When Ras Al Khaimah's Dh1 billion Falcon Island development was unveiled in 2014, you could have been forgiven for wondering how much demand there would be in this laid-back emirate for uber-luxurious villas fitted with Fendi furniture.
But news that phase one of the project has sold out, followed by the launch during Cityscape Global this week of the project’s second phase, proves that the allure of high-end, waterfront, freehold community living is as strong in Ras Al Khaimah as it is anywhere else in the country.
With its handover due to begin in December 2017, Falcon Island is a 2.2-million-square-foot island community set in a natural lagoon that forms part of Al Hamra Village Complex. Consisting of 150 villas, featuring between five and eight bedrooms, it offers a lifestyle proposition that is becoming increasingly common in this part of the world. Exclusivity? Check. Branded interiors? Check. Access to a private beach, not to mention an 18-hole golf course and a five-star resort? Check.
The Italian architect and interior designer Paolo Colombo was the man tasked with designing the properties on what is being touted as Ras Al Khaimah’s answer to The Palm, Jumeirah. The difference is in the price, with costs for Falcon Island properties ranging from Dh1,100 to Dh1,500 per square foot (compared to Dh1,600 to Dh3,500 per square foot on The Palm, according to recently released research from Asteco). For phase two of Falcon Island, the starting price for beach and canal villas has been set at Dh5.7 million.
The challenge for Colombo, the founder of the Milan-headquartered multidisciplinary design firm A++, was to design a development that was sustainable, innovative and offered an unparalleled level of luxury living, but that was still competitively priced.
“The client turned to A++ specifically to realise a village with innovative design and building processes, to contain building costs and time to market, to respond to wider sustainability criteria, and to be equally responsive to environmental, qualitative, aesthetic and social issues, without compromises.”
The project offers three types of stock – canal homes, beach homes and park homes, which as the names suggest, indicate the location and type of views enjoyed by the property type. All share a design aesthetic described by Colombo as “a cosy Provençal charm”, which channels the south of France.
“The studio has achieved this by designing homes characterised by the typical elements of French traditional homes, while nesting the development into a distinctively modern and design-orientated surrounding. The apparent clash has resulted in a mixture of scenery, appreciable from both distance and close perspectives, aimed to immediately communicate the innovative character of the project; not a mere mix of culture and style but a perfect combination of tradition and innovation, historic and futuristic, slow and fast,” says Colombo.
Spread across two storeys, the villas range from 350 square metres to 1,500 square metres. While the houses share a coordinated colour palette and a common typology, personalisation is a key hook here.
“All villas have the possibility to allow for customisation of the interiors, as well as of the landscape and pool placement and typology,” Colombo explains.
A dedicated app has been developed that allows homeowners to choose and customise their properties at the touch of a button.
“We have conceived a useful tool for the developer to present the properties that work like those [tools] used to customise cars,” Colombo says. “The client has the opportunity to choose the location, topography and look of the villa, as well as adding additional spaces and amenities, just like you would add options to your car. The result is a document summarising and displaying the choices, as well as the unit and total prices.”
When it comes to the interiors, there are three main schemes or “canvases”, which differ mainly in the amount of intervention the client can have in the personalisation of their space.
“We are expecting that clients, starting from this base, will either refer to us or to their interior designer of choice, to further develop the interiors to their liking. This is true for all but one typology of home. The biggest one, because of the distinct nature of its likely clientele, will in fact be fully customised by the client, once the sale process is completed.”
While the details – including high-end furniture from the likes of Bentley Home, Kenzo Maison and Fendi Casa – can be tinkered with, what comes as standard in all these homes are unobstructed views and spaces filled with natural light. That’s a result of the natural topography of the island and thoughtful placement of each villa. Ceiling heights also help to create a sense of space and luxury, with ceilings ranging from 3.7 metres to 4.10 metres high.
Despite – or perhaps because of – their high-end positioning, the properties have also been designed with extreme practicality in mind.
“We have done a lot of work and research to avoid the common mistakes usually seen in the Gulf’s luxury developments, which include luxury apartments or villas with unusable or impractical layouts. For example, the owner of a luxurious villa will probably have a lot of friends visiting, so it is important to maintain a clear separation between social and private areas. Nobody wants guests traipsing through bedrooms to use the bathroom. We have also avoided long hallways and other space-wasters to optimise space.”
Even windows have been selected with practicality and sustainability in mind. “Windows are a primary source of heat and cooling loss,” says Colombo. “Although they have a classical look, the windows chosen play an important part in both the look and efficiency of the homes. They are multi-paned and heavily insulated to protect against weather and noise, and provide the greatest amount of light (controlled by natural shades to avoid overheating) to pass through and illuminate the home.”
Smart technology is another standout feature of these properties, with advanced mechanical, electrical and home-automation systems working in tandem to control lighting, thermal regulation and acoustic features. But technology is also being harnessed on a far broader level to help Falcon Island live up to its sustainability claims.
“The whole island is conceived to work as a living body, where production of any form of energy, as well as its consumption, is controlled and optimised throughout the island,” Colombo explains. “A world-first solar bridge is providing the island with 100 per cent of the energy needed for cooling and heating purposes; special systems are integrated in the homes and are driven by a district cooling system that will provide a level of comfort unseen in the area; and the whole development is controlled by a custom-created system to control all interactions between mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.”
To sum up the work that he and his company have done in Ras Al Khaimah, Colombo refers to the properties’ longevity. “Although homes are not diamonds and therefore the concept of forever takes a different meaning, good architecture retains value as long as beauty is matched with practical design combined with a solid foundation, unusual details, high-grade materials and artistic components.”
sdenman@thenational.ae
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