The Oberoi Al Zorah Beach Resort | Lissoni & Partners

The Oberoi Beach Resort in Al Zorah was realized by Lissoni Casal Ribeiro and is located around 45km from Dubai. The resort is part of a broad masterplan that was developed by Solidere International in partnership with the Ajman government and comprises hotels, luxury residences, a marina, private beaches, a golf course and an extensive natural park with lagoons and mangroves: a small city for about 40,000 inhabitants with the Oberoi Beach Resort being the first area to be developed.

The Resort itself is made up of a large group of buildings connected by gardens and terraces, and is designed like an immense structural mosaic where the human proportion of the spaces and the native vegetation come together to form a desert oasis, an idealized place that fosters physical and mental well-being as well as a sense of tranquility.

With 113 suites (including 15 villas), two restaurants, a wellness center and a swimming pool, the Oberoi Beach Resort extends over three large platforms that run parallel to each other and rise gradually from the beach like a grand staircase, ensuring that all the suites command unimpeded views of the sea. Cars are excluded and people move around the Resort on foot or with the aid of golf buggies, providing an even more immersive experience for guests.

A winding walkway shrouded by wooden pergolas and screens connects the drop-off zone to the lobby. As guests arrive, they enjoy a series of different views of the surrounding gardens, contributing to the sensation of entering a protected area, a characteristic that is common to all Oberoi resorts and which is inspired by the architectural tradition of Indian culture.

With an internal height of around nine meters, the lobby evolves vertically, an unexpected proportion that invites guests to direct their gaze towards the lamps that descend majestically from the ceiling. The space enjoys panoramic sea vistas and is flooded with natural light that filters through the external wood brise soleil.

The architecture of the building is inspired by the purity of a temple with tall rectangular columns that extend for over 12 meters to support the roof, while the external wood skin envelopes the building like a veil, reaching down to three meters above ground level.

Water is the pulsating heart of the resort and a large reflecting pool connects the public areas of the lobby, restaurant, bar and library, reflecting the architecture and sky and attenuating the contrast with the natural landscape.

Inspired by ancient medinas and made up of twenty volumes, the spa has been conceived as a building turned on itself. Open-air walkways are shaded and reflected by the surrounding volumes, connecting the various facilities and leading to an unexpected world with accommodating treatment rooms, each with its own private garden.  

The two and three-room villas are marked by their linear volumes in white plaster that blend into the landscape, and each enjoys its own private terrace as well as large openings towards the ocean.

This project is distinguished by the way the architecture integrates harmoniously with the surrounding environment, water and vegetation through the skillful use and juxtaposition of materials such as smooth plaster, stone, wood and glass. The Oberoi Beach Resort is not simply a hotel but a world in itself, a residential community that dialogues harmoniously with the ocean, the saltwater lakes and the mangroves while maintaining a structural form that is both intrinsic and organic.

Design Team Lissoni Casal Ribeiro: Piero Lissoni with Miguel Casal Ribeiro and Monika Tyborowska

Stefano Giussani, Alessandro Bongiorni, Sara Orru, Pino Caliandro, Samuel Lorenzi, Tania Zaneboni, Chiara Rizzarda, Carla Iurilli, Jun Ho Chen, Ettore Vincentelli, Simone Caimi, Roberto Berticelli, Pablo Gomez, Rodrigo Tellez, Mihai Denes, Ricardo Hernandez, Philip Sramek, Chiara Andreatti, Fabrizia Bazzana, Giorgio Pappas, Laura Cucchi, Sonia Mion.    

Project management: Mitla Morato

Rendering: Alberto Massi Mauri, Alessandro Massi Mauri

Models: Matteo Candiani, Lorenzo Volpato

Styling: Vandersandestudio