Staff Housing Community

A secluded desert plot transformed into a self-sufficient community for close to seven thousand employees of a coastal resort town. The brief asked for dignity at scale: 130,000 m² of built area, a central amenities hub with dining, kitchen, laundry and retail, and a landscape that makes the whole livable.

The masterplan is built from clusters. Residential blocks rotate and shift around shared courtyards, so every turn opens a new view and every cluster holds its own semi-private garden. A continuous pedestrian spine links clusters, open spaces and amenities, while service roads stay on the perimeter.

Two prototypes — an L-shaped and a linear block — carry the entire programme: compact units, stacked service shafts and efficient central circulation, repeated with rhythm rather than monotony.

The elevations reinterpret Nubian heritage for everyday living: the traditional arch simplified for the ground floor, solid masses carved by recesses and voids, and timber pergolas and screens that answer the climate with shade, privacy and depth.