At the Al Gurm Resort of the south of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), on a small artificial island, Italian architect Fabio Novembre has designed a villa that is wrapped around a sea-facing reflecting pool and has an entrance shielded by an artificial waterfall.
Designed to reach high levels of privacy, the home has blank, curved stone-clad walls facing the landward side and expansive windows facing the waterfront.
The rooms are arranged within three concentric curved forms, enclosed with golden-framed glass and surrounded by stone walls that wrap around the oval reflecting pool.
The ground floor of the 1,700-square-metre villa includes several living rooms and large dining rooms that open onto terraces as well as several offices and studies; the first floor contains the master bedroom suite and guest bedrooms.
The interiors of the villa have been designed by design studio A++ starting from a series of lines along the ceiling and floors that aim to encourage visitors towards the large windows.
In addition, another feature of the home, which is accessed across a bridge, is the artificial waterfall that acts as a garage door but is also a recirculated water system, evoking the image of an oasis in the desert.
According to Fabio Novembre, the house expresses “the metaphor of hiding on a desert island as a need of poetic isolation”, as he told Dezeen.
