Aldabra House
Client: Seychelles Island Foundation (SIF)
Real Studios worked alongside Marks Barfield Architects and the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), to develop a meaningful and sensitive interpretive masterplan and exhibition design for a visitor center to celebrate Aldabra, located in the capitol of Mahé.
Aldabra, one of Seychelles’ most distant islands, is one of the world’s largest raised coral atolls and comprises of a ring of four islands surrounding a central turquoise lagoon. It’s geographical isolation, rough terrain and scarcity of fresh water have deterred human populations from settling and, as a result, Aldabra is remarkedly preserved and was inscribed as a UNESCO Marine World Heritage Site in 1982. Famous for its limestone ‘champignon’ terrain, huge population of giant tortoises as well as its pristine marine life, the atoll is a refuge for many endangered and unique species.
The team’s solution was to devise a narrative journey through interior and exterior landscapes with environments illustrating the extraordinary beauty and diversity of the ocean and land. Hands-on displays engage visitors in Aldabra’s ecosystems, bringing them up-close to the island’s key species and exploring the research that underpins their protection, whilst also confronting the threats to their survival.
Our role:
-
Interpretation masterplanning
-
Funding bid support
-
Exhibition design
Image credits: Marks Barfield Architects, Building Design
