Aplomb - Reviving from Desert

The Mega Dunes Eco Lodges “Ecodunes” is a luxurious desert retreat situated at the Arabian Oryx Protected Area, home to the largest population of Arabian Oryx in the world, spanning over 5,900 square kilometers. The protected area is part of the Empty Quarter famously, a vast desert region in the southern region of the United Arab Emirates bordering Saudi Arabia and Oman. The world’s largest uninterrupted sand mass will blow visitors away with massive expanses of awesome desert and enormous dunes. Ecodunes imagines a constellation of architecture placed on a vast terrain. Using the existing topography, the Lodges were put in place in the middle of the desert following a pathway forming the Perseus Constellation, named after the Greek hero and protector. In connection, Ecodunes were designed to protect visitors from the extreme desert environment and desert animals. To enjoy the scenic vista, observation decks with binoculars were provided along the pathway. These decks represent the major stars forming the constellation. The lodges were placed 40-50 meters away from the pathway to give visitors a sense of privacy. The architecture of Ecodunes is simple yet extremely sensitive to the desert environment, taking its design inspiration notably from the magnificent, windswept, and rippled dunes. The design of Ecodunes follows a crescent dune, the most common and fastest-type of dunes. It forms the shape of a crescent moon when the wind blows from one direction. The idea was to create Ecodunes as one with the surrounding, giving a sense of belonging and connectivity with the existing landscape. The design of the interior spaces also took its inspiration from the natural shape of the sand-dunes. Mega Dunes Eco Lodges comprises of 25 lodges strategically placed across the protected area. 5 of which are VIP lodges. It also features a reception hub, an amphitheater, and an observatory building for arriving visitors. Each lodge accommodates guests and provides a degree of comfort in which to view the striking natural landscape, observe the Arabian Oryx up close, and gaze at the spectacular views of the Milky Way that can be enjoyed facing through south due to the desert’s low light pollution. Since desert temperature tends to reach over 40°C during summer months, some desert animals burrow below the surface of the sand to escape the high temperatures at the desert surface. The burrow environment is much more moderate than is the surface temperature, which may have an annual fluctuation of between 9.5°C and 71°C. Therefore, the design for the interior was taken into great consideration. As a result, interior floors were dropped by 450 mm from ground level, and local stone and concrete construction were used to deal with the extreme desert weather conditions even at night and/or during the winter season. Powering up the whole development is the solar farm located in the northern part of the site. It uses the sun to create enough energy to ensure the lodges are entirely self-sustained. The electricity generated is then used to power a series of air-conditioning and water recycling systems to ensure the lodges positively affect the environment.