Belgium-based Polo Architects has paired with Going East, in order to create the Barefoot Luxury Villas, a series of 30 serviced dwellings on the archipelago of Cabo Verde, off the coast of West Africa. The design team thought of the island’s natural characteristics, before making decisions for the architecture, interiors, and landscaping respecting the arid, rocky terrain. The villas are constructed with a raw concrete framework and then clad with stacked basalt stones dug directly from the surrounding valley.
As well as being aligned with the traditional Cabo Verdean method of building walls, the rustic ochre and brown tones of the stonework in harmony with the colors of the land. A network of basalt stone roads interconnects the villas. Each building is therefore arranged around a central outdoor patio that comes complete with a pool and kitchen area. Large panels of kotibé wood that front space can be pivoted to minimize the strong winds that typically blow through the region. Tall pergolas topped with strips of rattan provide shade to white daybeds and sun loungers.
Going East has then added a selection of natural-tone furnishings to the villas’ interiors, which boast board-marked concrete surfaces.  Warm-hued timber has also been used to craft cabinetry and to frame the full-height windows. In an area that is still largely untouched by tourism, Polo Architects and Going East succeeded in achieving a standard of luxury while maintaining authentic connections to island life.