One hectare landscape, under construction.
Villa Naddah landscape is a private commission for a one hectare garden in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia surrounded by a perimeter wall. Three small buildings sit within the perimeter wall; a gate house, a diwanyah and an occasional room. The design derives from an existing site condition; the presence of brackish water just a metre below ground level. The landscape is an overlay of different ecologies; brackish, sweet, arid and productive. The three perimeter buildings are conceived as worlds within worlds that mediate between the scale of the villa and a human scale.
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/ah_acforweb-1000x758-q75.jpg)
1:100 model
Naturalistic, salt tolerant planting is juxtaposed with formal elements such as a paved allee of flowering trees and a hybrid palm screen that veils the main villa within the garden.
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/ah_acforweb1jpg-1000x1590-q75.jpg)
1:100 model
Main entry, with gate house. Brackish path and occasional room beyond
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/ah_acforweb2-1000x1366-q75.jpg)
1:100 model
Tiered landscaping with diwanyah beyond
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/hpsbw-576x966-q75.jpg)
On site. Hybrid palm screen under construction
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/stonesample3-1000x546-q75.jpg)
On site. Stone detail test for paved allee
The hybrid palm screen is composed of different species of palm trees of varied height and character and runs north-south in front of the villa. There is an interplay between the palms and the elevation of the villa that allows for views out whilst also maintaining privacy within.
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/jeddahwebbrackish-1000x517-q75.jpg)
Brackish path with hybrid palm in foreground
Due to the site’s proximity to the sea there is a high water table and the water is brackish (slightly salty). This naturally occurring condition is the basis for a brackish ecology within the garden. Here the planting is naturalistic and willowy and is dense so as to frame a sweeping path. A specification for salt tolerant planting was developed in collaboration with Kew Gardens.
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/jeddah-7-1000x913-q75.jpg)
Plan
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/fromtheiss-679x1024-q75.jpg)
Site
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/bureaupalr-1000x508-q75.jpg)
Occassional room, known as the bureau
View from paved allee
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/diwanyahthroughwindow-769x592-q75.jpg)
Diwanyah, view from hybrid palm screen
The three perimeter buildings, the gate house, the occasional room and the diwanyah, are simple double height spaces each with a smaller scale element within; a stair, a mashrabiya screen and a mezzanine. Each are situated at the end of one of the key, formal landscape elements; the entry ramp, the palm screen and the paved allee.
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/layeredisoa-1000x1738-q75.jpg)
concept diagram, layered ecologies
![](http://alisoncrawshaw.com/thumbs/projects/al-hadiqa/gatehouse-1000x674-q75.jpg)
Gatehouse