Architecture & Design
THE Stylemate
Inspiration from around the world for an aesthetic and meaningful lifestyle
Bill Bensley - A man of many talents
Bill Bensley is world renown for his outstanding, unique and inspiring award-winning hotel, landscape and interior design and eye-cathing architecture. What is not so widley known, but comes as no surprise to those that know him, is that he is a concerned conservationist and possionate philanthropist and eco-warrior.
“My main purpose in life, besides having as much fun as possible, is to help the needy, to education, help animals and help the planet via conservation”
The most outstanding and most recent example of this is Shinta Mani Wild – Bensley Collection in the South Cardamom Wilderness in Cambodia which opened in December 2018 and has quickly gained world-wide attention.??It is the culmination of Bill’s life’s work and exactly what he would build for himself.?Comprising 15 exquisitely customized luxury tents, in a private sanctuary in Cambodia’s South Cardamom National Park, the camp is completely built around and blended into the natural environment with a low environmental impact and a huge impact on protecting the National park.
Showing his playful side, Bensley created a 400m zip line over the river and three sister waterfalls over which guests can enter the camp.?The entire project was created in order to showcase and protect nature and wildlife in this fragile wilderness, rather than see the pristine forest sold at a logging auction. Hence why Bill donates the proceeds of his engagements to Shinta Mani Foundation to continue the amazing work they do, which to date includes:
The Foundation spearheads the camp’s conservation and community outreach programmes, including providing long-term employment opportunities to the local inhabitants where there is minimal infrastructure and fewer work prospects.
Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild, in conjunction with the Foundation, nurtures its natural environment through partnerships with respected conservation organizations including Wildlife Alliance and The Cambodian Government.?Funded by Shinta Mani, the camp’s ranger station enables the non-profit Wildlife Alliance to carry out vital conservation work in the area, including protecting animals from poaching, removing snares and preventing illegal logging.?
Guests who share Bensley’s passion for protecting the precious natural environment can join the rangers, motorcycling through the forest on anti-poaching patrols and tracking previously unrecorded wildlife activity.
In addition to his standout project - Shinta Mani Wild, the architect now talks about ideas, suggestions and lessons in sustainable hotel construction and operations, as well as using hotels as tools for change, in a white paper he has learned in his 30-plus years of hotel design and construction.
Through his deep connection and passion for conservation, sustainability and philanthropy, Bill wants to spread his message to the world:
“I am done with designing lavish hotels just to put heads on beds.?Every hospitality project that we have on the drawing boards right now has a purpose and a candle to light.?Those of us in hospitality – be it designers, owners or operators – have the power of reaching thousands of people through our hotels and spreading this message of purpose.?We should shoulder more responsibility concerning issues such as education, clean accessible water, alternative energy, energy consumption, food waste, wildlife protection and conservation, he said.?Let’s all lose the greenwash and do something real.”
The concise Sensible Sustainable Solutions White Paper outlines 20 suggestions for hotel designers, owners and operators on designing better hotels to help fight climate change and make the world a better place, covering three core pillars:
Build with a purpose Hotels with a strong sense of local community, educating guests and employees, creating new experiences and championing environment issues - all of this can increase profits.
Think locally and sustainably Including everything from branded amenities, water bottling plants, sourcing locally and farming/landscaping in a way that is sensitive to both the community and environment.
Build sensibly The keys to building smart in terms of building materials and energy conservation through architecture, as well as aspects such as upcycling and using solar panels to harvest the sun. An amazing statistic - in one HOUR the sun provides more power than the entire world needs in one YEAR! Think about that!
To download Bill's Sensible Sustainable Solutions white paper, pleas click here >>
More to come >>
Hot of the press - The Style mate magazine Vol.3
When the world around us becomes more turbulent, we search for harmony and balance in the small things, within ourselves. It’s balance we need so that our own world doesn’t fall apart at the seams. In Japan, this is called “nagomi”, which refers to a holistic way of life shaped by harmony and balance.
Nagomi is a way of life that shows us what makes us more resilient, what benefits us in our relationships and every-day lives. What else does us good? Discovering the world by travelling, meeting new people and interacting with them. What we need is the feeling of connectedness. Especially when so much of what’s around us is uncertain.
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Lifestylehotels? presents: Alpine Lifestyle
Authentic and powerful – This is how Lifestylehotels interprets “Alpine Lifestyle”. Perhaps there is nothing light and playful about this region, but there is certainly something powerful and genuine. You can feel it in the contact with the people, you can recognize it in the architecture and you can taste it in the food ...
Esalen – A holistic educational center for your next spiritual journey
The 120 acres of rich land nestled between a mountain and the sea, with hot mineral springs spilling out of a seashore cliff, is a wonder in and of itself…
Read more here >>