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Oppenheim Architecture design dune-shaped golf clubhouse on the Red Sea coast
POSTED 10 Jun 2019 . BY Andrew Manns
The project forms part the Ayla Oasis – a 44 sq km leisure development currently under construction in Aqaba, Jordan Credit: Oppenheim Architecture

It was essential for us that the building was handmade – that it comes from the land and shows the soul of the people
– Chad Oppenheim
Global design practice Oppenheim Architecture (OA) have completed the Ayla Golf Academy & Clubhouse in Aqaba, Jordan.

The 1,200 sq m building, which is situated opposite an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course, features a shop, putting and swing studios, and a gourmet restaurant.

The space forms part of the Ayla Oasis, a US$1.4bn (€1.2bn, £1.1bn) destination resort that plays host to manmade lagoons, a Hyatt Regency hotel, luxury residences, sports courts, a marina, and a wakeboarding park.

According to the architects, the clubhouse – which draws both from the “architectural heritage of ancient Bedouins” and from the sand dunes – was also inspired by the “rolling waves” of the Red Sea.

Boasting Corten steel screens, which OA have called a “twist on traditional mashrabiyas” the complex also has a sandstone-coloured concrete exterior to match “the tones of the surrounding mountains”.

Other members of the design and engineering team included Darb Architects, Form Landscape Architects, Modern Technology Construction, and a number of local artisans.

“It was essential for us that the building was handmade – that it comes from the land and shows the soul of the people," Chad Oppenheim, principal at OA, told Architectural Digest.

“For this reason, we used very few techniques, relying on craftsmanship in the construction to show the marks of things being built by hand.”

The highly anticipated project has already won a number of accolades.

In 2017, the design concept won the Leisure Led Future Project Award at the World Architecture Festival. In the same year, the clubhouse was also named the best Leisure Architecture scheme at the Arabian Property Awards.

On-site facilities include a restaurant, swing and putting studios, and a shop Credit: Oppenheim Architecture
Oppenheim's golf clubhouse has a fine dining restaurant Credit: Oppenheim Architecture
Screen filters on the building are inspired by mashrabiya windows Credit: Oppenheim Architecture
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Uniting the world of spa & wellness
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News   Products   Magazine   Subscribe
NEWS
Oppenheim Architecture design dune-shaped golf clubhouse on the Red Sea coast
POSTED 10 Jun 2019 . BY Andrew Manns
The project forms part the Ayla Oasis – a 44 sq km leisure development currently under construction in Aqaba, Jordan Credit: Oppenheim Architecture
It was essential for us that the building was handmade – that it comes from the land and shows the soul of the people
– Chad Oppenheim
Global design practice Oppenheim Architecture (OA) have completed the Ayla Golf Academy & Clubhouse in Aqaba, Jordan.

The 1,200 sq m building, which is situated opposite an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course, features a shop, putting and swing studios, and a gourmet restaurant.

The space forms part of the Ayla Oasis, a US$1.4bn (€1.2bn, £1.1bn) destination resort that plays host to manmade lagoons, a Hyatt Regency hotel, luxury residences, sports courts, a marina, and a wakeboarding park.

According to the architects, the clubhouse – which draws both from the “architectural heritage of ancient Bedouins” and from the sand dunes – was also inspired by the “rolling waves” of the Red Sea.

Boasting Corten steel screens, which OA have called a “twist on traditional mashrabiyas” the complex also has a sandstone-coloured concrete exterior to match “the tones of the surrounding mountains”.

Other members of the design and engineering team included Darb Architects, Form Landscape Architects, Modern Technology Construction, and a number of local artisans.

“It was essential for us that the building was handmade – that it comes from the land and shows the soul of the people," Chad Oppenheim, principal at OA, told Architectural Digest.

“For this reason, we used very few techniques, relying on craftsmanship in the construction to show the marks of things being built by hand.”

The highly anticipated project has already won a number of accolades.

In 2017, the design concept won the Leisure Led Future Project Award at the World Architecture Festival. In the same year, the clubhouse was also named the best Leisure Architecture scheme at the Arabian Property Awards.

On-site facilities include a restaurant, swing and putting studios, and a shop Credit: Oppenheim Architecture
Oppenheim's golf clubhouse has a fine dining restaurant Credit: Oppenheim Architecture
Screen filters on the building are inspired by mashrabiya windows Credit: Oppenheim Architecture
RELATED STORIES
Langham to open beachfront hotel and TCM spa inside glimmering crystalline jewel towers on Australian coastline


Langham Hospitality Group will manage its third luxury hotel in Gold Coast, Australia, housed within a new Chad Oppenheim-designed crystalline jewel tower.
MORE NEWS
Ansana Wellness and Spa debuts at Patmos Aktis as it joins Marriott
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel launches destination spa with sacred Hawaiian cultural concept
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its 22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The Good Spa Guide sets up event for modified Good Spa Guide Awards
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House Hotel in St Albans, UK.
McKinsey: 84 per cent of consumers say wellness is a top priority
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of Wellness 2026 research report.
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21-23 Jun 2026

Spa Life International (UK)

Midlands (Venue TBA), Liphook, United Kingdom
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World Bathing Day

Worldwide,
+ More diary  
 


ADVERTISE . CONTACT US

Leisure Media
Tel: +44 (0)1462 431385

©Cybertrek 2026

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