From its position on a low hilltop, the clubhouse overlooks the course. Around it, generous plantings of tall clumping grasses (Pennisetum setaceum) move in waves with the breeze. Punctuating the silver-green slopes are native trees—only native species are used for trees: ghaf (Prosopis cineraria) and acacia—selected for shade, resilience, and low water use. The NatureCulture design applies these trees in a minimal, deliberate way. This is a clearly urban, constructed landscape: not a replica of local ecology, but an attempt to create a local sense of place—an arid, airy expression that reads as dry and light in keeping with the climate.
Low walls thread through the planting to guide people—quiet markers for stairs and paths that make wayfinding intuitive. Clad in off-white regional limestone and repeated as wall copings, they tie building and landscape together; mechanically fixed stone on concrete keeps edges crisp and durable. Slim, powder-coated metal handrails and railings add safety without visual weight. In the natureculture way, guidance stays simple and legible using the environment to show the way.
Outdoor dining terraces sit within the planting so guests feel part of the landscape, not beside it. From these terraces, views reach over the tops of long grasses to the fairways beyond—an everyday, calm experience shaped by the natureculture way and grounded in an urban interpretation of the native landscape.
The NatureCulture team thanks EMAAR for the opportunity to collaborate and bring this landscape into being.
