Prize(s) Winners in Hospitality Lighting Design
Lighting Design/Product Company Giò Forma, Voltaire, Nulty and Black Engineering
Lead Designers Giò Forma, Voltaire, Nulty and Black Engineering
Architecture Company Dar Al Handasah
Interior Design Company Giò Forma
Client The Royal Commission of AlUla and GHM
Photo Credits Gerry O'Leary
Project Location AlUla
Entry DescriptionThe only hotel in Saudi Arabia’s UNESCO World Heritage site, The Chedi Hegra offers a rare opportunity to visit an area of outstanding natural beauty. The hotel has been sensitively embedded into the landscape, allowing guests to be fully immersed in the awe-inspiring red rock formations and endless starry skies.
Thoughtfully and carefully envisaged and brought to life by the project team, the lighting scheme is an elegantly layered composition, which is respectful its surroundings and enhances the experience by injecting warmth and character into the site.
Across the exterior areas, strategically placed fixtures were balanced with the natural glow of the moon and stars. A warm colour temperature of 2700K was employed to produce a soft golden hue that complements the mud-toned structures and surrounding terrain. Every lighting intervention was meticulously considered, with a strict adherence to low-glare fittings, which were shielded and directed downward to minimise light spill and protect the clarity of the night sky.
Inside the glass centrepiece that forms the central spine of the hotel, diffuse lines of light graze the vertical surfaces to highlight the rustic tones and finishes of the locally-sourced materials. This focus on indirect illumination forms a cocooning glow that is contained within the building after dark when the stargazing terrace is in use.
Sustainability ApproachAs the hotel is poised to become a globally renowned destination for astro-tourism, achieving DarkSky certification is a fundamental goal. Across the roads, pathways and stargazing areas, light levels are darker than industry standards to ensure optimal night sky visibility. A DALI control system allows light levels to be dimmed to their absolute minimum during the evening hours, preserving the site's natural darkness.
Company DescriptionNulty is an independent lighting design consultancy working with some of the world’s foremost architects and interior designers. Founded in the UK over 11 years ago, the practice works on projects all over the globe and has studios in London, Dubai, Miami, Bangkok and Pune. The award-winning team delivers architectural lighting design at every scale, working on city-wide masterplans, public realm schemes, and hospitality, retail, commercial and residential projects.
