A slender tower rising from a landscaped podium on Alexandria's seafront.
A seafront landmark for the guests, residents and workers who use it and for everyone who walks the promenade in the evening. The base is public and generous; the tower above is calm and private. People arrive along the waterfront and are drawn up through terraces of planting rather than into a closed lobby.
We designed the tower and its base as one gesture. Garden terraces step down from the shaft and meet the promenade, so the building gives its ground back to the city. The slim, curving profile catches the light from the sea and can be read from far along the coast.
A clear silhouette, a generous public edge and local planting give it the presence of a landmark rather than a trend.
Siwa, Egypt · Hospitality and resorts
The buildings take the shape of the dunes around them: soft, low, warm in tone and shaded by deep curving roofs. Water cools the air and links the pavilions, and paths are lit gently so evening arrival is on foot, slowly.
Because they borrow their form from the dunes, they look as if they have always been part of Siwa.
Alexandria, Egypt · Mixed-use · Hospitality and resorts
A structural lattice wraps the taller tower and opens at its base into a pointed entrance, so structure becomes both identity and shelter. The two towers stand at different heights so that they read together from the water and apart from the street.
Pattern, proportion and glass that changes through the day.
Aswan, Egypt · Hospitality and resorts
Low stone terraces follow the rocky bank so the hotel sits within the landscape, not over it. Every room faces the river.
Local stone, shade and the river itself do the work, which is why the hotel will age well.
