Amaala, the ultra-luxury destination project planned to come up along Saudi Arabia’s northwestern Red Sea coastline, is going ahead with the project despite setbacks from the global pandemic. The project, dubbed the Riviera of the Middle East, recently appointed global architectural designers Denniston as master planner for ‘The Island’, one of the project’s key components.
The Island, which is promoted as an exclusive art community complemented with a Arabic botanical garden adorned with a collection of sculptural art. The Island will house masterpieces across four key design elements — a contemporary art museum and academy, a Riviera-lifestyle artists’ colony, immersive artistic experiences, and art and sculpture co-creation opportunities.
Speaking about the project, Amaala CEO Nicholas Naples said: “Our ambition is to create personalised experiences, catering to the individual needs of each guest. Entrenched in the philosophies of art, wellness, and inspired by the purity of the Red Sea, we are excited to be working alongside renowned designer Jean-Michel Gathy and the design firm Denniston to bring to life our vision for The Island.
For his part, Gathy, the principal designer of Denniston, said: “The Island development will be an immersive and interactive art-inspired jewel. Its lifestyle components, its landscaping, the museums, and art installations together with the art community will transform this island into the ‘Diamond of the Red Sea’.
“It will feature many different venues for permanent installations or temporary exhibitions and artistic performances. The graphic layout of its spine will be distinctive from the air and will be recognised internationally as an iconic landmark. The project features all elements programmed and reflects the areas, numbers and facilities. This is truly unique, nothing like it has ever been planned before.”
The community of The Island will be anchored by an artists’ village of working studios, artisanal shops, galleries, plus exhibition and performance facilities hosting a year-round calendar of immersive, and transformative works, representing the pillar of arts and culture.
Located in the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Nature Reserve, the 3,800-sq km year-round destination will include 2,500 hotel keys and more than 800 residential villas, apartments and estate homes, alongside 200 high-end retail establishments, fine dining, wellness and recreation.
The development of Amaala is being rolled out across three key phases, with completion of the destination aimed ahead of the realisation of Saudi Vision 2030. As well as The Island, Amaala’s trio of communities also includes Triple Bay and Coastal Development.
Triple Bay will offer a fully holistic wellness retreat, diagnostic medical facilities and authentic treatments designed to feature the local environment. Triple Bay will also be home to a fully integrated sports and entertainment community. The Coastal Development project for its part is set to become the defining hub of contemporary art in the Middle East, playing host to a dynamic program of exciting events from the global arts and cultural calendar.
Though the project owners have high hopes of completing the project on time before 2030, the unexpected economic pressures arising from the coronavirus global pandemic is likely to at least delay the project’s planned opening.
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