A family house laid out on a hilltop overlooking a mountainous region in Muscat and inspired from the Omani fortress typology, is composed of two faces; a private face that rises from the landscape and is a visual continuation of the hill that includes the private bedroom areas, and a public face expressed volumetrically as a clean pristine object with retractable louvers that allows a transition from complete openness to a closed ‘box’.

This bar, inviting yet discrete, includes a series of living, dining and semi-outdoor gathering spaces. A modern interpretation of local vernacular Omani architecture infused with canals, reflective pools, a water wall, a palm tree forest and thick walls with minimal fenestration on its base reminiscent of traditional Omani fortresses, this house is rooted in its context and yet distinctive amid the arid desert landscape.

area:

2 floors, 2,500 m² main house, 600 m² pool house, 1 basement 2,000 m², 12,000 m² land

architecture: nabil gholam architects
structural design: Bureau d’Etudes Rodolphe Mattar
electro-mechanical design: Pierre Dammous & Partners
landscape design: Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture
3D images: nabil gholam architects, Naji Sleiman