French architecture studio AW2 has revealed its design for a glamping resort made up of 47 luxury tents in the AlUla desert in Saudi Arabia.
Named Ashar Tented Resort, the development is set to be built as part of the Royal Commission of AlUla's drive to increase tourism in the AlUla desert area, which includes the Madâin Sâlih UNESCO World Heritage site.
The tourist accommodation will consist of 47 suites that will take their forms from the tents used by the nomadic Bedouin people who occupied the area.
Ashar Tented Resort will be built in the AlUla desert
"The inspiration of the architecture begins with the simple rectangle shape of the Bedouin tent, with its adjustable canvas to maximise cooling and provide sun shading," said AW2 partner Stéphanie Ledoux. "From this basis, we developed a layout that would include all the modern functions of a luxury hotel room while maintaining maximum contact with the surrounding nature," she told Dezeen.
"The canvas is here used as a protection and privacy device."
Each suite will be built from compressed-earth bricks
The resort will be arranged along a path that follows the site's surrounding rock formations.
Each suite, which will either have one, two or three bedrooms, will be constructed with compressed-earth brick walls and topped with a tented structure.
Two restaurants will be built on the site
"The site is composed of three main elements: the sand, the rocks and the vast sky," explai...