Tambor Guest House
Tambor is the name of a small village in Costa Rica that is situated on Bahia Ballena (Bay of the Whale) at the end of the Peninsula de Nicoya. Haertling was approached by American developers in 1972 to design a guest house for a development of a resort community there. For the project, Haertling researched indigenous hut architecture. With this as a starting point, Haertling developed a concept of individual huts on white stucco foundations directly on the ocean for individual rooms. A large central structure to house a dining room, bar, swimming pool, and garden is surrounded by the huts in a arc to take advantage of views of the ocean and mountains. Political problems in the region brought the development to a halt. Haertling's design won a second prize in a contest of unbuilt architecture.
