Carved into the Rock
von Ella Carlucci
Carved into the Rock
In Saudi Arabia, a new architectural language emerges from the landscape itself. Jean Nouvel’s Sharaan Resort and Oppenheim Architecture’s Desert Rock draw on Nabataean principles to shape hospitality that endures.
von Ella Carlucci
Saudi Arabia is reviving the 2,000-year-old art of the Nabataeans. With Jean Nouvel’s Sharaan Resort and Oppenheim Architecture’s Desert Rock, a new form of hospitality is emerging – built for centuries, not for seasons.
More than 2,000 years ago, the Nabataeans developed an architectural approach that feels strikingly relevant today. Instead of building on top of the rock, they carved into it. Their tombs and living spaces were created through subtraction rather than addition. What remained offered protection from heat and cold, quiet instead of noise, permanence instead of ephemerality. In AlUla and the Red Sea region, two new resorts draw on this tradition – and continue it.
Hegra and the Nabataean Inheritance
Hegra, known today as Mada'in Salih, was the Nabataeans’ second most important city after Petra. The nomadic civilisation had established itself by controlling the incense and spice trade routes between South Arabia, Mesopotamia and the Greco-Roman world. What they left behind continues to impress: 131 monumental rock-cut tombs, finely carved into sandstone, many with Nabataean inscriptions on their façades.
The site was recognised only in 2008 as Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its exceptional preservation is due to three factors: the dry climate, the fact that the place was never resettled after its abandonment in the 5th century, and local beliefs that viewed it as sacred.
Landscape as Source Code
The Nabataeans were masters of water management. They developed an elaborate network of more than 130 wells, irrigation channels and cisterns that captured rainwater. This engineering enabled flourishing agriculture and a large population in the desert. The city reached its peak during the reign of Aretas IV (9 BCE to 40 CE). Even after being incorporated into the Roman Empire in 106 CE, Nabataean culture persisted – a Latin inscription from 175 CE still mentions a Nabataean governor named Amr, son of Hayyan.
Jean Nouvel’s Museographic Vision for Sharaan
Twenty kilometres north of Hegra, deep within the Sharaan Nature Reserve, the Sharaan Resort is now taking shape. French architect Jean Nouvel, recipient of the 2008 Pritzker Prize, has created a project that does not copy the Nabataean method but translates it.
“AlUla is the encounter of landscape and history; the presence of past civilisations in an extraordinary landscape – the only place to create such a masterpiece,” Nouvel said in an interview conducted by the Royal Commission for AlUla.
“AlUla is a museum. Every wadi and every cliff face, every stretch of sand and every rock contour, every geological and archaeological site deserves the greatest attention.”
The resort will comprise 38 suites, a spa and wellness centre, a sports centre and several dining concepts. A restaurant on the mountain will offer panoramic views across the reserve. Construction began in March 2024 with the excavation of the rock – a technically demanding task carried out by Bouygues Construction in joint venture with the Saudi company Almabani.
Pierre-Eric Saint-André, Deputy CEO of Bouygues Construction, described the project as “absolutely unique and incredibly stimulating” in an interview for this development. His company had previously collaborated with Nouvel on the Philharmonie de Paris. “The bold vision of Jean Nouvel’s architectural office requires a level of technical precision that is unique,” he said.
Nouvel emphasises that his approach is more than architecture: “Our project should not endanger what humanity and time have consecrated. It must celebrate the spirit of the Nabataeans without turning it into a caricature. This creation becomes a truly cultural act,” he noted during the same interview with the RCU.
A Vertical Journey Through Geological Time
A scenic express lift will bring guests to the heart of the resort. During the ride, they pass through millions of years of geological layers – the sandstone formations are 500 million years old. This vertical journey through geological time is not merely a technical element but a curatorial choice. Nouvel works here “in the museographic sense,” as he puts it, creating public spaces “oriented toward the joy of living there, during the day and at night, with all the different colours, light, shadows, wind, intense rain and the passage of time.”
The resort follows the Charter of AlUla, a framework of twelve guiding principles that commit the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) to long-term development. Amr AlMadani, CEO of the RCU, formulated it in an interview as follows: “These concepts, which demonstrate Jean Nouvel’s masterful innovation in architecture, underline our commitment to developing AlUla as a global tourism destination without compromising the history, heritage and landscape of AlUla. We are a destination created by artists. Sharaan by Jean Nouvel will build on this heritage and become a form of timeless landscape architecture – a gift to the world.”
The RCU has ambitious goals: 5,000 hotel rooms by 2030 and 8,500 by 2035. The Sharaan Resort is the flagship development in this strategy, scheduled to open in 2026.
