Hunting for a home in Marbella, Michael Rodziewicz soon realised that there was not much on offer that would pique his interest.
“I would have liked to find a modern, sleek villa with the same minimalistic design both on the outside and the inside. I didn’t find one, so I bought a traditional Andalusian house, which was perfectly nice. Then I bought a truckload of furniture that was supposed to fit the house both dimensionally and visually but finally didn’t,” Rodziewicz recalls.
Rodziewicz asked UDesign’s designer Jason Harris for help, and his interior decoration problem was solved. At the same time, Rodziewicz and Harris decided to start a new business, bringing to the market housing that meets modern needs, and Bright was born.
Currently, Bright is working on a housing complex called Vista Lago on the outskirts of Marbella. The minimalistic villas perched on a slope offer stunning views.
“Each house sits perfectly on its plot and blends in beautifully with the landscape. The idea was for the houses to look like they have always been there,” says Harris, who was responsible for the buildings’ architecture together with Gonzalez & Jacobsen.
In Vista Lago’s houses, special attention has been paid to unobstructed views and the transition between the indoor and outdoor spaces.
Art and tailored solutions make each villa unique.
Fancy a sauna or a professional kitchen?
Homes in Vista Lago are designed for wealthy families and couples who appreciate luxury, top design and sustainability.
“Most people acquire the modern villa as their secondary residence, but many have changed their mind and decided to come live here permanently. Marbella does that to you!” says Bright’s CEO Rodziewicz with a laugh.
With a lake, a golf course, an equestrian centre, a spa, tennis and padel courts, shops, a restaurant and even a five-star hotel, Vista Lago has pretty much everything you could imagine.
What’s more, each villa is tailored to meet the wishes of the owner. The house can be equipped with, say, a sauna, meditation room, golf simulator or gym. Food lovers can choose a pro-level kitchen, and a family with small children can have their garden fitted with a safe playground that fuels creativity.
If the residents so wish, the concierge will take care of recruiting help, making restaurant reservations, organising parties, tax refunds and buying airline tickets, allowing the residents to live a less stressful life.
Taking a shower benefits the green areas
Perhaps one aspect that sets Vista Lago apart from other residential areas designed for wealthy individuals the most is the way it focuses on sustainability. It almost goes without saying that the area has energy-efficient heating, cooling and ventilation systems, but special emphasis has also been placed on saving water.
“Every time an owner takes a shower or washes their hands, they feed water into the area’s droplet irrigation system. The sensors in the ground measure humidity and prevent the use of grey water for irrigation if it rains. Rainwater is also recovered for irrigation. Landscaped areas and roadsides are illuminated using energy-efficient colour lamps that create a soft ambience and do not disturb birds’ daily rhythm,” Rodziewicz says.
A life of luxury in Costa del Sol
What does an ordinary day look like in a luxurious residential area surrounded by all the amenities? A man who bought a house in Villa Lago describes his life in these terms:
“I start my day with my wife by going for a morning walk or having coffee on our terrace, with our laptops, admiring the sunrise. We can spend the day gardening, exploring the surroundings, playing sports, walking on the beach or going on an excursion to one of the nearby destinations. After a light lunch, I trade equities on the US stock market. Then it’s siesta time. In the evening, we often have guests, and we like to show them the area and the city. The day ends on our bedroom terrace, enjoying a glass of wine and admiring the lights of Marbella, Gibraltar and the far-away African coast, or the moon shining over the Mediterranean and so beautifully illuminating the La Concha mountains.”
Read more about Bright and Vista Lago: by-bright.com
