Location  Dead Sea, Jordan
Category  Mixed Use
Accent DG  Architectural design
Lead Architect  Elie Abs
Project Consultant  Elie G. Haddad
Project Team  Mira Alassad, Aline Fadous, Charbel Karam, Luana Mahfouz, Petia Ratzov, Nagham Tabaja
ADG Interiors  Interior design
Area  45, 000 sqm
Materials  Stone, wood
Status  1st prize competition


ARCHDAILY - "Dead Sea Resort & Opera House / Accent Design Group"


Dead Sea Hotel & Resort

The challenge in this project was to create a design for a resort and opera house that would organically blend the building with the special surroundings. We did not want to impose on the natural experience of Jordan’s Dead Sea by creating a completely artificial environment, as is the trend with suburban recreational facilities.

The concept was for built areas to naturally merge into the surroundings appearing as terraces in the landscape. These terraces contain the housing units and are landscaped with palm trees and pools in a way that unobtrusively blends the natural with the artificial. This project is an example of the importance the Accent DG team gives to the creation of common spaces. The terraces or strips rise from the beach level to an “upper platform” where the resort meets the highway. At this level two elements anchor the architectural project and signal its presence on the highway, the hotel unit and the opera house.

The first element has a basic rectangular geometry with a roof that doubles as a sun and star lit platform. The second element, the opera house, fractures to allow a more expressive articulation of the program. The intent was for an unobtrusive project that fits naturally into the environment, exemplifying sensitivity to “place”.