Mystical Resort In Wadi Rum

Florida-based office Oppenheim Architecture + Design has released the artist impressions of its proposals for 47 desert lodges at a resort in Wadi Rum, Jordan. The resort has a completely different atmosphere compared to the resorts we know from the Mediterranean and Caribbean coasts: no rude interventions such as skyscraping hotels and obscene tourist strips will be found here. Instead, the lodges will be carved directly into the sandstone cliff face and the building elements will be made from rammed earth and cement mixed with local red sand.

With this competition design, Oppenheim catalyzes a paradigm shift in how a luxury holiday should look like. Local engagement and a connection to regional design, culture and geo-morphological circumstances have become more important. Dezeen elaborates on the design principles:

“Dramatically situated, the lodges and villas in their various incarnations; are all about a visceral connection to culture and place. The resulting experience is a revolutionary notion of opulence that is intentionally reduced to what is essential. The interior and exterior are deliberately blurred establishing maximum impact with minimum effort. Inspired by the primordial, Oppenheim used his expertise in sustainable design to create passive means of cross ventilation, taking full advantage of the natural cooling effect of the rocks, and proper positioning allowing the project to minimize energy consumption and maximize comfortable healthy living.”

For now this resort is still a proposal that will not be ready before 2014, but I would be very happy to pay this rather mystical place a visit when it’s all done.

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