Hanak, Saudi Arabia
Shura Island Causeway and Bridges
The Journey to Shura Island
status
Completed 2024
client
Red Sea Global
expertise
Hospitality + Entertainment
services
Master Planning Landscape Architecture
Setting the Tone for the Destination
Shura Island is the centerpiece of The Red Sea, a regenerative tourism destination where luxury hospitality is shaped by the desert, the islands, and the water that connects them.
Developed by Red Sea Global, The Red Sea brings together luxury resorts, residences, golf, wellness, and marine offerings along Saudi Arabia’s western coast. Shura Island sits at the center of that vision, combining those experiences across a destination defined by its relationship to the natural environment. For guests, the journey begins at the Red Sea International Airport and unfolds across 15 kilometers before reaching the island’s resorts. Along the way, the landscape shifts from the sparse inland desert, through the arrival gateway, to the coastal causeway, setting the tone for what lies ahead.
LandDesign was engaged to make that transition feel intentional. Through our work on the Causeway and Bridges, we developed an arrival experience that carries guests from the inland landscape to the coast, using changes in landform, planting, water, and movement to build anticipation and introduce the character of Shura Island. The result is a first impression that begins well before guests reach the island, establishing the level of design, care, and connection to place expected from The Red Sea.
The landscape journey was intended to unfold with the same level of care as the resort experience itself. The guest experience follows the landscape’s progression, building anticipation and allowing the destination to reveal itself through changing views, textures, and relationships to the water. Crafted dunes and massed planting frame views across the desert and temper the scale of the roadway. At the arrival gateway, denser planting screens service and operational areas from guest views. Along the causeway, coastal species and mangroves establish a stronger connection to the water. Each setting offers a distinct experience while contributing to one cohesive identity for Shura Island.
Crafted dunes were designed to manage the scale of the roadway, buffer service areas, and frame views toward the Red Sea. Their slopes were studied for strong winds, storm events, and long-term stability.
Planting for a Water-Scarce Climate
Water availability shaped the planting strategy across the Causeway and Bridges. Low-water species were grouped into hydrozones and supported by drip and subsurface irrigation, nighttime watering cycles, and weather-responsive controls that adjusted delivery to site conditions.
Red Sea Global wanted the landscape to feel cohesive from the inland desert to the coast. Carrying that vision onto the bridges meant building a planted landscape into the infrastructure itself, so the guest experience could continue across the water. Available soil depth and structural loads limited the planting areas, and every plant would be exposed to wind, salt, reflected heat, and irrigation constraints. LandDesign worked with the bridge and marine engineering teams to coordinate plant selection, soil composition, planter depth, structural requirements, and irrigation, creating a coastal landscape that could perform within the demands of the bridge environment.
A Coastal Landscape with a Working Role
Avicennia marina mangroves were integrated into the coastal landscape to support marine habitat, improve water quality, and help protect the shoreline from storm surge and erosion. Their role extended beyond the guest experience, making the causeway part of the island’s larger environmental system.
Physical
Move guests from desert to coast through dunes, coastal planting, mangroves, and bridge landscapes
Functional
Coordinate low-water planting, hydrozones, drainage, shoreline systems, irrigation, and structural requirements across land and water
Social
Sequence the arrival to build anticipation and give guests an early connection to Shura Island
Physical
Move guests from desert to coast through dunes, coastal planting, mangroves, and bridge landscapes
Functional
Coordinate low-water planting, hydrozones, drainage, shoreline systems, irrigation, and structural requirements across land and water
Social
Sequence the arrival to build anticipation and give guests an early connection to Shura Island
