Sugar Beach, St Lucia | The Story On Site
The Project
IQ Glass International were appointed to design and install a wide variety of the architectural glazing elements at the Sugar Beach hotel on the seafront of St Lucia. The project was to be a collection of private holiday villas getaway as part of the luxury resort in St Lucia.
With the main focal point of the villas was the beautiful beachfront, it was of high importance that the architectural glazing provided a clear view while being able to withstand the harsher storms the Caribbean islands could be subjected to. The 2023 “T+L Best Hotels in the world” award winning resort was designed by Michalis Boyd architect who knew that the glazing would have to be the highest quality possible to adhere to the high standards of the guests and project owners.
IQ were approached early on in the project design to work with the architects and create a collaborative glazing design that ticked all the boxes. In the end, the design Keller minimal windows, structural glazing, Sieger casement windows and louvre roof systems. This meant that the transportation of the glazing wasn’t a simple one truck trip, it would take multiple vehicles to transport the glass from airport to project site.
The Logistics
Almost every international project has some form of transportation issues and St Lucia was no exception. The drive from Lucia Hewanorra Airport to Sugar beach was a 28km trip taking around 40-45 minutes to complete. While this may seem like a lengthy trip, for one of our international glazing projects this is one of the shortest airport to location trips we have had so far! The difficult part of the transportation was getting the glazing from the UK to St Lucia which is over 4,000 miles from London Heathrow. Air transportation is unfortunately not cheap for the client which is why IQ Glass used our years of International experience to cut unnecessary costs where possible.
When transporting the systems the security and protection of the glazing is of a top priority, IQ Glass had to ensure that none of the glazing would chip, shatter, break or flex under transportation. This was especially a challenge due to the poor road conditions in St Lucia.
Online travel experts have described driving in St Lucia as “not everyone’s idea of a relaxing road trip. During my month on the island, I tackled many potholes, steep hills, hairpin bends and drivers who love to overtake on a corner. I got lost a lot, made friends in the process, was regularly terrified but ultimately exhilarated”. Due to this we employed expert St Lucian drivers to transport the glazing under supervision of one of IQ Glass’s site managers.
The Products
As mentioned above IQ provided an array of our bespoke products and systems.
Slim framed aluminium casement windows were used in conjunction with the minimal windows® sliding doors powder-coated for an exact colour match, the result was a completely cohesive design throughout both interior and exterior.
Sliding doors grant access from the open plan living area to the outside, ultimately leading to a private infinity pool. Installing automated louvre roof systems in these areas meant that guests could enjoy the weather, whatever the time of day, whilst benefiting from some shade.
The louvre roof systems are automated, the angle of the blades can be adjusted at the touch of a button, or automatically set to rotate as the sun rises and falls.
The louvre roof systems are finished in a colour scheme to match the exterior cladding of each villa. The architectural glazing methods truly enhance these rich materials, resulting in stunning individual villas, perfectly in keeping with the surrounding environment.
The People
When working on international projects, the IQ team are able to work in a variety of ways to achieve the project goals. For the Sugar Beach projects, to transport and accommodate a full IQ Glass installation team to install the systems in St Lucia would have been an unnecessary cost.
To create local work and to contribute to the economy the IQ Glass site manager hired a local workforce to help build the villa, install the systems and communicate with the local installers that did not converse in English. This was a great experience for all involved and allowed the project to be finished to the highest quality.
The Finished Product
After the months of on site work the project was completed. The finished villa has seen hundreds of guests who have experienced the perfect luxury getaway and enjoyed the beachfront sunsets through IQ systems. The project has now been completed for many years and still is to the standards of what a luxury holiday is today. Each of the villas sits 20ft above sea level, overlooking white sandy beaches and boasting unrivalled views of the Caribbean Ocean. The luxury holiday resort was once a sugar plantation and has since been transformed into a contemporary beach resort, with a focus on retaining its original intimate charm.
For any International glazing needs, Contact IQ Glass today.
