Centre Court

Ayla Golf Academy & Clubhouse

Oppenheim Architecture

About

Ayla Golf Academy & Club­house is the new centre of Ayla Golf Club. Desi­gned by the legen­dary Greg Norman, Ayla Golf Club boasts an 18-hole cham­pi­on­ship course and a nine-hole floodlit academy course. The new buil­ding was desi­gned by Oppen­heim Archi­tec­ture.

Ayla Golf Academy & Club­house takes inspi­ra­tion from the natural dune­s­capes and moun­tains of the surroun­ding desert as well as the archi­tec­tural heri­tage of the ancient Bedouin.

The inno­va­tive and organic design of the buil­ding forms the iconic core of the Ayla Oasis mixed-use resort deve­lo­p­ment.

Ayla Oasis

This 1,200 square meter buil­ding is part of the first phase of a 44 square kilo­me­ters leisure deve­lo­p­ment curr­ently under cons­truc­tion in Aqaba, Jordan. The deve­lo­p­ment encom­passes resi­den­tial, hotel and commer­cial space, all centered around an 18-hole signa­ture golf course.

The Club­house features retail, dining, bar/lounge, banquet, fitness, and spa compon­ents; while the Golf Academy includes retail, dining, and indoor/outdoor swing analysis studio compon­ents.

Architecture

The distinct archi­tec­tural form of the Ayla Golf Academy & Club­house estab­lishes a unique connec­tion with nature by captu­ring the elemental, vibrant beauty of the rolling desert land­scape.

A massive concrete shell drapes over the program areas, enve­lo­ping the inte­rior and exte­rior walls of each volume. The curved shot­crete shell blends with the sand like dunes instead of having conven­tional walls and ceilings. Openings grant views towards the spec­ta­cular Aqaba Moun­tains in the back­ground.

Corten steel perfo­rated screen filters the light, similar to the tradi­tional Arabic ‘’Mashra­biya’. Jorda­nian patterns inspired the trian­gular pattern of openings while the tones of the surroun­ding moun­tains are echoed in the colors of the shot­crete and the metals.

Realisation

The cons­truc­tion of the project is the result of a know­ledge exch­ange program between the Euro­pean office of Oppen­heim Archi­tec­ture and local work­force. Shot­crete pouring tech­ni­ques were taught to workers in the first phases so that they could take owner­ship of the cons­truc­tion and obtain specia­lized skills.

A local artist also helped shape the buil­ding by applying a tradi­tional pigmen­ta­tion tech­nique to the inte­rior surfaces, gran­ting a raw, unadorned look that stays true to its context and inspi­ra­tion.

We did this.

Compa­nies involved & Links

Architect

Oppen­heim Archi­tec­ture

Client

Ayla Oasis Deve­lo­p­ment Company

Golf Consultant

Greg Norman

Physical address

Ayla Golf Club
Al Farouq Street
Al Nakheel Area
JOR — 77110 Aqaba

Project team

Chad Oppen­heim, Beat Huesler
Alek­sandra Melion, Anthony Cera­soli, Tom Mckeogh, Ana Guedes Lebre, Rasem Kamal

Photograph

Rory Gardiner

Author

Oppen­heim Archi­tec­ture

Opening

2018

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