Michael Graves
Miramar Resort Hotel
El Gouna, Egypt
Photo: arcspace
The Sheraton Miramar, built on a jewel-like cluster of nine islands, surrounded by lagoons and sandy beaches, is a 5-star resort hotel consisting of over 400 guest rooms and various public spaces.
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
Dramatically sited, on approximately 150,000 square meters between the Eastern Desert Mountains and the the Red Sea, the project is bounded on all sides by water or shoreline with an artificial lagoon to the west, and channels connecting the lagoon to the Sea along the north and south edges of the site.
The landscaped grounds feature a myriad of canals and lagoons that provide each guest room with a waterfront position. The elaborate swimming pool complex includes picturesque adult pools, an exercise pool, and a children's pool.
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
Built using traditional Egyptian construction methods and materials, guest rooms feature brick vaulted and domed ceilings.
The great variety in the forms and detailing of the hotel creates a unique resort that reflects its desert and waterfront context in an elegant and often surprising manner.
The brick, covered first in concrete and then in a mixture of gypsum and pigment, will weather over time to the tones of the frescoes Graves knew as a student in Italy.
Less than three years after the hotel opened parts of the facade have already faded in the desert sun and Red Sea winds; bearing the aged look he was looking for.
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
The design for the hotel grounds takes advantage of the sea water as a landscaping feature, with every guest room having views either over the water or over the central swimming pool court. This landscaped pool court features a Turkish steam pavilion, cold plunge pool, hot Jacuzzi pool and a pool restaurant with a terrace area and bar. An exercise/lap pool is provided to the south of this court and a separate children's pool area to the north. The pool area is bordered by pergola on all sides.
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
Photo: arcspace
The character of the buildings, in massing, materials, facades and interior furnishing and decoration, is an interpretation of local building tradition and elements of ancient Egyptian architecture; truncated or inverted pyramids and dramatic columns are everywhere. The guest rooms are organised into a variety of identifiable groups, each of which has its own distinctive set of facades.
Drawing courtesy Michael Graves
Drawing courtesy Michael Graves
Drawing courtesy Michael Graves
The design received a Design Award from the American Institute of Architects - New Jersey Chapter in 1996.
The clients, won over by Graves' "sense of imagination" , have contracted Graves to build three more hotels in Egypt after the Miramar was finished.
Site plan courtesy Sheraton Corporation
Architect: Michael Graves
Client: Samih Sawiris and Hani Ayad
Orascom Touristic Establishments
Associated Architects:
Rami El Dahan & Soheir Farid, Architects
Mohandessin-Giza, Egypt
Associated Interior Design Architect :
Ibrahim Nagy, Cairo Egypt
Size: Approximately 20,000 square meters (215,000 sf).
Services: Planning, architectural design, interior design and FF&E.
November 26, 2001
