AlUla Resort, Sharaan Nature Reserve Hotel, Saudi Arabian Holiday Destination, Middle East Architecture
AlUla Resort, Sharaan Nature Reserve
2 Nov 2020
AlUla Resort
Architect: Jean Nouvel
Location: Sharaan Nature Reserve, Saudi Arabia
New concept designs for the Sharaan by Jean Nouvel resort revealed today offer a deeper understanding of the architect?s daring vision for AlUla, the cultural oasis in north-west Arabia.

Located deep within the Sharaan Nature Reserve, the designs draw on the nearby Nabataean wonders of Hegra, Saudi Arabia?s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. In a world-first, this 2,000-year-old architectural legacy is being revived by Jean Nouvel for potentially the first time since the Nabataeans carved into the region?s millions-of-years-old sandstone rock.
As the concepts were unveiled, architect Jean Nouvel described AlUla as ?The coming together of a landscape and history; The history of past civilisations in an extraordinary landscape ? the only place to create such a masterpiece.

Nouvel emphasised the importance of preserving such a unique landscape: ?AlUla is a museum. Every wadi and escarpment, every stretch of sand and rocky outline, every geological and archeological site deserves the greatest consideration. It?s vital we keep all its distinctiveness and conserve its attractiveness, which largely rests on its remote and occasionally archaic character. We have to safeguard a little mystery as well as the promise of discoveries to come.?

Nouvel?s ...