The dolphin-shaped Shurayrah Island, which will serve as the hub island for Saudi Arabia’s luxury Red Sea Project, has been designed as a sustainably-focused new holiday hotspot, offering breathtaking resorts and incredible natural landscapes. We spoke to Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio at Foster + Partners, to find out about the architectural challenges and creative pleasure of working on such a game-changing development.
Saudi Projects Magazine: What was your initial brief for the Shurayrah Island project?
Gerard Evenden: The vision for the Shurayrah Island project has been based on three main tenets – creating an exquisite luxury destination around one of the world’s hidden natural treasures, setting new standards in sustainable development, and positioning Saudi Arabia on the global tourism map.
SPM: What are the biggest challenges and attractions of the project in an architectural and design sense?
GE: The Red Sea Project is a unique opportunity to work with one of the best-preserved coral reefs in the world and put the region on the global luxury tourism map. The research being carried out on these coral reefs could help preserve and revive others around the world. We challenged ourselves to develop a design approach which is aligned to the idea of creating a sustainable vision for the future with an aim to preserve the natural beauty of the region. The project is also symbolic of Saudi Arabia opening up to the world, offering an incredible opportunity for both locals and international tourists to experience the exceptional natural beauty of the country.
Given the remote nature of the site, a complex project such as this requires a considerable degree of off-site manufacturing. Maintaining a consistent quality of building is a real challenge. We believe the scale and ambition of the Shurayrah Island project can lead to real breakthroughs in the quality of construction globally.
The Red Sea Project is a unique opportunity to work with one of the best-preserved coral reefs in the world
SPM: Can you explain a little of your general design philosophy of the Shurayrah Island development?
GE: A key part of the brief was to develop a coherent and consistent approach to the design of the island and its constituent parts. Coral reefs by their nature are made of several different elements, but they come together to read as a singular entity. This was the inspiration for our masterplan, where each of the resorts offers a different experience and appeals to a varied audience, but the entire island embodies a collective identity as Coral Bloom.
The design responds to the local palette of colours – the pale hues of the sand, the indigenous vegetation and the spectacular shades of the sea. Each resort is carefully curated to be a unique place, while neatly fitting in with the larger sustainable vision for the islands. The palette of materials is also inspired by nature and will be low-impact and light-touch.
SPM: Can you explain how your designs have evolved? How much freedom were you given to create your designs?
GE: At the competition stage, we looked at the island holistically and generated our initial design proposals. Following our first site visit, we realised the importance of the island’s edges in terms of biodiversity, while the middle was relatively barren. This led us to design a lagoon that creates new beaches towards the middle that can be used by visitors, leaving the existing beaches on the island’s perimeter relatively untouched.
We also wanted to produce a scheme that could offer a variety of experiences so that guests can continue to visit the island through different life stages – from exclusive retreats to large family holidays.
The design responds to the local palette of colours
SPM: In what ways does your design respond to the area’s natural environment and heritage?
GE: The proposals are respectful of the extreme environmental sensitivity of the region, taking a ‘light-touch’ approach that will have the least detrimental impact on the wonderful biodiversity of the island. Using off-site manufacturing, the project seeks to maximise its sustainable credentials by reducing construction timeframes and waste, while ensuring the highest levels of quality. The project will investigate appropriate construction technologies that will carry out most of the disruptive construction work off-site using sustainable materials and processes. The projects will be powered by 100% renewable energy and provide a unique opportunity to establish a design approach that produces less waste while also creating environmentally responsive buildings.
SPM: Which natural materials will be used – how important is it to feel a connection with nature on this project?
GE: The entire project is underpinned by a commitment to going beyond the current concept of sustainability, focussing squarely on creating a circular economy that produces energy from fully renewable sources. Designed to reflect local culture and traditions, the masterplan leverages existing construction methods with the latest pre-fabrication building techniques and cutting-edge environmental technology to minimise the impact on the fragile ecosystems.
We aim to use timber and other sustainable materials, deriving inspiration from the historical tradition of basket weaving in the region to create natural, earthy, low carbon buildings. The idea is also to provide good thermal insulation using materials that will age gracefully.
The entire project is underpinned by a commitment to going beyond the current concept of sustainability
SPM: How many Foster + Partners staff are working on the Shurayrah Island project, for how long, and where are they located?
GE: For the last two years, we have had a team of over two hundred people working on the project across several studios at the practice.
SPM: How important is it that we begin to travel and build more sustainably on a global scale, and does the Shurayrah Island show the way forwards?
GE: The future of the planet depends on our ability to develop a sustainable approach to everything, including construction and travel. This project will enable Saudi Arabia to develop a tourism industry that is sensitive to the flora and fauna of the region and create a new model for sustainable tourism. The project also aims to have a regenerative effect on the natural habitat, creating more mangroves and coral reefs. It will be a truly spectacular place that will firmly occupy a spot on the list of global luxury tourism destinations.