Antonio Citterio and Bulgari join forces for luxury Dubai resort
Italian architect Antonio Citterio has reunited with luxury jewellery and fashion brand Bulgari to design a “one-of-a-kind” five-star resort on a private island off the coast of Dubai.
The seahorse-shaped Bulgari Resort Dubai will comprise of 101 rooms and suites, 20 hotel villas and a full range of modern hotel facilities on Jumeira Bay Island. As with Bulgari’s four previous branded properties, all elements of the masterplan have been designed by Citterio and his studio, recently rebranded as Citterio-Viel & Partners.
Citterio said he would embrace a juxtaposition of both new and conventional architectural styles for the project, which covers 1.7m sq ft (158,000sq m) and also includes 188 residential properties. Local limestone will be used to reference both Dubai’s desert outcrops and the sculpted architecture of Citterio’s native Italy.
The resort will feature public space created from lava stone and basalt, designed to subtly contrast with the resort’s buildings and to integrate the physical elements present on the island.
Leisure facilities on site will include a spa, swimming pools, gymnasiums, landscaped gardens, a number of bars and restaurants and a marina and yacht club.
Dubai developer Meraas – which focuses on the tourism, retail, leisure and entertainment sectors – is overseeing the project, and its chief hospitality officer Cherif Hosny promised to create a development that will be “the first-of-its-kind in scale and magnitude.”
“Bulgari’s signature style will be evident in every detail,” he said. “This is not just a regular development with branded elements. It has been created from pre-concept onwards as an extraordinary man-made marvel.”
Meraas has handed the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project to Al Jaber Engineering & Contracting Company. The resort and residences are scheduled for completion in 2017 and will become the fifth Bulgari Hotels and Resorts property to open since the brand expanded into luxury hospitality with a Milan resort in 2004.
Other big names currently developing high-profile hotels in Dubai include Hilton Worldwide and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, who recently sealed a deal to open a St Regis hotel on Palm Jumeirah Island featuring an outdoor infinity pool on its 50th floor.
Citterio was recently honoured at the 2015 European Hotel Design Awards, where the Mandarin Oriental Bodrum Turkey, which he helped design, was named the year’s best newly-built hotel and awarded for its spa and wellness facilities. In 2012, he hit the headlines for his design of a state-of-the-art wellness campus for fitness giant Technogym.
New Dubai St Regis will have a 700ft-high swimming pool offering stunning city views
Hilton Worldwide's Curio brand to debut in Dubai with five-star development
Langham opening luxury hotel in Dubai
Technogym to unveil new Wellness Campus in Italy
New central London property for Bulgari Hotels and Resorts
FEATURE: Architecture – Antonio Citterio
UAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
BrunelloCucinelli has madehisfortune from cashmere and has used hiswealthto restoreandrevive theItalian hamlet he callshome. Wefindout more