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.

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FEATURE: Architecture – Antonio Citterio