It’s a haul from Riyadh, some 10 hours away, but AlUla, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, is on track to becoming one of the country’s most sought-after destinations when the Sharaan Resort, designed by Jean Nouvel, arrives in 2023.
Spanning more than 200,000 years of history, AlUla, “an open-air museum” as Nouvel puts it, was on the caravan-lined incense trading route, and is known for the ancient kingdom of Dadān and the Nabatean city of Hegra, the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as its impressive rock formations. It is those “natural works of art,” as Nouvel describes them, that resonated deeply with the Parisian architect when laying the groundwork for the resort. “What most struck me, beyond the archaeological features, is the work of the wind on the rock formations. When you stroll around, you’re gobsmacked.”
The sweeping inner courtyard reveals how Nouvel directly embedded the resort in the landscape
Preserving the distinctive landscape and the region’s centuries-long heritage was paramount to Nouvel and his team, who delved into how the Nabateans lived and interacted with the land, carving the resort directly into the sandstone mountains of the Sharaan Nature Reserve in tribute. “I feel that any building here without a direct connection to the rock will disturb something. Here, the brief is to disturb, but in a different way—to disturb through emotion, based on a poetic, philosophical, palpable material that’s already there,” Nouvel explains.
Comprising 40 guest suites, three villas, and 14 adjacent private pavilions, the resort will flaunt such highlights as a pool that plays with shadow and the geometry of the rocks, along with an elevator that whizzes guests up and down past layers of geological strata.
Light, reflected through a traditional mashrabiya canopy, for example, is an important element amplified throughout. “I’ve actually created a hollow sphere from which views open out on to lobbies and rooms, but which also creates a sort of large internal patio,” says Nouvel. “And this can be seen from the sky. It’s something you discover there, like a big surprise. We’ll seek the light, always.”
The pool area, capturing how light plays with shadow and rock
Guestroom terraces maximize the desert surroundings
An aerial view of the resort
This article originally appeared in HD’s November 2020 issue.
