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Anantara Zanzibar ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን by Karla Seliman

Anantara Zanzibar ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን by Karla Seliman is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 ናይ ብሩር ሽልማት A' Design Award in ንድፊ ኣስተናግዶ፣ መዘናግዒ፣ ጉዕዞን ቱሪዝምን Competition Category.


ብሩርኣስተናግዶ· 2026

Anantara Zanzibar ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን

by Karla Seliman

Client: Infinity Design and Architecture

ናይ ብሩር ሽልማት A' Design Award Winner in ኣስተናግዶ Category

Colors

The Design

About Anantara Zanzibar ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን

ኣናንታራ ዛንዚባር ኣብ ኑንግዊ፡ ኣብ ገማግም ባሕሪ ዛንዚባር ዝርከብ፡ ንህንዳዊ ውቅያኖስ ዝጥምት ኣብ ገምገም ባሕሪ ዝተሃንጸ ናይ ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን ፕሮጀክት እዩ። እቲ ዲዛይን ንዓዳዊ ውርሻ ምስ ዘመናዊ ምቾት የወሃህድ። ብኖራ ዝተለኸያ መናድቕ፡ ዝተወቕረ ናይ ዕንጨይቲ ማዕጾታት፡ ብኢድ ዝተኣልመ መጋረጃታት መርበብ፡ ከምኡውን ካብ ከባቢ ዝተረኽበ እምኒ ኮራል ኣብ ኩሉ ቦታታት ተጠቒሙ ኣሎ። ቀጽርታት፡ ፓቪልዮናትን ቨራንዳታትን ንውሽጣውን ደጋውን ቦታታት የራኽቡ። እተን ቪላታት ብሕታዊ መሐንበሲ ቀላያት፡ ዝጠሓሉ መንደድቲ ሓውን ናይ ላጉን ደኪታትን ዝሓቖፋ እየን። እቲ ኣቀማምጣ ንኣጋይሽ ካብ ክፉት ማሕበራዊ ቦታታት ናብ ህዱእ መዕረፊታት ይመርሖም።

The Recognition

About the ናይ ብሩር ሽልማት A' Design Award

Anantara Zanzibar ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን ናይ ብሩር ሽልማት A' Design Award ዝዓወተ እዩ፣ ንጽቡቓት፣ ልዑላትን ዘስደምምን ላዕለዋይ ደረጃ ዘለዎም ዲዛይናት ዝወሃብ ብዘይተለምደ ኣዚዩ ክቡር ኣፍልጦ። ዘዓወቱ ብሩር ፍሉይ ክእለት፣ ተውህቦን ጥበብን ዲዛይነራቶም ዘርእዩ ኣዚዮም ዘብርሁን ብዙሕ ፈጠራውያንን ስራሕቲ እዮም። Anantara Zanzibar ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን ዝበለጸ፣ ምሳሌ ዝኾነ፣ ብኣገዳሲ መገዲ ሞያውን ብዕምቆት ሓድሽን ስራሕ ክኾን ይጽበ። እዚ ዝዓወተ ዲዛይን ናይ ብሩር ሽልማት A' Design Award ብዙሕ ዝተራእየን ዝደነቐን ፈጠራ እዩ፣ ጥቕሚ ዘምጽእን ደረት ጥበብ፣ ሳይንስ፣ ዲዛይንን ቴክኖሎጂን ዘስፍሕን። Anantara Zanzibar ሪዞርትን መንበሪ ኣባይትን ብብዙሕ ዝቐንኣሉ ፍጥረት እዩ፣ ድሌታት ዘበራብር፣ ጽቡቕ ስምዒታት ዘምጽእን ሰንቢድን ምድናቕን ዘበራብርን።

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
The Anantara Zanzibar Resort & Residences is a five-star beachfront development blending contemporary elegance with Zanzibar’s heritage. Architectural details such as limewashed walls, carved doors, lattice screens, and coral stone are paired with modern comfort. Spacious villas with private pools, sunken firepits, and saltwater lagoons highlight cultural authenticity while setting a new benchmark for luxury design in East Africa.
Dimensions & Packaging
Hotel suites range from 57.5–62 sqm, one-bedroom villas at 240 sqm, two-bedroom villas at 360 sqm, and three-bedroom residences at 485 sqm across two levels. The penthouse spans 175 sqm, while royal suites measure 115 sqm. All layouts prioritize ergonomic flows, generous indoor–outdoor connections, and Anantara’s global spatial planning standards.
Tags
Zanzibar, Luxury Resort, Branded Residences, Beachfront Villas, Swahili Architecture, Coastal Design, Tropical Retreat, Contemporary Elegance, Anantara, East Africa
Production Technology
The design employs locally sourced coral stone, mangrove poles, carved timber doors, and handwoven lattice screens, paired with modern construction methods. Finishes include limewashed walls, fluted wood detailing, brushed metal, veined marble, and weathered stone, all selected for authenticity, durability, and timeless appeal.
Design Challenge
The main challenge was balancing local craftsmanship and heritage expression with international five-star hospitality standards. Constraints included sourcing authentic materials, ensuring environmental integration, and adapting vernacular motifs to modern construction techniques. Overcoming these created a design that is both culturally grounded and globally aspirational.
Research
Architectural research combined contextual analysis, vernacular studies, and market demand assessments. Objectives were to fuse Swahili heritage with modern hospitality. Methods included site surveys, material sourcing, and cultural consultations with local artisans. Insights revealed demand for authentic ultra-luxury resorts in Zanzibar, shaping a design that bridges heritage and contemporary global standards.
Inspiration
The project is inspired by Zanzibar’s raw natural beauty and cultural heritage, reinterpreted through a lens of modern luxury. As design director Karla Seliman explains, the vision was “born from standing alone on the island of Zanzibar, as if it were deserted, imagining how I would build an entire city from its raw, natural beauty.” Guided by this approach, the resort was crafted as an extension of nature itself, with open, flowing spaces that blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors.
Project Duration
The project is located in Nungwi, on the northeastern coastline of Zanzibar, overlooking the Indian Ocean. Development commenced with design studies in Dubai and Zanzibar and continues toward phased realization, supported by Minor Hotels and Infinity Developments.
Operation Flow
Spaces are designed as a sequence of sensory journeys, moving from open social areas to quiet retreats. Courtyards, pavilions, and verandas create natural transitions, while water features and native flora encourage exploration. Villas offer private pools, firepits, and lagoon decks, ensuring immersive and intuitive guest experiences.
Patents
Copyrights belong to Infinity Design and Architecture, 2025
Team Members
Karla Seliman (Design Director), Osama Al-Hajjar (Principal Architect), Rohit Al Manzalji, Isa Ahmed Isa, Bisher Alatiah, Yazan Zaem, Ian Iglesias
Image Credits
Image #1: Infinity Design and Architecture, Anantara Zanzibar Master Plan, 2025.

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