Expected for 2024 SHARAAN, the new luxury resort in AlUla in Saudi Arabia, interprets the new design concepts of Jean Nouvel and unveils a new era in architecture.
For guests it will be a sensory and emotional journey through time.
SHARAAN, a “masterpiece” resort, the first of its kind in the world, hidden among the stone houses of Alula, in the north-west of Saudi Arabia, will usher in a new era of design in which every future detail will tell the story of a past landscape .
Unveiling the concept, Jean Nouvel said: “The concept design showcases the elements of the resort built in the mountains of AlUla’s Sharaan Nature Reserve. Our design must not jeopardize what humanity and time have consecrated. It must celebrate the lines and genius of the Nabataeans without resulting in a caricature. This act of creation becomes a true cultural gesture”.
Nouvel’s commitment to respect the landscape and the historical heritage of AlUla did not mean moving away from modern architectural ideas. “AlUla deserves to acquire a degree of modernity,” he suggests. “Conceiving the future is a constant obligation that requires us to fully experience places in the present and to evoke the past”.
Jean Nouvel explains how he is adapting old lifestyles to our modern world, minimizing the impact on natural and urban landscapes.
To do all this, Nouvel has introduced a new type of architecture never seen before, using abstraction and sculpting within the landscape itself rather than competing with it.
Drawing inspiration from the Nabataeans, he plays on ancient lifestyles to build in the present and face the challenges of the future. Jean Nouvel integrates the way in which the Nabataeans interacted with the environment, both vertically and horizontally, to reconnect with the earth and create sustainable habitats, sheltered from summer heat and winter cold.
Jean Nouvel’s new resort will include 40 suites and three resort villas. The Retreat Summit Center near the resort will feature 14 private pavilions.
Sharaan by Jean Nouvel Resort will be a key element of RCU (Royal Commission for Alula) strategy for the development of AlUla as a destination of global interest for culture, history and eco-tourism.
This RCU sustainable development strategy aims to position AlUla as a luxury boutique destination, safeguarding the natural landscape and placing the local community at the center of the region’s development.
About AlUla UNESCO World Heritage
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary cultural and naturalistic wealth.
The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a valley full of lush oases, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural sites dating back thousands of years.
The most important site of AlUla is Hegra, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Saudi Arabia.
Hegra was the main city of the southern part of the Nabataean Kingdom; currently it has more than 100 funerary monuments in excellent condition with finely carved facades in the sandstone outcrops.
In addition to Hegra, AlUla is home to fascinating archaeological sites such as ancient Dadan, capital of the kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan, considered one of the most developed cities of the Arabian Peninsula during the first millennium BC.
On October 31 2021, AlUla will reopen cultural sites, including Hegra, the ancient kingdom of Dadan and the canyons of Jabal Ikmah.
For info visit the website Experience AlUla: https://experiencealula.com/
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