Deep within Saudi Arabia’s Hijaz Mountains, the Desert Rock Resort stands as a landmark achievement in regenerative tourism. Commissioned by Red Sea Global and designed by Oppenheim Architecture, the project is a masterclass in site-sensitive construction, with suites carved directly into the ancient rock face.
Central to the project’s success is a sophisticated MEP and lighting strategy designed to minimise ecological impact while maintaining luxury standards. To achieve this, lighting consultant Delta Lighting Design collaborated with Italy-based Linea Light Group to develop a massive bespoke lighting installation that balances aesthetic intimacy with advanced digital control.
The bespoke lamp is capable of interpreting the essence of the place through a measured and poetic lighting language, according to Linea Light Group.
Linea Light Group’s lighting installation balances aesthetics with advanced digital control.
“The goal was to preserve the surrounding natural environment, minimising visual and ecological impact. Every material used reflects the desert’s chromatic tones, and every construction choice was guided by the desire to merge architecture and landscape into a single entity. During the day, natural light dominates, gliding along the rocky surfaces, while at sunset the complex reveals a new luminous dimension,” says a spokesman for Linea Light Group.
The project’s lighting requirements surpassed the capabilities of standard fixtures, necessitating a custom-engineered solution. Linea Light Group manufactured more than 1,500 bespoke lanterns designed to withstand the harsh Saudi desert environment without compromising on visual elegance.
The lantern’s simple structure features an advanced technological core, integrating a dual LED lighting distribution, fully manageable via DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) protocol, ensuring maximum freedom in control and scene customisation.
The first light source is housed within the central “candle”, the project’s iconic element, carefully reconstructed to simulate the flicker and warmth of a natural flame. Thanks to a dedicated program, the LED can reproduce the lively effect of a candle, with a colour temperature of 2,200K, delivering warm, intimate, and atmospheric illumination.
The secondary downlight serves a path-marking function.
The upper section of the lantern houses a secondary downlight, serving a path-marking function. This component provides precise orientation across the resort’s stairs, terraces, and pathways, ensuring guest safety in a rugged landscape.
The two light sources can be controlled independently, allowing the atmosphere to be adjusted, from a purely scenic and evocative light to a more functional distribution, while preserving the overall harmony of the lighting design.
Integration with DALI control protocols
From an MEP perspective, the resort’s lighting is defined by its intelligence. All 1,500-plus custom fixtures are fully integrated into the building’s DALI protocol.
This integration allows the FM (facilities management) team to manage the two light sources independently. By separating the evocative “candle” light from the functional path-markers, the resort can programme complex lighting scenes that transition from dusk to late-night, optimising energy consumption and reducing light pollution in line with Red Sea Global’s sustainability mandates.
The lantern’s simple structure features an advanced technological core, integrating a dual LED lighting distribution.
Durability and materiality
Given the desert’s extreme thermal fluctuations and abrasive sands, the construction of the lanterns emphasises durability. The fixtures feature robust slender bodies, engineered for direct floor mounting in outdoor conditions with high ingress protection (IP) ratings.
The dedicated finish, developed specifically for the Desert Rock Resort, blends with the architectural materials and the chromatic tones of the rocky landscape. The result is a series of unique creations that give life to a coherent, recognisable luminous language, transforming light into a true narrative of space, says Linea Light Group.
Leveraging Linea Light Group’s in-house R&D and “Made in Italy” electronic engineering, the fixtures ensure long-term colour fidelity and thermal management.