The Red Sea Project: Luxury villas in the shape of shells

The architects of Foster + Partners are responsible for the design of Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the Ummahat Island Resort. Blumer Lehmann is implementing the 82 beach villas with their shell-shaped timber shell roofs.

On behalf of Red Sea Global, we are planning, manufacturing and supplying the timber construction elements for various hotels, water and beach villas, a spa and fitness building, restaurants and the reception building for the ambitious tourism project in Saudi Arabia. Also included in the contract is technical support and supervision during the construction phase for smooth assembly.

Foster + Partners designed Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve on Ummahat Island. It consists of 82 beach villas arranged in a row across the island. Some of the villas stand on stilts in the water, others are placed directly on the ground. For the design of the beach villas, the architects chose a simple, gentle approach that takes care of the unspoiled nature of the island. The lightweight wooden construction meets this requirement. A total of 171 shells made of curved wooden elements form the roofs of the 76 beach villas and give them the appearance of a shell. The wooden elements for these roof shells as well as for the walls are prefabricated in our factory in Gossau - a total of 30 000 m2 of wood will be used.

The timber construction method has the advantage that it burdens the environment with less noise and waste due to the high degree of prefabrication and the short construction time on site. After all, despite the gigantic dimensions, closeness to nature and sustainability are defined core objectives of the project.

Portrait Jephta Schaffner Project Development Engineering Free Form Timber Structures Blumer Lehmann

Jephtha Schaffner

Head of Timber Construction Planning | Free Form

+41 71 388 52 27
jephtha.schaffner@blumer-lehmann.com
A bird's eye view of Nujuma Reserve with its beach villas

Red Sea Global - Project video

Wooden shell construction for the roofs of the beachfront villas

The Red Sea Project combines modern wood construction with luxury in an ambitious setting.

Luxury beachfront villas in shell form on Ummahat Island, Saudi Arabia

The environmentally friendly timber construction on the Red Sea preserves the natural landscape.

Interior view of the Nujuma Reserve with lush planting and arched wooden roof

Inside the Hotel Nujuma Reserve, the lush planting and vaulted wooden roof create an airy atmosphere.

Sunset from the hotel room view of the Nujuma Reserve

The beach villas on stilts at the Nujuma complex combine nature conservation with refined luxury.

Interior view of a hotel room at Nujuma Reserve

The wooden elements for the sustainable beach villas were prefabricated in Gossau for the Red Sea Project.