Floating Table: International Architecture Competition

This competition calls for the design of a floating gastronomic pavilion intended to become a new landmark within the lagoon, a place where built form and natural landscape merge into a single experience. Rather than a conventional restaurant, entrants are asked to conceive a complete architectural experience that responds to its watery setting.

Programme

The FLOATING TABLE brief asks for a main restaurant, a bar or lounge area, dining terraces, a professional kitchen, service areas, restrooms, and a pedestrian access pier. Participants may also propose any further spaces they consider necessary to enhance the dining experience. Designs that incorporate viewpoints, terraces, observation platforms, and circulation routes reinforcing the visitor’s connection to the landscape will be favoured.

Site

The project is sited opposite the Sac-Ha resort, on the western shore of Bacalar Lagoon in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. From this position, Sac-Ha commands one of the finest views of the Lagoon of Seven Colors. The location supports a scheme that engages directly and respectfully with its surroundings, giving priority to the experience of travelling across the water and taking in the landscape.