The Red Sea Project has revealed images of a resort designed by Foster + Partners to "blend in with the natural environment" of a Saudi Arabian island within the Red Sea.
Coral Bloom will be made up of 11 hotels on the dolphin-shaped island of Shurayrah, which is part of a chain of 90 undeveloped islands off the west coast of Saudi Arabia that are being developed as part of The Red Sea Project.
Foster + Partners is designing 11 hotels on the island of Shurayrah
Informed by the forms of native Saudi Arabian flowers and coral, the resort was designed to be a hub for the wider development and one of the first places that tourists visiting the development will see.
"The Coral Bloom concept, designed by lead architects Foster + Partners, will blend in with the natural environment and create a luxury experience for guests on their first arrival to the destination," said the project's developer, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC). Villas will be built within sand dunes surrounding lagoons and beaches
The development of the island will see it relandscaped to create a series of lagoons and beaches. Within the sand dunes alongside these beaches, 11 resorts will be created, each with numerous coral-informed villas.
"Our vision for Shurayrah is inspired by the island's natural state, with the hotels designed to give the impression that they have washed up on the beaches and nestled among the dunes almost like driftwood," said Gerard Evenden, hea...