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Get Blog Posts As EmailsGolf”s U.S. Open is being held this week at the world’s most famous golf course: Pebble Beach. Pebble Beach features 8 holes along the Pacific Ocean, so I thought it was fitting to imagine how Isla Palenque might layout for a championship golf course. Keep in mind, a golf course was never a concept of [...]
What If Isla Palenque Was Developed as a Golf Course?
June 23rd, 2010 by JoePress Release – Sustainable Resort Isla Palenque Wins Prestigious ASLA Award for Excellence in Resort Planning
April 28th, 2010 by TimCHICAGO, April 28, 2010 — After receiving a record number of entries, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has awarded The Resort at Isla Palenque an Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning category for its geo-responsible resort master plan. The Resort at Isla Palenque, a private island resort located in Panama’s sparkling Gulf [...]
Press Release – Beyond Green: Taking the Long View Toward a Truly Sustainable Resort
April 19th, 2010 by FrancesCHICAGO, April 19, 2010 — Many luxury resorts and hotels are currently touting their green initiatives: recycling, laundering towels less often, or using compact fluorescent bulbs. While these are important efforts, some are embracing a concept bigger than green: sustainability. Alex Pettitt, host of TV’s “Mainstream Green,” contends that sustainability must be ingrained in a [...]
Scale
December 14th, 2009 by BenIsla Palenque is 400 acres, covered mostly with mature forests, lagoons and mangroves. It also has a highly varied topography, meaning that if you are in one corner of the island, experiencing its specific qualities, you don’t necessarily understand any other part of the island. This makes it a difficult island to get to know, [...]
Fun with GIS
November 12th, 2009 by BenJerrod wrote an entry back in July about walking the proposed road that had been staked for us by our topographers. Walking it, and understanding the topography of the area as well as Design Workshops’s intent, I was suspicious that the stakes weren’t quite where they were supposed to be. That, combined with a few [...]
Press Release — Panama Emerges as a Prime Location for Close-To-Nature, Low-Density Resort Development
November 5th, 2009 by FrancesCHICAGO, Nov. 5, 2009 — Trendsetters in environmentally responsible real estate development are discovering the many benefits of constructing low-density resorts in emerging markets like Panama. Some savvy resort developers are responding to recent customer demands for exceptional natural experiences without sacrificing profitability. The key is emerging markets. Mature tourism markets have high land prices [...]
Orchard, Beachgoers, and Sea Turtles…Oh My! Notes From the Island
September 10th, 2009 by JerrodThree days on Palenque have quickly come to an end as I get ready to pack up and head back to “civilization.” My days were mostly filled with the typical pre-construction on-site task: walking property. I was deciding the ideal location for a potential model villa and making sure the area where we will have [...]
The Rise and Fall of a Destination
September 8th, 2009 by JerrodIf you’ve ever taken a marketing class, you are probably aware that every product, be it a toothpaste brand or a dog-walking service, goes through a life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The goal of the decision maker is to make the most of the growth and maturity phases to maximize revenue. Tourism destinations [...]
Press Release – Amble’s New Panama Resort Taps Trend In Passive Cooling
August 17th, 2009 by FrancesCHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2009 — To attract environmentally conscious travelers, many resorts promote themselves as eco-friendly. But with air conditioners draining electricity and keeping guests shut away from nature, the experience often falls flat – compelling farsighted developers to consider other, more natural cooling options. “As soon as we stepped into our luxury safari tents, [...]
The Road Never Traveled
July 28th, 2009 by JerrodThe importance of personally getting to know your site is imperative to any successful development project. There are many great sites underwhelmed because not enough care was taken to plan proper locations of improvements. Conversely, there are many mediocre sites that can become incredible experiences with careful attention to the land and its features. A [...]