Case Studies

Overview

Location: Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
Focus: Naturalistic play installation within a luxury resort environment
Target Age Range: Ages 2 - 12+

The Brief, From Vision To Reality

Desert Rock Resort is a luxury resort nestled within the Hejaz Mountains within the Red Sea region of Saudi Arabia. With breathtaking views of the environment in which it sits, the resort sought to enhance its family offering while maintaining the integrity of its dramatic environment.

Key Objectives

• Create a play space which can be enjoyed outdoors, while maintaining a safe, shaded experience.
• Preserve the resort’s architectural and landscape identity
• Provide high‑quality, naturalistic play options for visiting families
• Install on a podium with minimal disruption and tight construction constraints
• Complement the resort’s luxury ethos and integrate seamlessly into the rugged terrain

Our Solution

Timberplay delivered a compact, beautifully integrated natural play space featuring high‑quality, durable equipment designed specifically to suit podium installation and blend effortlessly with the striking mountain setting.

Design and Play Value Expertise

Concept

The design embraces the raw beauty of the cliffside environment, using natural forms and high‑quality timber products to create a play experience that feels fully embedded within the terrain.

The focus was on maximising play value within a modest footprint while retaining the ‘inside to outside’ design language of this exquisitely designed resort. The seamless relationship between terraced landforms and natural courtyards is mirrored in the design of the play space, creating an understated yet intricate play space for family guests to the resort.

Showcase

Working within the structural constraints of podium installation, the design and engineering teams carefully adapted foundations to ensure full stability with minimal landscape intervention, critical in a luxury environment with strict aesthetic and construction requirements.

Play Equipment

• Climbing structure delivering challenging play for older children
• Platform house fostering imaginative and social play
• Series of jumping discs encouraging movement and balance
• Selection of swinging horses providing low‑level social and physical play

Play Value 

• This design demonstrates how even small spaces can offer rich play value. The climbing structure provides opportunities for children to test their strength, resilience and perceived risk in a safe yet stimulating environment.
• The jumping discs encourage repeated movement patterns that develop balance, coordination and confidence—features that have universal appeal across a wide age range.

Materials

One of Timberplay’s preferred wood species is Mountain Larch — a thick, slow-growing timber renowned for its exceptional strength and durability. Thanks to this inherent resilience, Mountain Larch performs extremely well in very hot climates and has been used for key elements of the play area, including the Playhouse.

The climbing structure is crafted from Robinia, another hard-wearing species that also adds natural beauty to the space. As heat and environmental conditions can affect timber over time, steel rings are fitted around the wood to enhance structural stability and ensure long-term performance in this arid climate.

Project Outcomes & Impact

Results

• A resilient, podium‑friendly design installed with minimal disruption
• Enhanced family offering aligned with the resort’s luxury positioning
• Durable natural materials offering long‑term value

Sustainability

Robinia and Mountain Larch timber offer exceptional longevity with minimal ongoing maintenance, supporting the resort’s commitment to environmentally conscious development in line with its Vision 2030 goals. Moreover, Mountain Larch is felled as part of routine avalanche-prevention measures. Timberplay avoids the use of chemicals in its production process, further reducing environmental impact.

Impact

For Desert Rock, the inclusion of a natural play space strengthens its family offering, broadens its appeal, and complements its positioning within the Vision 2030 tourism strategy, enhancing the overall guest experience while respecting the landscape.