The Oak Tree Wellness Resort / Rana Barakat

Located in Ajloun, Jordan's oak-covered mountains

The architectural design is inspired by the regions most everlasting natural symbol the oak tree. Drawing the elegant structure of the oak leaf as a guide, the design changes the botanical form into the built expression, with overlapping, leaf, shaped wings that naturally flow over the topography. Each level is crowned with vegetation roofs that act as ecological systems improving thermal comfort, harvesting rainwater, and promoting biodiversity.
The material palette of rough stone, natural wood, and earth, tone finishes visually harmonizes with the landscape, thus allowing the resort to disappear into its forest context. A curved approach road leads guests to the main entrance, where it opens up to a landscaped forecourt full of native plants and aromatic herbs.

Expansive suites inside offer breathtaking views through floor to ceiling windows, thus creating a feeling of being totally surrounded by the treetops. Wellness facilities such as an open, air yoga platform, a spa grounded with local stone, and the gym are deliberately located to promote calm and closeness to nature. A curvilinear pool reflects the buildings geometry, fading into the surrounding green, while a palm, frond pavilion that takes the traditional Jordanian architecture and reinterprets it within a modern luxury context.

The design is a refuge, an architectural story of place, ecology, and an exceptional experience. It relates the story of a tree that characterizes a locale, of a mountain that has been a home of many generations, and of a future when architecture will be the connecting link between mankind and nature.