In this picture, a big long solid American walnut table with 10 stools on each side of it made out of solid acacia tree trucks collected from Sudan. This table set up is placed under a vast tubular open skylight. The floor, walls and ceiling as well as the wide conic shape skylight are cladded with an earthy mid-brown mud mortar. In the centre of the picture behind the table there is a solid American walnut door closing a private room at the rear.

In this picture, you can see a podium in an alcove all covered in mud mortar. In that podium there is a jute upholstered rectangular mattress same size as the alcove, and a square cushion on top of the mattress. All the background walls and floor are cladded with an earthy mid-brown mud mortar. There is a natural light filtering on the corner walls as if coming down from a skylight above. The feel in this picture is calm and serene, as if the space has just been abandoned by the previous occupier who came here to relax in the cool underground space, away from the crowd and the heat above.

A big wide staircase confined between two great walls all monochromatic covered in mid-brown mud mortar. The view is towards the open top of the stairs narrowing down towards a bright natural yellow daylight, so bright that one cannot distinguish any silhouettes or shapes cutout in the daylight.

In the foreground of the picture there is a calm deep red-black coloured pond with very calm water as if no one has touched its surface for a while. The edge of the pond is a curved line delimiting what looks like a private warm water relaxation pool flush with the flat surface of floor on its border which is of a rough surface and brown colour leading to the right towards a dark private chamber, and to the left to an open space under a wide round skylight with solid wood furniture and jute covered cushions. Above the above mentioned pond, a wide circular skylight opening brings natural light down on to the water and the flat shore-like border of the pool. In the centre background of the image there is another podium with a cushion on it as if the scene has been abandoned by the occupier who went into the private chamber dress up for the next event of the day.

When we were asked to create a residential complex in AlUla, we made it underground.
#architecture
#alUla
#retreat
#minimalist
#zen
#wabisabi
#quietarchitecture
#rabihhage