Private Villa

This expansive family compound, comprised of a main house, office and several smaller buildings, is sited across 14 acres in the Arabian Desert. A dramatic, 100-foot-high sandstone embankment forms the northerly backdrop to the site. The owner’s goals of simplicity and minimal water usage are achieved by restricting landscape development to a series of modestly-scaled plinths, each with a particular use and character: garden, pavilion and grove. These elevated spaces are connected by simple footbridges hovering above the desert that form a modern interpretation of the traditional promenade and allow a procession of movement across the site.