Great attention and care has been put in the design of this unique field station. Architects Sottsass Associati of Milano, Ettore Sottsass, Marco Zanini  and Simon Velez have used bamboo in an innovative way to create the roof of this contemporary building.  Besides the central marine research facility, there is another, smaller station (El Eden) located deep within the mangroves, on the mainland. This facility includes basic accommodations for five scientists wishing to study tropical terrestrial environments especially mangrove and riparian systems in a relatively isolated area.

Further along the mainland, a former cattle farm (Rosario) has been converted to an organic self-sustaining farm that provides for most of the food for the field stations while simultaneously providing an opportunity for agronomic and tropical forestry research. Already this model farm is beginning to set an example for the local farming community.