The island eco-resort of the future may look very different from the island resort of today. Recently Morris Acrhictects, a Houston-based architectuer and design firm took top honors at the Radical Innovation in Hospitality design competition for their Oil Rig Platform and Spa.

Essentially there design makes use of one of the 4,000 oil rigs already existing in the Gulf of Mexico.  In their design they have transformed a standard oil rig into a luxurious eco-resort and spa.

This “floating island resort” generates all of its power from renewable energy resources which is ironic considering what it was originally built to do.

The luxury resort offers many amentities including interaction with the surrounding ocean - boating, snorkeling, diving and other water sports. The Rig Hotel will also draw in conferences and business meetings and will serve as a cruise ship’s main port of call en route to other locations in the Caribbean.

Individual guest rooms are prefabricated off site and transported via ship in a standard cargo container to the rig. The rooms are not large and have been optimized to maximize space.