PRECEDENT STUDIES

Museum of Qatar in Qatar. Nouvel views the resort as an opportunity to bridge the old with the new, creating a scheme that is respectful to AIUIa’s ancient heritage while also maintaining modern comforts and aesthetics. He outlines “AIUIa deserves to acquire a degree of modernity. Envisioning the future is a never-ending obligation that requires to be fully alive to places in the present as well as conjuring up the past.” The design aims to minimize the impacts on nature, working with the existing landscape rather than fighting it. Inspired by the traditional work of the Nabateans, dwellings will be molded out of the earth, creating sustainable spaces that provide shelter from the summer heat and the chill of winter. The design aims to minimize the impacts on nature, working with the existing landscape rather than fighting it. Inspired by the traditional work of the Nabateans, dwellings will be molded out of the earth, creating sustainable spaces that provide shelter from the summer heat and the chill of winter. According to the architect, the subterranean resort was informed by the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site where the remains of a Nabataean city can be found. The Nabataean people occupied the Arabian Desert in between the second and fourth century BC and carved cities, including Petra in Jordan, into the area's sandstone rock. (Jean Nouvel Reveals Cave Resort in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Desert, 2020)