Makkah is getting a new luxury hotel and serviced apartments right in the very center of the city. The plans for the hotel were recently revealed by the winning architecture firm Foster + Partners.
The firm just won the Jabal Omar Development Project competition to build a luxury hotel and service apartments in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
According to the plans announced by the architectural firm, the new hotel will be based on traditional Arab architecture.
Its design will have traditional dense building clusters which will give it a contemporary vernacular design that will respect the surroundings of the city.
The architectural firm Foster + Partners is aiming to make the hotel also serve as a direct gateway along the route to the Grand Mosque for people who are there for Hajj.
According to the head of the studio, Luke Fox, the company is incredibly humbled to be a part of this project. Because Makkah is one of the holiest places in the world, it is an honor for any firm to be able to contribute work on the site.
The hotel rooms are going to be designed in such a way that every room will have a view of The Holy Kaaba. People will be able to offer prayers while having a direct view of it.
A pedestrian ramp will be added in front of the hotel, so the pilgrims will have direct access to the Grand Mosque, making it easier for the hotel residents to move back and forth from the hotel to the mosque.
Luke Fox, head of studio said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won the competition. Makkah is one of the most unique cities in the world. As the home of the Holy Kaaba – the holiest site in Islam – it presents a special challenge and honour for any developer and architect. Our design sets out to create an innovative building form that will be respectful to the scale and importance of the Grand Mosque.”