Italian architect Fabio Novembre has designed a house on a man-made island in Abu Dhabi that is wrapped around a sea-facing reflecting pool and has an entrance shielded by an artificial waterfall.
Built for a client who wanted high levels of privacy, the house occupies the entirety of a small artificial island in the Al Gurm Resort to the south of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Top: the waterfront side is largely glazed. Above: the land-facing facade is stone with a waterfall-covered entrance
Designed to shield is occupants, the home has blank, curved stone-clad walls facing the landward side and expansive windows facing the waterfront.
"The architecture is like a shell on the beach, closed and protected from the side of the land, open and cosy on the seaside," Novembre told Dezeen. "We often use the metaphor of hiding on a desert island as a need of poetic isolation," he continued. "Here it's reality."
The villa wraps around a reflecting pool
The rooms are arranged within three concentric curved forms, surrounded by stone walls that wrap around an oval reflecting pool on the seaward side of the villa. The ends of these curved structures are enclosed with golden-framed glass.

"Privacy is a key word for the local culture, therefore I immediately thought about something mute on the outside with layers of walls of different heights, and open as a hug towards the sea," Novembre told Dezeen.
"A simple gesture,...