The Gulf of Aqaba mansion concepts occupy four sites on the northwestern Saudi coast. The challenge was to identify new modes of luxury living that preserve and amplify the intensity of the natural landscapes.
The Chameleon emerges from the shoreline with a faceted facade that both mimics and abstracts the rugged landscape of the region. It's perforated concrete shell becomes a topography of light and shadow, eroding the clarity of the building form while also mitigating the harsh climate with its thermal mass. Parametric apertures respond to solar conditions while a series of indoor-outdoor buffer zones protect the heart of the residence. Here, an immense courtyard bridges across the undulating terrain, creating a viewing deck towards the Gulf and the Egyptan coastline beyond.
The weightless cantilever of the Dancer minimizes architectural intervention on the site, protecting and preserving the fragile rock outcroppings that define it. The project charts a new horizon line that grants new reference to the geometries of the mountains. A stereotomic podium embeds into the rock, forming the entry and beginning of a choreographed occupancy through elemental experiences of earth and air.
To grapple with the precarity of the steep site conditions, the Nest weaves together small architectural components that come together to articulate a complex enclosure. The interplay of blocks can be inhabited within, above, below, beside, and beyond. Residents move through layers of horizontality and verticality, experiencing expansiveness within the protected confines of the valley. Entered from a compression below, the project dematerializes as it ascends.
Structural Engineering LERA
Programming VK:u urban
Cost Consulting Gleeds
Visualization UVIZ
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