Costa Smeralda Resort
Beginning in 1967, planning for Costa Smeralda was incredibly innovative for the time and included working with the existing forest, protecting the valleys, and making the resort developments a series of villages.
In 1968, Sasaki was engaged to lead a multidisciplinary team to define a long-range resort master plan for a 3,000 hectare region of northeast Sardinia, and to provide a phased program for its implementation. In addition to a comprehensive master plan, design controls were created, and a review and approval procedure was established to process applicant designs.
The master plan is based on a series of dispersed village centers. Generous open spaces were set aside, and environmental controls established for the preservation of the rugged shoreline and mountain landscape. The development of infrastructure, including roads and utilities, proceeded according to a phased hierarchy, to help balance investment and return. The village of Porto Cervo has more than 300,000 square meters of commercial space. Costa Smeralda remains an important model of resort planning and design throughout the Mediterranean and beyond.