TigerQi Architecture champions modern Caribbean architecture in the British Virgin Islands

TigerQi Architecture is a young studio based in the British Virgin Islands. The boutique design firm founded by Lavina Liburd strives to provide elegant contemporary architecture to the wider Caribbean context, including its recent 'Beso del Sol Version 1: Rebuild' and other residential designs. Now, TigerQi Architecture has joined the Wallpaper Architects’ Directory 2024, our latest annual curated list that highlights exciting emerging studios from across the globe.

Who: TigerQi Architecture

Liburd started TigerQi Architecture in 2013, having previously worked at different firms and gained experience on a wealth of projects, from transportation and civic briefs to luxury residences and commercial buildings. With this under her belt, Liburd set up shop on her own, with a focus on a contemporary design approach that embraces simplicity and minimalism.

Due to the climate and topography of its secluded Caribbean home, the practice centres on three key principles; creating healthy buildings that support the social health and wellbeing of its clients; embracing hillside living to maximise views and light; and creating architecture that is designed to serve its community as a whole. These underlying principles are threaded into the studio's design process, wrapped up in a tropical modernism aesthetic.

What: Beso del Sol Version 1: Rebuild

With a location as beautiful as the British Virgin Islands, it is no surprise that TigerQi designs homes to embrace the surrounding context. Beso del Sol is an example of this – a rebuild concept to transform an existing villa by embracing its traditional wood-sided façade, while slightly infusing it with tropical modernist architecture ideas and incorporating climate adaptations for a cooling indoor-outdoor living experience.

The existing villa was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom plan, including roof pavilions. The clients had asked for a four-bedroom home with an elevated swimming pool to offer sweeping views of the surrounding greenery and the ocean.

The studio proposed a concept that took on a more brutalist architecture feel while echoing the structure of the more traditional, existing villa. Concrete offers a cooling exterior and foundational interior walls. The practice added wooden doors and window frames, which were recycled from the original home on the site, alongside vertical wood slats around the stairway and hallway to make for an organic, sheltered exterior space.

Why: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory

Conceived in 2000 as an international index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. While always championing the best and most promising young studios, over the years, the project has showcased inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. Now including more than 500 alumni, the Architects’ Directory is back for its 24th edition. Join us as we launch this year’s survey – 20 young studios from Australia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, the UK, the USA, with plenty of promise, ideas and exciting architecture.

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