The new Banyan Tree vacation resort, inspired by the heritage and natural splendor of AlUla, is situated shut to the Kingdom’s initial UNESCO Entire world Heritage Internet site, Hegra. Guided by the Strategic Grasp setting up Tips for Alula and the Saudi Eyesight 2030, AW²’s design integrates and responds to Saudi Arabia’s ambitions for the future as nicely as the resort’s completely exclusive desert setting amid rock formations and historic heritage web pages. The layout prioritises the preservation of pure magnificence and the rich heritage of the web site when supporting the nation’s extended-term touristic, cultural, and financial plans for the area.
Impression credit history: AW²
Sheltering 47 new tented suites, the accommodation ranges in size from a person to a few guestrooms. The public areas include two connoisseur restaurants, as properly as a luxurious spa. The signature swimming pool sits in a normal crevice in the rocks, reminiscent of the Wadis which seems at the foot of the cliffs for the duration of rain spells.
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- Impression credit history: AW²
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- Picture credit rating: AW²
AW² took an environmentally friendly, ‘light touch’ strategy to the style which aims to mix the resort seamlessly with the purely natural scenery of the Ashar valley. Just about every suite is composed of a uncomplicated system and a good structure evoking the neighbouring rocks. A variety of sand-colored canvases had been used to produce organic ventilation in between the roof and the tent, as properly as furnishing solar defense. This 3-tiered layout generates comfortable roof strains mixing the architecture into the present landscape.
Impression credit: Banyan Tree AlUla
“Our architecture responds to the fragility of the Ashar web-site and aims not only to restore but also to defend it from upcoming hurt by consciously addressing the balance of Gentleman and Nature,” mentioned Reda Amalou & Stéphanie Ledoux, Companions at AW². “Our idea includes harnessing the natural magnificence of the landscape with a venture that seamlessly integrates into the site, a style that is tailored and adaptable to the cultural, historic and normal specificities of Ashar.”
Different sand colored canvas and terracotta renders ended up meticulously preferred to blend with its bordering, the architecture is made as a landscape. The spa façades were being formed applying compacted sand, the variation of horizontal colored sand strains matching with the rock formations in the track record.
As with all AW² projects, the style team concentrated on the guest encounter. A critical component that experienced to be tackled was the large scale of the web site, and the style has been cautiously thought of to make certain visitors do not sense overwhelmed, although nonetheless suffering from spectacular vistas. Privateness and shelter therefore go hand in hand at the vacation resort, generating an intimate setting where the breath-having views are individually framed.
Image credit history: Banyan Tree AlUla
The inside layout is a modern interpretation of the Bedouin way of everyday living. Throughout the resort, areas are designed with styles influenced by Nabataean nomadic Arab tribes and classic motifs, evoking the abundant cultural heritage of Ashar. The colours of the desert are mirrored in the color palette utilised through the design and style.
AW² carried the tactic taken to the architecture into the inside layout. Areas are built to generate an indoor-out of doors experience, to assist attendees truly feel connected to mother nature. Terraces increase from the interior areas with the canvas tent masking above. The bespoke furniture style and design reflects a modern-day and sophisticated design which is noticeable all through the vacation resort combing a abundant local encounter with the optimum global luxury criteria in hospitality style.
Impression credit score: AW²
To emphasise the gentle touch solution in the advancement of the huge internet site, paths and walkways ended up created as trails in the sand. Friends vacation via a landscape of sand dunes making it possible for them to get nearer to character. In this way, the footprint of the resort is diminished to a minimal and the site’s purely natural habitat is preserved. The use of neighborhood sources, craftsmanship and minerals even further minimises the project’s carbon footprint.
Community vegetation ended up applied into the landscape of the resort, a sustainable structure selection focusing on endemic species indigenous to the desert weather. The architects utilised water harvesting techniques to manual the rainwater toward micro-catchment gardens to aid plant lifestyle on the web page. The gardens also deliver flood security for the duration of the months of large rainfall when flash floods can happen in the region.
Most important picture credit history: AW²
