Standing out for its bold design is Roth Architecture’s AZULIK luxury eco-resort whose organic form draws on the natural forms of AlUla’s windswept desert landscape. Currently under development, the project offers thrilling glimpses into the region’s future, as does Prior + Partners’ Cultural Oasis District Masterplan for AlUla. Created in collaboration with Allies and Morrison, the masterplan sets out to reconstruct the town in harmony with the nature that surrounds it in line with Royal Commission for AlUla’s visionary roadmap.
Another ambitious project on dislay is Giò Forma’s Maraya, a mirror-clad multipurpose venue completed in 2020. Named after the Arabic word for mirror, the cubic building ‘disappears’ into its desert setting, not unlike the ancient Nabataean tombs in the area which were sculpted into the sandstone outcrops as opposed to being built directly onto the landscape. Boasting the title of world’s largest mirrored building, its reflective facades create mesmerising optical illusions that allude to the mirages described in historical travel accounts of Arabia. An architectural landmark on its own, the venue also offers an extraordinary rooftop dining experience courtesy of Maraya Social, Michelin-starred British Chef Jason Atherton’s award-wining restaurant. Interweaving Mediterranean, Arabian and British cuisines, Atherton’s menu of shared plates is served amid glorious views of the rock-strewn canyons of Ashar Valley.
Not as flashy but just as substantial, SAL Architects’ renovation of the Ammar Bin Yasser Mosque, a cherished local landmark, and Hopkins Architects’ proposed renovation of Madrasat Addeera, a historic building that originally housed AlUla’s first secondary girls school, also speak of the importance of preserving AlUla’s legacy.