Designer homes fit for any Channel 4 Grand Design fan are changing the Silver Coast landscape in Portugal at Bom Sucesso Portugal. Unlike many would think in a credit crunch the eye for environmentally friendly detail is paramount. Portuguese developer Acordo is now leading the way in contemporary yet eco friendly homes. It has laid strict eco-guidelines on compulsory greenery and efficient energy use for its ground breaking Bom Sucesso Design Resort.

All of the 23 top international architects involved in the design of this project are combining modern design with the latest environmental technology and the preservation of nature. These are the key concepts behind the creation of the Bom Sucesso Design Resort, located on the banks of the Óbidos lagoon on the Silver Coast in Portugal.

Greenery is compulsory:

100,000 sq m of open land has been left as a wilderness and nature reserve
All designer homes villas and facilities at the resort will feature roof gardens and climbing plants with gardens arranged according to a carefully planned landscape project see example contemporary home for sale
Apart from the perimeter fence, there are no fences on site – only plants divide one plot from another. 90% of the houses are at ground floor level with the remainder only one storey so as to blend into the natural flow of the land.
A large number of plant and flower species are to be planted in the area, there will be over 10, 000 trees in the resort as a whole. 3,000 are already planted including 1,200 olive trees, some over a thousand years old, which were re-planted from a different area in south Portugal and would otherwise have been cut down.
The sites for the villas and townhouses are dispersed along the length of the golf course. The final outcome is land use density of about 7%, and a construction area of just 6.5% of the total area.

Efficient energy use is key:

Bom Sucesso is committed to ensuring that all lighting on the resort will use low consumption light bulbs and that systems will be implemented to save water. In addition, only materials with environmental certification will be used.
Three man-made lakes will restore and distribute water; weather forecast site stations also dictate irrigation needs keeping irrigation to the lowest possible level based on a scientific detection method.
All of the properties have been designed with sophisticated drainage to capture the falling rain. All water is collected and recycled around the resort and is used to irrigate the golf course which then recycles its water back to the surrounding ecosystem.
The grass species in the tees, fairways and roughs have been carefully selected and plants of low irrigation needs such as festuca have been used.
The properties have been positioned in such a way as to make the best use of sunlight on the undulating terrain.
Properties in phase 3 will have to use solar energy for heating and hot water – buyers of properties in earlier phases have the option to install this system.

Portuguese developer Acordo has also launched a Fractional Ownership scheme as a way to purchase a villa at Bom Sucesso. This allows up to six buyers to share the same property over the year resulting in fewer properties standing empty and optimum property use.

Bom Sucesso has signed the “Óbidos Carbono Social” (Óbidos Social Carbon) protocol with the Town Hall of Óbidos. The Portuguese Government-backed programme provides a wide range of initiatives aiming to reduce the release of harmful gases into the atmosphere and to create projects which provide a lower release of carbon and protect the environment.

Bom Sucesso has also been given “Project of Potential National Interest” status by the Portuguese Investment Agency – a government agency promoting and supporting large investment projects which are important to the Portuguese econ learn more Bom Sucesso