When it comes to luxury resorts in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi may grab the lion’s share of the headlines, but insiders know that there are serious contenders aplenty to be found nearby. Exhibit A is the emirate of Ajman – a brisk 40-minute drive from Dubai, but a world apart from the madding crowd. Here, on a sprawling 247-acre estate framed by long stretches of beach and mangroves, the Oberoi Beach Resort, Al-Zorah is a handsome 89-room pasha’s retreat of white stone, timber and glass – the first and, by UAE standards, tiny salvo in the hotel group’s grander plans for the region.
Oberoi Beach Resort, Al-Zorah by Piero Lissoni
Rather than dominate the horizon with towering bulks, the Italian architect Piero Lissoni strung three low-slung volumes containing rooms, restaurants, a library and a yoga pavilion along the beach, their windows and perspectives oriented towards a winning trifecta of bone-white sand, Arabian Gulf and blue-domed sky.
Lissoni says the project’s greatest challenge was presented by Ajman’s extreme weather, which has had a profound influence on the local architecture. This explains why, for the Oberoi resort, he and his team worked hard ‘to limit the density of the built space, seeking to keep the volumes low and to just one level where appropriate. This is the first hotel we built in the area, so there was no existing infrastructure and very few points of reference. Integral to this approach was the active integration of the surrounding landscape of trees and greenery.’
Meanwhile, the interiors of the resort bear all the hallmarks of Lissoni’s predisposition towards a tasteful mix of textures, colours and touchstones, not least in his use of traditional materials, which are counterpointed by customised furniture alongside the occasional antique and objet trouvé.
No stranger to creating bijoux havens in difficult settings – his 2021 Shangri-La Shougang Park in Beijing comes to mind – Lissoni says he likes ‘the fact that we were able to realise an oasis whose silent architecture respects the setting of sea, saltwater lakes, mangrove forests and desert. We did not want these buildings to become barriers, attempting instead to create something that expressed a human scale. Each building dialogues in some way with the realities of water and nature.’
And if none of that impresses, there’s always the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.
-
The Danish shores meet East Coast America as Gubi and Noah unveil new summer collaborationGubi x Noah is a new summer collaboration comprising a special colourful edition of Gubi’s outdoor lounge chair by Mathias Steen Rasmussen, and a five-piece beach-appropriate capsule collection
-
Volvo EX30 squeezes new materials and world-leading safety into a compact EV
The new Volvo EX30 is the smallest car in Volvo’s range. The full electric SUV provides a compelling mix of forward-thinking interior design with innovative materials and Google technology
-
Jewellery artist Lucy Anderson charts a new path in minimalist wearable art
Lucy Anderson plays with abstract geometrical concepts for simple and elegant jewellery pieces
-
Roar, UAE: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios. Our 2022 list includes UAE-based studio Roar, with this minimalist home in Dubai
-
Louvre Abu Dhabi Residences to elevate art of living in UAE
A new development of 400 exclusive residences will offer the chance to live alongside the iconic Louvre Abu Dhabi in the heart of the UAE’s Saadiyat Island Cultural District
-
Dubai welcomes the Museum of the Future
Killa Design and the Dubai Future Foundation launch the Museum of the Future in Dubai, which opens its doors to the public today (22 February 2022)
-
Expo 2020 Dubai: the ultimate tour, from districts to pavilions
Expo 2020 Dubai has opened and with it three structures highlighting Sustainability, Mobility, and Opportunity, a Thematic District, and 192 national pavilions; take the tour
-
David Adjaye unveils plans for Africa Institute in Sharjah
Adjaye Associates designs the Africa Institute, a new centre for the study, research and documentation of Africa and the African diaspora in the Arab world, in Sharjah, UAE
-
Brutalist flying saucer reopens in Sharjah
One of the country's architecture landmarks, the Flying Saucer, has been given a new lease of life, via a renovation courtesy of the Sharjah Art Foundation and architect Mona El Mousfy of SpaceContinuum Design Studio
-
Architects Directory alumni: Residence 22 by Dxb.lab
The Wallpaper* Architects Directory has turned 20. Conceived in 2000 as our index of emerging architectural talent, this annual listing of promising practices, has, over the years, spanned styles and continents; yet always championing the best and most exciting young studios and showcasing inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. To mark the occasion, this summer, we are looking back at some of our over-500 alumni, to catch up about life and work since their participation and exclusively launch some of their latest completions. Dubai based Dxb.lab was first featured in Wallpaper* in the 2007 Architects Directory. Since then, the studio and its director, Khalid Al Najjar, have been going from strength to strength, completing a variety of projects of all scales and typologies; here we visit their latest housing scheme, Residence 22, in the city's Business Bay.
-
The Sharjah Architecture Triennial inspects the future of urbanism
The inaugural Sharjah Architectural Triennial, curated by Adrian Lahoud, is built around the subject ‘Rights of Future Generations’ and investigates decision making and rethinking fundamental questions about architecture in the UAE region and beyond
