Located off the west coast of Panama, Isla Pedro Gonzalez is the third largest island within the Pearl Archipelago. Known for its untouched coastline, and gentle, sloping vegetation, the island has twelve undeveloped beaches, fifteen square kilometers of forest and one existing fishing village home to about 400 residents. In order to both preserve the existing landscape and offer a compact, sustainable development pattern to the Panama region, the Isla Pedra Gonzalez master plan clusters new development within seven intimate, walkable villages connected by a network of trails and green spaces. This development approach maintains the natural beauty of the island while creating memorable, community-oriented neighborhoods featuring a range of retail, office and housing offerings.

The masterplan delineates ten villages, all of which are planned with energy-efficient, environmentally-sustainable measures, including off-the-grid housing initiatives. The island’s principal commercial area is the town center, which follows the curve of the harbor and marina. This vibrant mixed-use district will feature a retail-oriented Main Street, lined with shops and restaurants on the ground floors and apartments and offices above, as well as civic elements including a club house and educational center. A square and plaza offer outdoor community gathering areas, while an open-air market serves as a vibrant destination on the banks of the marina. North of the Town Center, a Pier District borders the existing fishing village, offering additional commercial resources to the Island’s current residents and seamlessly connecting the current residences to the future village network. To the west, a forest reserve offers open space and maintains the nesting habitat of local turtles and marine birds.

The villages follow the island’s curving coastline, radiating outwards from the marina and Town Center. Named for their chief recreational features, these villages include the Golf Village, the Beach Village, the Forest Village and the Existing Fishing Village, each of which includes its own mixed-use component, such as neighborhood shops, civic space and parks tailored to their sites’ natural features. Architecture, which is inspired by the local vernacular, features generous outdoor spaces such as galleries, balconies and porches designed to both serve as community gathering places and respond to the local climate. The island’s trail network connects these villages and follows the island’s topography to maximize views, running between the villages, the natural reserve, beaches, golf course, and the larger “hacienda” lots. In addition, a vehicular network scaled for electronically-propelled golf carts offers an intimate pedestrian experience at the scale of a medieval, European village.

DPZ LATIN AMERICA

project tearsheet: 1600 Kb PDF file