The Saudi Sovereign Wealth fund (PIF) hired SRLA for world-class expertise in sustainable hospitality and horticulture to design a destination organic farm and hotel on the Red Sea in the Middle East. The brief for this project was to push the boundaries of imagination and technology to develop a world-class destination. As such, SRLA designed an organic farm ‘experience’, whereby guests embark on a journey back to nature rediscovery the wonders of the relationship between man and plants through the prism of luxury, gastronomy, beauty, relaxation, and the culinary arts.
The design integrates ancient Islamic garden design principles, with modern-day high-end hospitality comforts and luxury, demonstrating the value of combining the ancient and the modern to create something truly unique. Sustainability was a driving consideration in the design of the site, with new innovative approaches and methods developed to solve water and irrigation challenges, and challenges presented by the climate and arid landscape.
The underlying structure of the walled garden design is rooted in sacred Islamic geometry, lending tradition and classic timelessness to the design. This is complemented by an array of modern, cutting-edge features, such as biodomes that harbour a wide array of exotic plants to be used for research in medical and wellness, an apiary (beer garden), fruit and orchard terrasses, mushroom farms, water gardens, pavilions, and olive groves, all of which feed into this sustainable and integrated functional farm.
