MIRAGE
Mirage is the new icon of Ashgabat. Lost between the dunes of the mysterious Karakum desert. Resting its hotel functions soundlessly amid the boundlessness of the golden hills, the project strives to become the new touristic landmark of Turkmenistan.
Location Karakum | Turkmenistan
Type Commission
Program Hotel
Size 68,900 SQM
Mirage and the Dunes
Karakum desert was the first revelation to the architectural design logic. The emerging dune formation and the sensual patterns rising from the landscape perpetuate the desert landscape. The “mise en scene” is completed with vast ponds of water and vegetation infesting the base of the dunes to complete the image of the “Mirage”, transforming the project into a magical desert oasis.
Mirage rising from its environment’s Dunes
Wind simulations computationally drove the morphology of the project; the three masses sitting on the site are intentionally separated to allow for better natural ventilation. The contour lines formed around the program will protect the buildings from direct sunlight and heat exposure, while also providing thermal insulation and minimizing heat gain. Besides the desert implication, the project design transcends its aesthetical tectonics to reach a functional and environmentally sustainable building and form a new environmental monument for the city.
Close-up Views showing the Interior landscape and merging between Mirage and the Dunes
Dunes, wind and Landscape analysis, subsequently converting the data into algorithms that generated the morphology of Mirage