Living and working in the Caribbean – an interview with Partner Robbie Kerr

Robbie moved with his family to Antigua in early 2026 to set up a satellite office of ADAM Architecture. We talked to him about projects that he and his team have completed recently, as well as those on the boards. How does he manage projects in the UK while also focusing on work in the Caribbean, and what are the key considerations when designing in a tropical climate?

When and why did the practice consider setting up a permanent office in the Caribbean?

I joined ADAM full-time in 2010. In 2016 I became a partner and in early 2026, I opened our office in Antigua, where I am now based.

We first built in the Caribbean some 20 years ago, with a house in the Bahamas designed by Hugh Petter. In the last five years I have been getting more enquiries about building in the region, from the Bahamas and Barbados to St Lucia and Antigua. Our work here on the restoration of Government House, as well as on an extensive programme of works at the 5-star Relais & Châteaux resort, Curtain Bluff, was the impetus for the strategic decision to capitalise on the growing interest in our work. Coming out here, and bringing my young family with me, has proved our commitment to the region, and to Antigua in particular.

We are one of only a handful of foreign architects to have made such a commitment to the island. Certainly, we are the only practice with such a breadth of experience.

It is a huge advantage for me to be living in the region, not just so that I can meet potential clients and build contacts. In practical terms, it means that I can spend time at a site at all times of the day and any day of the year to ensure that I observe and make the most of the natural conditions

How are you supported by the practice in London and Winchester?

Although I am based out here, I still manage a large team in the UK, some of whom are based in the London office, with others in Winchester. Our team’s work includes new houses, the restoration of historic buildings, including churches, houses and estate buildings, and significant masterplanning schemes. There are always lessons to be learnt from wherever we are working, and I don’t find the remote working problematic. When I was living and working in London, I still had key members of my team down in Winchester, and that discipline of working apart – albeit 59 miles apart, as opposed to 4,000 miles – is not so different. I work both UK hours and Antiguan hours, so that there is little or no impact on clients in either place. It’s not as crazy as it sounds – I stretch the day out with longer gaps than in an average working day. While I have the energy for this, and enjoy it as much as I do, it works!

What are some of the projects you’re currently working on in Antigua?

When we started work on Government House, I hadn’t anticipated that it would lead to so much work on historic buildings in Antigua, but ultimately with that demonstration that there is value in retaining and working on historic buildings have come opportunities. We are currently looking at an old sugar plantation house which is in ruins. The client would like to convert it into a destination restaurant and bar.

Curtain Bluff is a good example of a high-profile hospitality project. While there will always be a desire for recognised hotel brands, I think that luxury hospitality is as much about creating somewhere memorable with a clear sense of identity and very much rooted in its locality. What I think of as “quiet, holistic luxury” and comfort comes with creating a hotel that’s seamlessly aligned with its surrounding nature and climate, onto which we layer our clients’ vision for how a hotel can exude that particular and special quality. Designing hotels in the Caribbean is entirely different to designing a hotel in a city. The significant growth, year on year, in the wellness industry, has seen a shift in focus for luxury hotels. People come here for the calm, tranquillity and beauty of the region. Hotels which integrate wellbeing into their wider offering have an opportunity to differentiate themselves and provide even more meaningful value to their guests, which in turn results in greater commercial success.

How would you describe the Caribbean vernacular?

Vernacular Caribbean architecture is all about a response to the climate. Facades are given greater depth and interest with the use of verandas and other devices which blur the boundary between the inside and outside. Spaces are manipulated to make the most of cross-ventilation, with cooling breezes filtering through verandas and courtyards. Materials are chosen to be sensitive to their setting and particular use. Stone is usually used for lower floors to provide greater resilience from water run-off on steep sites and as an appropriate material for cool, dry storage space. Timber weatherboarding is commonly used for the floor above, with roofing materials that echo the historic use of timber shingles.

Historically, the buildings’ construction was timber frame. Now the frames are reinforced concrete or concrete block, but often with the appearance of traditional timber frame. Construction details need to be executed thoughtfully, with careful understanding of and reference to historic precedence, to express an authentic quality.

What are some of the key issues to address when designing in the Caribbean?

The climate in the Caribbean is reasonably constant and predictable, so blurring the boundaries between inside and outside is significantly easier than in temperate climates.

Harnessing the natural breezes allows mechanical cooling to be limited to areas such as bedrooms and media rooms. The skill is to understand a site in order to make the most of its advantages, perhaps opening up one or more elevation with just a hurricane shutter for protection.

