Project story · Aswan, Egypt
Stone steps to the river
At Aswan, Nile View Hotel steps down the rocky bank in low stone terraces. It sits within the landscape, not over it, and every room faces the water.
By byJOOM · Nile View Hotel · Hospitality and resorts
Following the bank
Low stone terraces follow the rocky bank so the hotel sits within the landscape, not over it. The building does not fight the slope; it uses it. Each level steps down a little, and from the river the hotel reads as a continuation of the bank with windows in it.
A court to arrive in
Guests arriving for a few days on the river come first to a stone courtyard. Arrival is through a curved, shaded stone court with a fountain, and a cool, timber-framed entrance with a view straight through to the river. The view is the point: you see where you have come to before you have put down your bags.
Palms and a timber canopy
The entrance is framed in timber under a deep canopy, with palms and pots of planting on the stone steps. The canopy keeps the sun off the door and gives the arrival a cool, shadowed mouth. Beyond it, the light of the river is already visible.
Every room faces the river
Every room faces the water. Shade comes from deep eaves, pergolas and palms, and terraces give the evening somewhere to happen. At the water's edge there is a landing for boats, so the river is not only seen but used.
Local stone, shade and the river itself do the work, which is why the hotel will age well.
Local stone and the river itself
Local stone, shade and the river itself do the work, which is why the hotel will age well. The design asks stone to be stone and the river to be the river, and builds a place to stay between them. Where stone and glass sit in the colours of the place, the building needs little else.
A hotel that belongs to its bank
The ambition is modest and exact: a hotel that belongs to its bank. Rocky shore, palms, stone terraces and boats at the landing are all part of one picture, and the building is simply the place in it where you can sleep.
This article describes design intention. The images are design visualisations, not photographs of a finished building. See the Disclaimers.