oppenheim architecture + design: desert lodges
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oppenheim architecture + design: desert lodges


'desert lodge' by oppenheim architecture + design in wadi rum, jordan
all images courtesy oppenheim architecture + design


florida-based firm oppenheim architecture + design has sent us images of their competition-winning
design for a new desert lodge in wadi rum, jordan. conceived with the primary intention of remaining
humble within the desert site, the project seeks to establish a new benchmark for design,
quality and sustainability in the natural environment.



view out to the desert


emerging from the landscape like an uncovered stone, the luxury accommodations are revealed
in geometric cut-outs from the topography. the architecture is inserted into the natural faults
and fissures of the land, resulting in simple and elemental forms that aim to enhance and embrace
the site. as a living space, the project seeks to provide a direct connection between man and nature
by leaving many elements of the design raw and honest to its surrounding.



interior view of lodge


accommodating a rock lodge, spa lodge, tent lodge and reserve villa, the design pays
microcosmic attention to each program by spatially responding to the regional cues.
the result is a series of architectonic forms that resonate with the geological histories
of the region.






welcome area



glazed lodge



view of hamam



outdoor pool



spa



natural pool



night view



view of tent lodge site



tent









towards the spa at night






arrival

erica db
04.25.11  
16
It's not really all that 'humble' is it ? It urbanises the natural landscape - if you wanted to be humble -you'd get people to camp in tents or build temporary structures... as people have been doing 'humbly' for millenia. It doesn't 'connect man with nature' at all - it disconnects by building 'luxury' buildings from which man looks out onto nature... no different from a tower block. This is really monetising the wilderness for profit and gain... and using the rhetoric of enviromentalism to justify it. It would look great in a movie which would be much nicer.
Finlay Cowan   04.25.11
What Finlay said.
nellieJ   04.25.11
Exactly what Finlay said! Why don't you stop smoking the architect's pipe of unbridled arrogance and drop the BS. Horrible project. Keep it as renderings!
DES   04.25.11
Stunning idea.
Beautiful.
Just drop all of the ridiculous text.
rcvs1   04.25.11
Not sure who is being more pretentious, the architect or critics above? Man does interact with nature. My feeling is that's ok if it's done as sensitively as possible, and to me this does look respectful and good.
David   04.25.11
I do admire aspects of the design however I find the concept an abominable use of a wilderness area. I am from the deserts of Utah and would be heartbroken to see something like this in the landscape here. There are many architectural disasters in this part of the world but there is the hope in the possibility that someday they can be torn down unlike this one. It will always be a scar. .
Sparky   04.25.11
bellissimo !
mr resistance   04.25.11
i think this design is gorgeous anyway. but something I would like to enter into the discussion above is that someone (else) already came up with the idea/money to put a desert resort at this site. oppenheim architecture firm is simply operating within this context, determining a means of realizing that end result. so insofar as there will be a desert resort here, then a design like theirs is decisively on the humbler and more symbiotic side, wouldn't you concede?
the other cj   04.25.11
FAAAAAAAAANTASTIC CITY!
danlevypolicar@yahoo com .mx   04.26.11
I 100% agree that remote sanctuary places like this should remain untouched. However, if we want to discuss architecture here, my oppinion is: if the local authorities, local preservationist entities, etc have aproved the idea of the construction, if the society, the neighboor vilages' citizens etc havent complaint about it, then this project is not a bad project... imagine what it could have been if it was Zaha Hadid , Frank Ghery, etc...
Ricardo Antonio   04.26.11
i wouldn't like to see a rock face like that cut into. Sublime nature should remain untouchable. Beautiful concept though but not something I would like to see happen.
Caroline. M   04.26.11
"It's not really all that 'humble' is it ? It urbanises the natural landscape - if you wanted to be humble -you'd get people to camp in tents or build temporary structures... as people have been doing 'humbly' for millenia. It doesn't 'connect man with nature' at all - it disconnects by building 'luxury' buildings from which man looks out onto nature... no different from a tower block. This is really monetising the wilderness for profit and gain... and using the rhetoric of enviromentalism to justify it. It would look great in a movie which would be much nicer."

What a boring idea. It's like to be sustainable one must design everything primitive.
H&M   04.26.11
What DES said. What Sparky said. That said, its gorgeous but ruinating. Its not pretentious at all to say that the designers idea that this is a new benchmark in environmental design is a sinister statement. I too have a long connection to the state of Utah and cant imagine the level of destruction to natural appearance there by the addition of these structures--a far more beautiful place to build these than Jordan.
charles   04.27.11
Inspirational! It reminds me of the indian cliff dwellings found in the Southwest US and Mexico. It's interesting that we treasure man's mark on the world in long lost history, but then a project like this is described as scarring the land.
Frdiby   04.28.11
Will Tusken Raiders live there? Fingers crossed
nige   04.28.11
Megalomaniac, but really I hope they never realise this. If you go to Wadi Rum where they plan to build it, you will see one of the most beautiful sites in all the world (background for Laurence of Arabia film). This is some wankers wet dream from Los Angeles or some city. Yes some of it looks good (the natural part with rocks visible, caves, and pools of water), but all the rest is ugly (cement, furniture, etc). Please JOrdan have a backbone and NEVER let them build this.
Ivan the Terrible   04.29.11
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