How Saudi developer TRSDC is turning Sheybarah Island into an iconic resort

DUBAI: The Red Sea Development Co., the property developer known for building some of the most futuristic hospitality projects, is raising eyebrows across the design world with its overwater imprint of floating orbs on Sheybarah Island.

Located in the southeast of TRSDC’s archipelago in the Red Sea, Sheybarah Hotel is a 73-room hyper luxury resort situated on Sheybarah Island, which uses a design vocabulary involving a highly reflective stainless-steel skin polished to get a mirror finish.

These floating orbs reflect the colors and surface patterns of the ocean and the colors of the sky as they change throughout the day. This approach alleviates the visual impact of the architecture on the surroundings and harnesses solar energy with its reflective mirror surface.

The brains behind Dubai’s new Museum of the Future, Killa Design, designed these stainless-steel orbs, which promise to be a unique experience for guests in 2023 when the resort opens.

Speaking about these orbs, Yatindra Mudbidri, director of Grankraft Industries, said that the most crucial challenge to building the orbs was how to manufacture something seamless.

Grankraft is a partner of TRSDC empaneled to create over 70 futuristic ‘floating bubble’ overwater villas with seamless polished stainless-steel surfaces that reflect the environment. 

“It’s like water; it reflects what you project onto it,” said Mudbidri.

Due to the company’s commitment to sustainability, the orbs are currently manufactured and built off-site at Grankraft’s facility in Sharjah Free Zone. The spheres are expected to be shipped this summer to the destination to be effectively “plugged” into the project.

Grankraft designed the orbs so that the skin is thermally isolated from the structure, he said, while adding that each sphere takes about 45 days to construct.

According to Killa Designs, the entire project is powered by a centralized solar farm, and freshwater is supplied from a solar-powered desalination plant. 

Recycling the waste material takes place on the island, minimizing the need to bring or remove materials from the site.

The entire infrastructural backbone of the project forms part of a visitor experience where guests can learn about the approach followed to make the project a self-sustained human development, said the design company in its concept note.

So, can one cook an egg on the stainless-steel orb?

“Unless you walk on top of the villa and place it directly at the location where the sun’s reflection is,” quipped Mudbidri, revealing a possibility not worth trying.