Courtyards can be a wonderful architectural and practical tool, drawing air inward and up and bringing the cooler air in behind, naturally creating gentle breezes to make indoor environments more comfortable, often without the need for mechanical cooling. But I always advise keeping any water feature in a courtyard animated to avoid attracting mosquitoes.

As well as considering how best to harness natural cooling, it is vital to consider sunlight. Although a westerly or south-westerly aspect will provide great views of a sunset, the Caribbean sun will eventually bake a living room however deep the veranda. So, I remind clients that the light from the north is very gentle and should be embraced.

Interior finishes can be bleached by the sun and leave “tide marks” around a room. Good interior designers will understand this and be careful with the hard finishes and fabrics they specify to avoid the effects of the harshest sunlight.

How should a Caribbean home respond to its setting and views, and what are the architectural techniques that can be used to blur the boundary between a home and its landscape?

Opening up a building on one or more sides, and introducing courtyards, both blur the boundary between inside and outside. Verandas and pergolas, with plants growing up and around them, can also be a really powerful tool to provide vital shading as well as articulating the architecture of an open elevation with another level of detail and finesse. Some modern buildings are very stark and lack the softness you can achieve by introducing a veranda, allowing wide open elevations and associated views while still blending into the landscape.

Increasingly, we have become concerned with making buildings truly accessible to all, so while it is tempting to introduce steps and changes in floor levels, we try to avoid this wherever possible. This can be more challenging on the particularly steep sites, but there are always ways around it.

Remember that you don’t just look out at a view straight on, so I always encourage clients to consider the oblique views too. Views of an uninterrupted ocean horizon seldom hold the attention as long as those with a series of headlands with waves breaking on them.

Of course, it’s important to frame a view but it is as much about considering the views through a house and the surrounding landscape, using views as a way of creating a series of impressions.

Seeing the garden as an extension to the living space, and a way of protecting a property from its neighbours, is underutilised in the Caribbean but something I really want to encourage. Native plants become established very quickly thanks to the climate, so we need more collaboration with landscape designers to create pockets of living space within gardens.

Are there particular materials, proportions or design details that you believe work especially well in the Caribbean climate — and what makes them successful?

Render and weatherboarding can be used in different ways, whether in overlapping boards or shiplap timbers. Timber shingles on the side of vernacular buildings add a beautiful texture, and I think should be used on modern buildings. Although not quite as resilient, they do soften buildings. On the visitor pavilion at Government House, we installed the roof’s timber shingles interwoven at the hips, so copper strips were not needed for waterproofing. It is our hope that training local builders in these skills will help revive lost skills.

Stone varies in colour and texture across the Caribbean and is in plentiful supply. It really can help set the tone (literally) and there are wonderful ways to cut it and lay it. With houses built into a steep slope using stone for the lower floor will often blend in with the landscape and reduce its impact. Depending upon how the stone is dressed it can also make a much grander statement.

Looking ahead, how do you think Caribbean architecture can evolve while retaining this sense of openness and connection to nature?

I would love to see more attention given to the landscaping around a new house. We need to continue to celebrate the peace and tranquillity that prevails in the Caribbean, appreciating the respite it gives in an increasingly “noisy” world. The architecture should harness the best of the climate and surrounding nature to reflect the holistic lifestyle that can be found here.

Houses at the top end of the market can be designed sustainably without compromising on luxury. Incorporating the modern technology required for increased working from home, for example, is reasonably straightforward and doesn’t have to impact the architectural design of a new home.

What is your favourite historic building in Antigua?

I love the cathedral at the heart of St John’s. It’s the third cathedral on the site – I’ve learned so much about it in the course of doing the Heritage Trail for the Commonwealth Heritage Forum (www.heritagetrailantigua.com).

There are also private houses that I love. Here in Jolly Harbour, we look up at a house designed by Andrew Goodenough for Sir James Carlysle, a former governor-general of Antigua. It was built at a time when Jolly Harbour was a wonderfully quiet enclave. It is a C-shaped plan adapted beautifully to the landscape. It’s a simple building, executed perfectly, with views back into the rain forest and onto the harbour. It makes me smile every time I see it.

Which is your favourite city in the Caribbean?

I absolutely adore Havana. I’ve spent over a year of my life there, one way and another. It’s the ultimate city for layering. It has extraordinary history and fascinating politics which extends well beyond the Castro era. Every time you walk and explore, you smell, see and hear different experiences. Ultimately, it’s the city that I’ve learned more from than anywhere else. Although I also love Hong Kong for similar reasons.