{"id":8885,"date":"2025-04-09T14:27:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T10:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/?p=8885"},"modified":"2025-04-09T15:56:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T11:56:27","slug":"les-domes-dalbion-looking-past-the-straight-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/les-domes-dalbion-looking-past-the-straight-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Les D\u00f4mes d&#8217;Albion: Looking Past the Straight Line\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/HOTW_DomesAlbion.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Some Mauritian real estate projects are anything but ordinary. Case in point, &#8220;Les D\u00f4mes d&#8217;Albion&#8221;, a collection of 20 or so offbeat villas imagined by Bernard Mongelard and Jean-Philippe Brusselmans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born from a casual conversation between the two friends, the vision for &#8220;Les D\u00f4mes d&#8217;Albion&#8221; was to do away with traditional design and instead, draw inspiration from nature and a geometrical shape taken straight from ancestral architecture: the dome. No simple feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/BrusselmansMongelard-1_rescaled-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8887\" style=\"width:229px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/BrusselmansMongelard-1_rescaled-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/BrusselmansMongelard-1_rescaled-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/BrusselmansMongelard-1_rescaled.jpg 769w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3.jpg 1210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To them, the dome&#8217;s structure, sturdy and pleasing on the eye, was an obvious choice:&nbsp; \u201cWhy always build in straight lines when the Earth is round?\u201d, they say. Other than a solid structure, the dome&#8217;s design optimises thermal comfort and airflow with natural ventilation that prevents overheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bold approach sparked questions and skepticism right from the start. Although the idea dates back to early 2010, it would take several years to secure funding, obtain permits, and get this innovative concept accepted. The unique design, administrative hurdles, and economic uncertainties were all challenges they had to overcome. \u201cPeople thought we were crazy,\u201d they recall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8893\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_2.jpg 1613w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>But persistence pays off: initially intended for a Mauritian clientele, the villas eventually attracted international buyers. Today, after more than ten years of work on this project, only one villa remains for sale. A sweet victory for these passionate entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_3.jpg 1210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8891\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thewest.mu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dome_albion_img_1.jpg 1613w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn more here:&nbsp;<\/strong><em>www.domes-maurice.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some Mauritian real estate projects are anything but ordinary. Case in point, &#8220;Les D\u00f4mes d&#8217;Albion&#8221;, a collection of 20 or so offbeat villas imagined by Bernard Mongelard and Jean-Philippe Brusselmans.&nbsp; Born from a casual conversation between the two friends, the vision for &#8220;Les D\u00f4mes d&#8217;Albion&#8221; was to do away with traditional design and instead, draw [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discover-en"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 05:15:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8885"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8901,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885\/revisions\/8901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewest.mu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}