Altos Escondidos Project Overview
Altos Escondidos Project Overview
Panama’s Only Luxury Eco-Resort Community on the Continental Divide, with Views of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the Panama Canal.
On the crest of a tropical mountain range, with sweeping vistas to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, lays Altos Escondidos: Panama’s first luxury eco-resort community.
The tranquility of Altos Escondidos – Spanish for Hidden Highlands – nurtures and enriches mind, body and soul, while its building techniques and design protect and sustain the natural environment.
Altos Escondidos is designed by one of the world’s leading architects in environmentally sensitive and sustainable design, Dr. Raj Barr Kumar of Barr & Associates, Washington, D.C. Dr. Barr created the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards used by the U.S. Green Business Council for rating building design and construction.
Dr. Barr has designed Altos Escondidos to meet the demand of urban consumers for a retreat that integrates modern luxuries and sophisticated tastes with an exotic and unspoiled setting – a community that rests lightly upon the Earth, without sacrificing modern comforts and convenience.
Athisayaraj Raj Mahadevan, Developer of Altos Escondidos in Panama, he has been the hands developer; forging strategic partnerships and engaging the right management team to take his vision from dream to reality. “The aim is for the resort to be run on zero net energy. It will generate more energy than it consumes”. He stresses that sustainability is at the very heart of the Altos Escondidos philosophy, making it a profitable Business and helping the people by giving back to the community. Altos Escondidos Model will “share the wealth of the land” by providing local people with education and “green collar” job training related to Eco-friendly cutting edge technologies and “ creating a place that would be greener than when we found it”, with no stones left unturned. Raj presented the model of Altos Escondidos at the “China Institute of Private Equity and Venture Capital Forum” in Shenzhen China in June 2011 and at “The Global Sustainable Finance Conference” Sept '11 in Karlsruhe, Germany which was organized by “The World Federation of Develop of Financial Institutions” and Etech, Germany and endorsed by EU , UNEP FI. Global Green Sustainable Foundation is being created in Bahamas with the emphasis on Transitional living beyond Sustainability.
Sustainable, Eco-Design Features
Altos Escondidos is designed to meet or exceed the internationally recognized LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification system used by the U.S. Green Business Council for rating building design, construction, operations and
maintenance.
This makes Altos Escondidos the first, fully green development in Panama, increasing its investment value through media coverage and sales promotion that highlight this unique selling proposition.
Specific eco-design features of the community include:
Sitting and design of all buildings to take advantage of natural breezes, solar exposure, shade and incredible views.
Sustainable energy and water supplies and use strategies;
Energy generation on-site, using cutting-edge “green” technologies integrated into aesthetically pleasing designs;
Latest-technology solar shingles;
Wind turbines;
Photovoltaic film to convert solar energy from windows to useable electricity.
Electric vehicle transportation throughout the community, with secure parking for owner vehicles at the entrance;
Self-composting toilets;
Organic farming at the 7-hectare Community Learning Center;
Open green spaces between home sites and throughout the community;
Local and renewable materials used in building;
Integrated recycling program;
Creation of green-collar jobs for the local community, to maintain and operate green features of Altos Escondidos and extend energy alternatives to the local community.
