The world’s first entirely solar powered five-star guest resort has opened

A new resort destination in the Maldives, named the Finolhu Villas by Club Med, has just opened.

The resort has been designed by New York-based architects Yuji Yamazaki Architecture PLLC, in partnership with local firm Design 2000, and Italian engineering firm T&D Water Technologies. Claiming to be the world’s first entirely solar powered five-star guest resort, the tiny island will accommodate about 100 guests year round. The solar panels are visible to the guests throughout the island, and are integrated into all aspects of the resort’s design, as an architectural embellishment, as you can see here. This is one of the cabanas that are accessible for all guests. The villas are located either on the island, or over the water. The over water villas are accessed by a walkway, covered in solar panels. Each of the over water villas have their own private entrance path. The curved position of the over water villas, allow them to be staggered to provide privacy for the guests. At night, the over water villas light up like lanterns.