sarojin hotel, thailand

For Sarojin in Khao Lak, eco.id designed it around a 200-year-old giant Ficus tree, which architect Sim Boon Yang refused to cut down. 'That to me is the spiritual heart of the resort, so all rooms offer views of it, rather than the sea which is nearby,' he says. He saved another 40 trees during the construction and chose to use local wood and sand.

In the public area of the resort, the wood is left unvarnished. 'Not only does it give the resort a more natural feel, but using unvarnished wood also means there is less chance of toxic varnish leeching into the ground,' he explains. Where possible, prefabricated structures were used instead of building them on-site to minimise damage to the area.”