Desert Rock and the Language of the Earth
Around 500 kilometres north of Jeddah, in the Red Sea region, the Desert Rock Resort takes a related approach. The resort, which opened in December 2024, is part of the Red Sea Global project, extending across 11,000 square miles and comprising 22 islands as well as six inland sites.
Oppenheim Architecture – known for biophilic designs that blend nature and built form – developed a resort that nestles into a canyon of the Hejaz Mountains across 30,000 square metres. Chad Oppenheim described the vision in an interview with Red Sea Global:
“In contrast to the curvilinear forms of our nearby Sacred Reef Resort, this inland project engages with the majestic granite mountains and the mythical desert landscape. We work with the language of the earth and have created new spaces and experiences – buildings that disappear into the tectonic landscape and evoke ancient Nabataean civilisations.”
The 64 accommodations – villas and suites – are integrated into the mountain. Indoor and outdoor spaces sit within fissures and caves or on shaded slopes, using cooler microclimates and minimising sun exposure. During the day, the architecture merges with the environment; at night, the rooms illuminate like lanterns within the massif.
Regeneration as Architectural Method
The project defines itself through its regenerative approach. The Royal Commission operates coral reef programmes using advanced techniques such as 3D photogrammetry and robotics. A Marine Life Operations Facility at AMAALA includes a coral regeneration laboratory and mangrove nurseries. Rewilding initiatives reintroduce native species such as Arabian oryx and sand gazelles.
For guests, the resort is twenty minutes from Red Sea International Airport yet follows a different sense of time. Travel access is straightforward – Qatar Airways flies three times weekly from Doha, Saudia several times weekly from Riyadh and Jeddah, and FlyDubai twice weekly from Dubai.
A New Understanding of Time
This form of hospitality connects with the concept of Slow Hospitality, as we explored in detail in our article “Slow Hospitality: Time as Luxury – The Temporal Economy Shift.” It is based on the understanding that transformation requires time – not 48 hours, but weeks. That architecture must do more than appeal aesthetically; it can support the body’s own rhythms. That extended stays of two to four weeks are ideal because they correspond to natural patterns of habit formation.
The Nabataeans understood this. Their rock-cut rooms provided stable temperatures – cool in summer, sheltered in winter. The massive walls softened sound. The orientation of openings followed the path of the sun. This was not romanticism but necessity. And it is precisely this necessity that makes the method relevant again.
Ben Hudson, Chief Development and Construction Officer at the RCU, said in an interview with the organisation: “The Sharaan Resort is our most ambitious project. This first excavation is tangible evidence of our efforts to develop AlUla as a destination that brings luxury tourism together with the preservation of its unique cultural and natural heritage. Our work is guided entirely by the environmental, social and health procedures of the RCU, and we ensure that all parties understand the special context in which we operate.”
This is the difference from conventional hotel construction: the aim is not rapid capacity but long-term preservation of value. These projects are designed for centuries, not for a renovation cycle ten years from now.
Local Narratives: Rawis, Rangers and Cultural Continuity
AlUla has recently launched a remarkable programme: UNESCO and the Royal Commission collaborate with the Rawis – local storytellers – and Rangers to keep Hegra’s stories alive. In workshops in February 2025, they shared knowledge passed down through generations.
“The Rawis and Rangers are the guardians of AlUla’s unique narrative,” said WHIPIC trainer Sungre Lee during the workshop interviews. “Through them, we do not simply study history; we experience it.”
These workshops are part of a broader initiative to interpret and present the World Heritage Sites. The goal is for visitors not only to see the splendour of Hegra but to understand the multiple layers of history embedded in the site.
In 2023, the world’s first reconstruction of a Nabataean woman was presented. “Hinat,” as archaeologists call her, lived 2,000 years ago. Her skull and skeleton were found in 2008 in a well-preserved tomb in Hegra, along with nearly 80 other individuals. The 3D reconstruction of her face is now on display at the Hegra Welcome Centre – an attempt to make an abstract past tangible.
What Endures
At a time when architecture is often conceived as a backdrop for selfies, these projects follow a different approach. They recede rather than stand out. They use what is present rather than add to it. They operate in geological time rather than quarterly cycles.
This is not nostalgia. The technical precision with which Nouvel and Oppenheim work is highly advanced. Material research, climate engineering, structural innovation – all of it is state of the art. And the approach is both traditional and forward-oriented at the same time: build with the place, not against it. Learn from those who came before you. And create for those who will follow.
Deepen the Slow Hospitality Philosophy
Explore further Slow Hospitality approaches, analyses, and case studies of Slow Living Hotels that define the concept of Time as the Ultimate Luxury in the premium travel industry on the Slow Hospitality Insight Hub.
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