Rendezvous Hotel Beach, St. Lucia (2015)

SWI conducted coastal investigations in 2010 and designs aimed at stabilizing the shoreline and enhancing the beach in the vicinity of the Terrace Restaurant at the Rendezvous Resort. The proposal was approved by the management of the resort and the investigations were conducted, including the preparation of design options, which were presented in a preliminary design report.
For whatever reason, the shoreline stabilization and beach enhancement works were not executed, and shoreline erosion continued. In 2014 the push for shoreline stabilization works was re-ignited and the preliminary designs developed in 2010 were modified so that a more holistic approach was employed and implemented.
CoastalMDB was contracted to execute the construction phase of the project. The construction was carried out over a limited time period to reduce the closing period for the resort.

Royalton St. Lucia (2016)

The Royalton Resorts Group was interested in constructing a new 450-room resort in the north-western part of St Lucia, at a location where the existing beach was narrow and could not comfortably accommodate the projected number of guests. Smith Warner International Ltd (SWI) carried out the beach enhancement study which included understanding the natural coastal processes through detailed numerical modelling and designing a suitable beach concept to enhance the beach experience at the resort. The client then appended the agreement to contract Coastal & Marine Design- Build (CoastalMDB) to carry out the construction.

The final design option was assessed under a typical swell event and showed that the structure reduced swell waves incident on the shoreline by roughly 60%. This concept also reduced beach erosion by as much as 40% and reduced the landward run-up in the 1 in 50-year storm event.
The impermeable spur groynes used to hold sand nourishment and create a dry beach area would also serve to prevent silt and debris from the drain and along the cliffs from reaching the site. The structures are also expected to provide new habitat for the flora and fauna within the area.
The construction was carried out over several months following environmental approvals from the DCA, St. Lucia. The construction involved the use of large boulders to form a submerged reef-type structure and two impermeable groynes. The groynes were made to be impermeable to steer drainage discharge away from the beach. The beach sand was imported from Guyana and placed on the beach following construction of the protective structures. Turbidity barriers were used to control sedimentation. The timeline of the project had to be compressed to facilitate the imminent opening of the resort.