HOSPITALITY | CUSTOM POOL DESIGN | HOPKINS | BELIZE
Cabana Village
Resort Pool
BEACHES & DREAMS RESORT | HOPKINS | STANN CREEK | BELIZE | 2022-2025
C L I E N T
Beaches & Dreams Resort
L O C A T I O N
Hopkins, Stann Creek, Belize
P R O J E C T T Y P E
Hospitality | Custom Pool Design
D E S I G N P H A S E
18-weeks design, 8 months construction
T H E B R I E F
From sketch
to centerpiece
When Ryan Janssen, owner of Beaches & Dreams Resort, came to VIVIDARCH with a vision for his new resort development - Cabana Village - he brought with him something most architects rarely see at the start of a project: a hand-drawn sketch.
That sketch told us everything we needed to know. The pool wasn't meant to be a rectangular afterthought tucked behind the cabanas. It was conceived from the outset as the heart of the resort - a bold, organically shaped centrepiece that guests would orient themselves around, photograph, return to, and remember.
The ambition was significant: this would be the largest and most structurally complex pool ever built in Hopkins.
T H E D E S I G N C H A L L E N G E
Complexity in service of a vision
Translating a freehand sketch into a fully engineered, buildable pool design - within six weeks - required close collaboration, rapid iteration, and a clear understanding of what the client was trying to achieve beyond the purely functional. The organic, biomorphic form - two interlocking circular pools connected by a bridged island - was retained and refined from the client's original sketch. Rather than rationalise it into something easier to build, we leaned into the complexity and engineered a solution that honoured the original vision.
The design needed to achieve several goals simultaneously:
-
Create a dramatic visual focal point for the entire resort
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Accommodate multiple zones - deep pool, beach entry, island feature, and grotto
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Integrate seamlessly with the beachfront setting and surrounding cabana layout
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Provide varied guest experiences within a single connected water body
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Be structurally achievable within the local construction context
T H E P R O C E S S
Eighteen weeks, design
concept to construction-ready
01
WEEKS 1-2
Working directly from the client's sketch, we developed the concept into a scaled plan - establishing the overall form, pool depth zones, circulation flow, and key features including the island bridge, beach entry, grotto, trellis structure, and timber deck surround.
02
WEEKS 3-4
The approved concept was developed into a full preliminary design with rendered 3D visualisations from multiple viewpoints - aerial, eye-level, and plan - allowing the client to experience the design before ground was broken. Feedback was incorporated in real time.
03
WEEKS 5-18
Final geometry, material specifications, and pool depth profiles were locked in. The design was coordinated with structural and pool engineering requirements, and documentation was prepared for the construction phase.
04
WEEKS 19-23
With construction documents complete, VIVIDARCH coordinated the submission of all required permit applications to the relevant Belizean authorities. Given the scale and structural complexity of the pool - the largest of its kind in Hopkins - the approvals process required thorough documentation and close liaison with the Public Utilities Commission & the Central Building Authority. All approvals were secured ahead of the scheduled construction start date.
05
MONTHS 8
The construction was undertaken by Ryan and his highly skilled team of contractors. VIVIDARCH supported the team, providing technical guidance on setting out, pool equipment specifications, and other critical details as requested
T H E J O U R N E Y
Sketch to completion
01 - The original client sketch - where it all began
02 - Preliminary plan render. Dual basin form with island bridge
03 - 3D Visulaization showing all main components
05 - Video of form work being poured
04 - Under construction, circular concrete form work being poured
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06 - Ariel drone view of Cabana Village layout with pool anchor
07 - Ariel drone view of resort
08 - Deck level view of pool
T H E R E S U L T
A landmark
built to last
The completed Cabana Village pool is exactly what the client envisioned - and more. The dual-basin form, connected by a landscaped island walkway, creates a resort centrepiece unlike anything else in the region. The beach-entry shallows, the grotto, the timber deck surround, and the mature tropical planting all contribute to an experience that feels simultaneously dramatic and effortless.
Photographed from above, the pool reads as a bold geometric statement within the resort layout. At ground level, it invites guests in and keeps them there.
The project was completed on brief - and the client has since returned to VIVIDARCH to design a destination restaurant intended to become a landmark for the entire country.
We engaged VIVIDARCH in 2022 to build the largest and most complicated pool ever attempted in Hopkins that would serve as the centrepiece for our new resort, Cabana Village. Sue was easy to work with and handled our exacting feedback and specifications like a true professional. We have since engaged VIVIDARCH with equal success to design another complicated structure, which we hope will become a country-wide destination restaurant. These two projects were both ambitious and 100% custom. We couldn't be happier with the results.