Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah has a new luxury waterfront villa calling it home
First impressions are misleading in this Dubai mansion that blurs the physical and material boundaries between indoor and outdoor living.
The Cape Town-based architects SAOTA, responsible for the high-profile residential design of billionaire Menulog founder Leon Kamenev’s sprawling estate on Sydney’s Vaucluse waterfront, have just put the finishing touches to a spectacular villa on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.
From a design standpoint, the brief – to create a home that would maximise a smallish waterfront plot and embody a sense of refined luxury – was open to interpretation, according to SAOTA, which designed the villa for Turkish developer Alpago Properties in collaboration with architects CK Architecture.
Other owners at Palm Jumeirah include British steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta, who has a four-bedroom villa. He has also recently purchased locally, buying broadcaster John Laws’ former four-bedroom waterfront apartment at the Finger Wharf in Sydney’s Woolloomooloo for $12.5m.
Looking eastwards towards the Dubai skyline from the G Frond of the iconic Palm Jumeirah, the new villa exudes sophisticated understatement in its unassuming silhouette, according to SAOTA.
Mansion Magazine’s November issue is out in The Australian on Friday November 29.
Not being limited by restrictions on the design itself, due to there being no specific end user, offered an opportunity to create something expressive while remaining in keeping with the prestigious neighbourhood, say the architects.
The ground and first floors house living spaces and bedrooms with easy access to the outdoor terrace. The basement level contains a garage and spa, while the bar, entertainment area and pool occupy the rooftop level and benefit from the views of the four-level villa.
The architectural team drew on the striking Dubai waterfront site, harnessing its considerable views to design a villa that merges with the urban landscape and integrates indoors and out.
“This was in fact a primary goal of the project – to introduce the landscaping and views in various ways so they would become part of the inhabitants’ daily experience,” SAOTA says in a statement.
“The initial building concept was cued by the site’s proximity to the water – in the form of a stacked structure designed to mimic travertine eroded over time (a reference to the developer’s Turkish roots) or the texture of coral (an allusion to the villa’s island location).
“On first impression, the street-facing side presents a solid facade (an intentional design decision prompted by the need for privacy).
“On closer inspection, this bulk is broken up to some degree by a deliberate fracturing of the form – with a combination of light and dark materials, vertical layering via expressed slab edges, metallic and matt surfaces, transparent and perforated detailing, and solid forms balanced by negative spaces.
“These contrasting elements introduce the idea of porousness that is present throughout the design.”
This theme is extended, and expanded on within, the sense of solidity on the street giving way to openness on the sea-facing side, where the spaces ultimately become hyper transparent.
“By carving out of the mass of the structure, the architects have created double-volume covered terraces and voids to inspire a sense of curiosity – through these, the landscape is visually woven through the space,” SAOTA says.
“Once you step through the door on the ground floor, this sense of permeability becomes clearly apparent in social spaces centred on a triple-volume central landscaped courtyard that allows in abundant light.”
SAOTA ensured expansiveness – even though it is a relatively small site – by using an open-plan design that flows internally, not only creating visual connectivity both vertically and laterally between spaces and floors, but also with generous outdoor living areas.
“To achieve this, the physical and material boundaries between indoor and outdoor living were blurred,” SAOTA says. “With no clear definition between the formal lounge and the terrace, the living space opens out, with doors slotting seamlessly into wall cavities.
“The ultimate effect [is] a connection from the living space to the pool and landscaping, and in turn to the sea and skyline beyond.
“The natural material palette reinforces this connection with the outdoors – large-format unfilled vein-cut travertine tiles, and wood and earth-toned marble, are luxurious but not ostentatious and link tonally to the landscape.
“Deliberately pared-back and quietly sophisticated in the public spaces to complement the sculptural character of the building, the materials are more opulent in the private zones to imbue these with an enhanced sense of luxury.
“The outdoor areas – being so intricately linked to the indoors – were designed and optimised for liveability.
“Pergolas and terraces filter and moderate light on the rooftop (necessary in this climate) while internal courtyards and deep overhangs contribute to passive cooling and facilitate comfortable outdoor living, the setting-sensitive design allowing its occupants to fully enjoy the views and the elements throughout.”
This story is from the November issue of Mansion Magazine, found inside your copy of The Australian on Friday November 29.
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