella, within the larger Real de La Quinta luxury estate. The views from here, of the Mediterranean Sea, Gibraltar and Africa beyond, are among the best in the world, and can be enjoyed from almost every room in every villa. Due to the brilliant design of the villas, nothing gets in the way of these views.
The location is itself an area of high environmental value, with plenty of wild open space all around, a reservoir within walking distance, all the sporting and leisure facilities of Real de La Quinta and an artificial lake. Bordering the area is the newly declared Sierra de Las Nieves National Park, while a short drive down the hills brings one to Marbella, Puerto Banús and the most beautiful and prestigious part of the Costa del Sol.
Then we have the materials and how they are used. Natural, as much as possible, used in a way that is bang up to date in use and manufacturing process, enhancing the minimalist design, inside and out, to the maximum. This means, not only beautiful to the touch and sight but long-lasting and sustainable, cutting maintenance costs to the minimum.
Each of the villas is in the process of becoming BREEAM certified, by which all are audited by independent experts to ensure that they meet the quality and performance standards of the scheme in the areas of energy efficiency, land use, waste and water usage, technical innovation regarding electricity and water conservation, climate control, lighting and other areas too numerous to mention here.
Winning international awards may not be new to the UDesign/BRIGHT partnership, but it is not something we tire of, and certainly not a reason for us to rest on our laurels. In still difficult times, we can appreciate what we have achieved so far and look to the future with hope of continued international recognition. The future is indeed BRIGHT!
Thanks go to the whole BRIGHT and UDesign team, as well as the collaborating architects looking after the technical side – Rodolfo Amieva Jacobson and Diego Macías Dominguez, heading the Marbella-based architectural firm González & Jacobson. Everyone involved has worked tirelessly and creatively to contribute to this success in the International Property Awards.
For more information on Vista Lago Residences, visit our information page and gallery of images.
You can speak directly to the Sales Team by calling: (+34) 682 105 002 or emailing them on info@by-bright.com
