All red sand, jagged ridges and dramatic white peaks, the skyline of Hormuz is known for looking like something from another planet. But one corner of the Iranian island is so unusually bold and vibrant it could be an alien settlement from a different universe entirely.
Drawing on Hormuz’s striking natural landscape, an all-new ‘holiday community’ called ‘Presence in Hormuz’ comprises a cluster of 200 domes painted inside and out in bright reds, yellows, greens and blues. The resort aims to bring more tourists to the island, as well as offer an eye-catching alternative to your typical high-rise seaside accommodation.
Photograph: ZAV
Around five miles from the island’s main town, the village includes 15 holiday homes, each occupying a handful of interconnected domes, along with shops, cafés, restaurants and tourist information. In each of the holiday homes, the furnishings have been chosen to match the colours of the walls.
The earthen structures, designed by Tehran-based architecture studio ZAV, were built closely together to create a sense of community and form a structure that mimics the craggy hills overlooking the Persian Gulf. The idea, say ZAV, was to create ‘a field of colonies that interlace in a fluid fabric similar to that of a neighbourhood’.
God knows we could all do with a splash of colour in our miserable, grey lives right now. It may not be the easiest place to get to, but we reckon we’ve found just the ticket.
Photograph: ZAV
More cool places to stay:
There’s a beautiful ‘library hotel’ hidden in the Chinese mountains
The Libertines have just opened a hotel – here’s what it’s like to stay