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Entrance
A timber-framed hall of draped arches and banded stone floors.
Conceptual
227 | Al Nakhali Desert Complex
Location
Dubai, UAE
Project
Competition entry
The idea
Desert light, onyx and soft curves.
This competition entry for the Al Nakhali desert complex in Dubai takes its cues from the dunes outside. Ceilings and wall panels sweep in soft curves, floors are laid in banded stone in sand and cream, and pale curtains frame the views out to the desert.
A timber-framed entrance hall with draped arches leads into a broad majlis set between panels of backlit onyx and blue stone. The master suite follows the same language: a gold-leaf wave rising over the bed, a bathroom in striped stone with a bookmatched onyx wall, lattice screens and a timber-clad bath, and a long dressing room lined in glass and timber.
Material palette
Bookmatched onyx
Master bathroom
Banded stone
Bathroom walls
Gold-leaf wave
Master bedroom
About the project
The dunes, brought inside.
Al Nakhali is a competition entry by IAIA for a desert complex in Dubai. The interior proposal draws directly on its setting. The curves of the dunes become sweeping ceilings and wall panels, the layers of sand become banded stone underfoot, and pale curtains keep the desert in view rather than shutting it out.
Light carries the design from room to room. In the majlis, panels of backlit onyx glow between blue stone under curving ceilings. In the master bathroom, a bookmatched onyx wall stands against striped stone, filtered by lattice screens. Timber gives warmth and structure: it frames the draped arches of the entrance hall, clads the bath and lines the long dressing room alongside glass. Over the master bed, a wave of gold leaf repeats the line of the dunes in a single gesture, facing a lounge set before the screen wall.
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