Al Sahara. There are no other places on earth that can live up to the vast Arabian desert.
Prophets, treasures, lost cities: Al Sahara is the place of the supernatural. Indeed, only the supernatural can live where not even Bedouins dare to enter.
Al Sahara is the place where exploration stops. Here, human ambitions are annihilated, and vanity is overwhelmed. This is because the desert cannot be tamed, comprehended, or measured. The desert can only be contemplated from a distance in the hope of being ignored by its sands. The same sands that on countless occasions surged to demand a tribute of lives, civilizations, and wealth.
In the desert life is impossible. However, at the desert’s edge one can live some of the most intense experiences humans can ever experience: bitter cold, burning heat, silence, sand dunes singing, mirages, sunsets, skies studded with stars and especially lush oases.
Living at the edge of the desert is a privilege for the few. Such privilege is the origin of Desert Accommodation.
Living at the edge of the desert is a privilege for the few. Such privilege is the origin of Desert Accommodation. Desert Accommodation is YAC’s and Jarir Development’s competition with the goal of designing a guest house for a new settlement of large villas at the borders of Riyadh. Moreover, it aims at exploring the potential of contemporary architecture in one of the last and most majestic sanctuaries of mother nature.
What kinds of hospitality can be designed in the most inhospitable place by definition?
What kinds of hospitality can be designed in the most inhospitable place by definition? By providing an answer to such pivotal question, architects will have the opportunity to design a luxury oasis in the Najd plateau overlooking the most brutal and fatal desert of the planet. It will be a contemporary oasis where to relax in the shade of palm and fruit trees enjoying the immense expanse of the desert. Furthermore, it will be a place where to dive in a fresh swimming pool admiring incandescent sands reflecting the sunset. Here, guests will have the opportunity to watch the imminent shade of sandstorms over the horizon protected by the surrounding architectures.
It will be a refuge for the body but especially a hermitage for the spirit. This is because the oasis and the desert are opposites that involve human beings in all their complexity. In fact, according to an old saying of the nomads of the desert: “God created oases so that people can live in them, and the desert so that they can find their soul again”.
Yac thanks all the architects who will take part in this challenge.
Winners
First Prize
NOMAD
Clement Molinier, Philippe Paumelle
Second Prize
NeverLab
Stefana Zapuc, Teddy Fadous
Third Prize
GEO STUDIO
Wenlin Zhu, Weizhi Zhao, Junsong Li, Zishen Xu
Gold Mention
AGC architecture
Giorgia Console, Alberto Gaglio
Gold Mention
MFA
Thomas Michielin
Mention
Ansar architects
Rishat Ansar, Zhunisbekov Baglan, Tokpan Makhambet, Srail Bakhtishat
Mention
KASA
Alessandro Pio Gliaschera, Ekaterina-Madlen Ikonomova
Mention
A wealth of layers
youngil kim, markeum kim
Mention
MZGR
Martina Mazzotta, Guendalina Rollo
Mention
WORS architects
Ekaterina Voronova, Alexander Simonov
Mention
VisuaLla
Jesús Llanos Jiménez, David Lebrón Castillo
Mention
Raslan Al-Hawi
Raslan Alhawi
Mention
Michelangelo Tria
Michelangelo Tria
Mention
D I D I D
Dohyung Kim
Mention
return
Zewei Zeng, Xixi Zheng, Canghai Cai, Fangchen Lin, Yu Su, Zhiqi Lin, NINI SU, Zitong Xu
Finalist
SCH DUO
Hyuksang Kwon, Junwon Choi
Finalist
A0plus
Adrian Vieza, Angelo Antonucci, Ștefan Epure, Călina Bogasiu, Livia-Maria Stanciu
Finalist
Lab59
Nour El Deen Khaled,Rana Yahia, Mohamed Sarhan, Roushan Shaker, Mostafa Saber, Yassin El Hamaky, Nardeen Ibrahim
Finalist
Coffee Break
Raffaele Primo Capasso, Edoardo Maria Fiecconi
Finalist
Alberto Beccarisi
Alberto Beccarisi
Finalist
JAZ
Julia Bujak, Zuzanna Wołowiec, Agata Klonecka
Finalist
AHIPASIKO
Wongphat Jiemvijid, Timpika Wetpanya, Kan Laohavanich
Finalist
Studio WireFrame
Lucca Ferrarese, Uday Berry
Finalist
Bernal+Loffa Architects
Jonathan Bernal, Valentina Loffa
Finalist
M&V Studio
Arthur Micheron, Roberto Vargas
Finalist
100Architects
Soukaina SOUHAMI, Mouad EL BAZE, Nabil CHOKRI, Fatima Zahra Jirari
Finalist
Ummah
Ahmad Ehab Elhusseiny, Belal Mahmoud Esmail
Finalist
PBstudio
Francesco Conti, Carlo D'Alberti, Giorgio Glaviano
Finalist
3C+D
Marcello Danelli, Gabriele Currà, Pietro Crevola, Paolo Contri
Finalist
TnT-S
Ngọc Lê, Trà Nguyễn, Tâm Phan, Hoan Vu
Finalist
Taho + Jr + FP
Christian Torres, Erick Felipe Castro, Andrés Felipe Roldan, Fabio Andres Palomino, Josman Rojas, Macarena Nahir Salvatierrez Nahir, Salvatierrez, Pablo Renteria Granada
Finalist
MDS+
Arianna Carbone, Simone Distefano, Pasquale Massimo
Finalist
KEEHAA
Elicia Javiera, Elen Eriyanty, Hansen Hardiawan, Muh Irsyad, Endri Mutia Zuhra, I Made Agung Mas Surianta, Kharisma Adam
Finalist
East Consulting Engineering Company
Sean Auld, Marcin Panpuch, Victor Elepanio, Sammy Chen, Visnja Vukicevic, Dhayaghim Alshammari, Jovanni Gallo Fontanilla, Jay Aries Desalisa
Finalist
redarch
shams shaukat, Asad Mustafa
Finalist
Jon Sealey
Jon Sealey, Zaina Hussein
Finalist
Contrapposto
Juan Felipe Correa, Mateo Osorio, Daniel Gerardo Caro Gutierrez, Paula Andrea Remolina Pulecio
Finalist
Studio Makal
Ai Ling Ma, Kieve Mercado, Alex Yango, Sammie Theppabute, Winona Yu
Finalist
Alia Elabd
Alia Elabd
Finalist
ReAn LoGo
Ángela Inmaculada López Sánchez, Renato Golemi
Finalist
F4
Eunbi Ko, Yoona Lee, Habin Park, Hanseo So
Finalist
C&P
Pablo López Sánchez, Carlos Díez Fornes
Finalist
Hoggar
Zakaria BOUTEBILA, Benoît Laurence, Ousama Hamdani
Finalist
BBN
Tanguy Nguyen, Julien Bony, Aurélien Bru
Finalist
MCND
Mirae Nam, Hwanseo Lee, Gyuhyeon Choi
Finalist
pham viet anh
PHAM VIET ANH
Finalist
02-042
hyoseok yoon, Chang Hee Jo, yihyun jeong, Hyunggyu Kim, JunHo Rho
Finalist
daA
Alex Mingda Zhang
Finalist
UArchitects
Misak Terzibasiyan, Amir Feizinezhadgheshlaghi
Finalist
Moni, Ana, Yael y Patxi
Patxi Jauregui, Yael Gonzalez, Ana Elizalde, Monica Muñoz
Finalist
Vu Manh Thang
Manh Thang Vu