Paradise by Design ― Tropical Residences and Resorts by Bensley Design Studios

In a design world increasingly concerned with minimalism, designer Bill Bensley stands out for his playful, flamboyant style and his passionate belief in ornamentation. Paradise by Design presents twenty-four of the maximalist maestro's most show-stopping projects, highlighting his signature architectural style as well as his landscape design, interior design, horticulture, and fine arts and crafts. The Bensley trademark is his focus on the unconventional and the sensual, with a special reverence for tropical climes and plants, and the Bensley-designed houses and hotels featured here are spread across Asia—including China, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Thailand, Cambodia, and Bali.

Set amidst resplendent tropical gardens, these unapologetically extravagant residences and resorts are enlivened by Bensley's playful, exuberant style, and the multifaceted talents of the Bensley Design Studios teams in Bangkok and Bali. Recently, Bensley began designing buildings as well as gardens, and the move has won him high-profile commissions such as the Art Deco-inspired Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap, Cambodia. In addition to the resorts, Bensley has designed several private home projects, including his own, which teem with lush foliage and elaborate special effects. No stranger to controversy, Bensley's motto is: "The odder the better," and he fills his grounds with exotic jungle walkways, ruinscapes and statuary, and designs the buildings and their interiors with a blend of historic and modern influences. Including conceptual and descriptive drawings, Paradise by Design is a fascinating look at one of Architectural Digest's "Top 100 Architects" in 2007 and contemporary design's most baroque imagination.

Bill Bensley is an internationally renowned landscape designer based in Bangkok. Since graduating from the Harvard School of Design in 1984, he has been practicing the whole range of environmental design on a global scale, with Asia as an important base. Noted for his playful, flamboyant and often ostentatious style as well as his passionate belief in ornamentation—in a design world increasingly concerned with minimalism—he moves between landscaping the grounds for residences and resorts, filling them with exotic jungle walkways, ruinscapes and statuary, and designing the buildings and their interiors with a blend of historic and modern influences. A need to have heaps of creative fun has fueled the creation of his prolific portfolio, which includes over 100 residences and resorts in 26 countries. He is among Architectural Digest's "Top 100 Architects of 2007."