Jamie Durie to design luxury Port Douglas hotel
Luxury property developer Chiodo, has appointed Jamie Durie and his team to create the hotel architectural concept and landscape architecture for its new Fairmont Port Douglas luxury resort.
The $300 million resort will be located on the edge of two UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.
This is the first new hotel to be developed in Port Douglas in 20 years. It will feature 253 luxury rooms, several restaurants and bars, a day spa, a treetop walk and panoramic conference and wedding facilities.
It will be built to blend seamlessly with nature.
Paul Chiodo said his company is excited to partner with Jamie Durie and Durie Design, the multi-award-winning architecture, landscape architecture and product design firm.
Durie Design was selected for their abundance of experience in international hotel and resort design, specialising in Australian horticulture and Durie’s unfaltering commitment to protecting the natural environment.
Mr Chiodo said, “We are very excited to partner with Durie Design to deliver this unique tropical, luxury experience to Port Douglas locals, domestic and international guests.
“The Fairmont Port Douglas pushes the boundaries in the way it captures its natural surroundings and blends seamlessly with the interiors, to deliver a world-class green hotel. Jamie and the team at Durie Design have done an incredible job with both the hotel architectural concepts in partnership with Buchan and its surrounding landscapes with a harmonious, yet sophisticated blend between architecture and landscape. We can’t wait to invite guests to experience it for themselves.
Durie Design and Chiodo together with international architecture studio Buchan have partnered to deliver a unique and environmentally progressive luxury hotel experience for tourists and locals.
“We are grateful for Chiodo’s faith in us and Accor’s response to our architectural concept design and landscape architectural design,” said Durie.
Fairmont has built a reputation over the past 30 years as a global leader in sustainability
“I have spent 25 years working with nature and so of course when we were approached to design a green hotel in one of Australia’s most renowned destinations, we were very excited,” Durie said.
“Together with Fairmont, there’s an opportunity to deliver something very unique to Australian tourism with this project, and the timing (post-Covid) has never been so right. On that front our design is strongly influenced by health and well-being to give our guests the peace of mind and the experience they both want and deserve. We approach this through a more hygienic approach to material choices, functionality and internal air quality with a greater connection to nature all contributing to our guest’s well-being.
“We responded with a form of biomimicry where the hotel has been inspired by the oceanic forms that play an integral part in the surrounding Great Barrier Reef area.
“We want to ensure that all of the guests have a unique experience and a deep connection with nature from the moment they enter the hotel lobby, through to the surrounding restaurants and rooftop gardens and into their luxury suites, which boast exclusive private gardens on every level. It’s more than luxury, it’s about connecting our guests with nature to deliver a true sense of well-being. This is a concept that no other 5-star hotel has ever offered in Australia before.”
Irit Jackson, 8th February 2021
