Campo Bahia, the sports and nature resort near Santo André and a German-Brazilian lighthouse project for the future, is opening its doors with the beginning of the FIFA World Cup 2014 starting with famous guests – the German national football team is using the resort as their headquarter during the World Cup in Brazil.
After the World Cup, the resort, which is built according to sustainable and ecological construction standards, will open for its guests. It is located in the middle of an area of 15,000 sqm directly at the pristine sandy beach in the coastal landscape of Bahia . Campo Bahia is awaiting its guests with 14 two-storied villas and pioneering art.
“Campo Bahia is not only a unique resort for us. With its cultural and social sustainability it is much more a symbol for the spirit here – for what we did together. We are looking forward together with the people of the region to much enthusiasm for sports, culture and Brazil,” says Tobias Junge, general manager, together with the owners Christiane and Dr. Christian Hirmer and co-owners Alexia and Kay Bakemaier.
Campo Bahia is located in direct proximity to the town of Cabralia – the place of Brazil’s discovery, where the Portugues sailor Pedro Alvares Cabral went ashore in 1500. Amidst this pristine, powerful coastal scenery at the Atlantic, Campo Bahia was built in a sustainable and ecological way of construction. Under the direction of the general manager, Tobias Junge, this sports and nature resort was completed within the record time of only six months. For this, all forest trees were replanted – not cleared. All construction materials are certified and made of local resources.
The resort with its buildings, stretching out over an area of 15.000 sqm, is matching the landscape harmoniously by remaining below the palm tree line, preserving the unique energy of this place. This energy manifests in the symbole of the Dream Catcher – which is part of many rites, pictures and sculptures of the native Indians of the region. This symbol is also the origin of the Campo Bahia slogan: “catch your dreams”.
Campo Bahia is directly located at the pristine sandy beach and consists of 14 two- storey guest villas. These face the ocean and encircle the openly designed central area in a ring mould. The central area invites guests to spend time together in the spacious lounge and dining area as well in the 700 sqm swimming pool. Campo Bahia is easily accessible from the airport of Porto Seguro, which is only 25 km away. The villas of the resort may be booked by guests after the FIFA World Cup 2014.
First guests: the German national football team
The first guests of Campo Bahia is the German national team which arrived on 8th June. The German team will use the resort as their team base camp during the FIFA World Cup 2014. The decisive factors for the German national team to haven chosen Campo Bahia is the good accessibility of the stadiums the team will play in, the climatic conditions, the open architecture that promotes the team spirit, as well as the ideal training conditions. Especially for the purpose of creating ideal training conditions a football pitch was built close to the resort. In order to create perfect conditions, the owner company, Hirmer Immobilien, contracted the landscape architect, Rainer Ernst, who was also responsible for the World Cup turf in 2006 and belongs to the expert turf team of the German Federal Football Association. The professional training ground built according to LOC/FIFA guidelines is located 1.8 km from Campo Bahia. The press center is accessible by road or by walking along the beach for five minutes.
Architecture and interior design
Well-being as the basis of the architecture. Christiane Hirmer, inerior design: “The houses were planned from the inside to the outside. The open architecture, which is integrated into the nature, wants to catch the intense and vivid energy of this place. Barefoot Luxury – a deep touch with nature combined with comfort of lodging, service and technoloy.” This was planned by leading Brazilian architect Sandro Pretti. The luxurious villas convince with eco-friendly materials. The special mixture of regional architecture and long modern frontages made of glass give guests also the ability to marvel at the beauty of the landscape, to which the resort harmoniously adapts, also from inside the villa. The combination of locally hand-made crafts and Brazilian design classics, which integrate into this unique surrounding, create a positive field of energy that becomes palpable in the cool Atlantic breeze.
The villas
The 14 villas are facing the beach and offer 450 sqm of living space with a maximum of seven bedrooms or 229 sqm of living space with a maximum of four bedrooms. The bedrooms are located directly at the beach and meet any demand profile. The ground storey offers a huge, open living and eating area with kitchen and – depending on one’s own requirements – up to three bedrooms. The second floor comprises three bedrooms, each with bathroom and balcony. A fourth bedroom or a further living room is an alternative option upstairs. All houses offer ocean view and a private access to the spacious common swimming pool area in the central space as well as to the relax and wellness areas, which are surrounded by gardens. The typical Bahian veranda offers the necessary shade and privacy for enjoying the breathtaking view and the private jacuzzi.
Hotel business
The responsibility for pre-opening and management during and after the FIFA World Cup 2014 has been transferred by Hirmer company group, the building owner, to the managing company TREUGAST Unternehmensberatungsgesellschaft mbh, which is a management consultant specialized for almost 30 years in consulting and managing hotels. Ricardo Postai, the general manager, has already opened and managed several hotels for Treugast in Germany, Italy and Tunisia with great success. He will be managing a team of 70 qualified employees, of which the majority live in the region.
Art
The internationally renowned Achenbach art consulting company of the passionate art collector Helge Achenbach has created a long-term art project for the resort of Campo Bahia. Before the beginning of the FIFA World Cup 2014, the future quarter of the German national team was opened for a get-together of Brazilian and German artists, making Campo Bahia an intercultural meeting place. The art project of Campo Bahia is based on three pillars: First of all, seven Brazilians (Tatiana Blass, Rodrigo Braga, Loredano, João Modé, Marcone Moreira, Maria Nepomuceno, Afonso Tostes) and seven German artists (Silke Albrecht, Martin Denker, Isabella Fürnkäs, Diango Hernández, Chris Succo, Alexander Ernst Voigt, Moritz Wegwerth) were invited to develop ideas of art for the buildings. With Jason de Caires Taylor and Juan Gopar, two further artists were attracted to take care of the exterior area. The third pillar of the project is a special installation of the artists Claus Föttinger and Andreas Gursky.
Sustainability
Campo Bahia was conceived as a sustainable long-term Brazilian-German project for the future, which extends far beyond the event of the FIFA World Cup. It comprises the infrastructural and sustainable development of the regions of Santo André and Santa Cruz Cabralia, which are supported by Campo Bahia to give further impetus to the development of the region. This includes the creation of local qualified, long-term working places: On the one hand, already during the construction phase by working together with local craftsmen and companies in the areas of hoteliere and gastronomy, and, on the other hand, by the integration of the municipalities and the reservation of the native tribe of the Pataxó. All this is based on the principles of responsible tourism, eco-friendliness and sustainability. From the beginning of the construction phase, Dr. Christian Hirmer, the building owner, placed the utmost value on an eco-friendly construction style, certified materials and the highest standards of occupational safety. Wherever possible, the resort itself uses renewable energy. A part of the electricity, for example, is generated by six 1000W small wind turbines from the German manufacturer Turbina Energy AG. Moreover, socio-cultural projects are part of the concept, as well as the expansion of the social engagement with the orphanage Ampare, which has already been existing for years.
Preventive flood protection measures for the region as immediate action
The philosophy of the sustainable engagement for the region was already put into practice during the construction phase: While campo bahia, due to its protected location, was not affected by the April 2014 floodings, the region surrounding Santo André and Santa Cruz Cabralia, on the opposite site of the estuary, was flooded heavily. For the purpose of a long-term strengthening of the region, Dr. Christian Hirmer, the building owner, and Christiane Hirmer, his wife, provided the prefecture of Santa Cruz Cabralia for the town of Santo André with sewage pipes, in order to drain the water from the river Acuba in case of flooding and protect the surrounding villages on a long-term basis.
