Soma Bay Master Plan and Design Guidelines
- Location
- Red Sea coast, Egypt
- Period
- 2009–2010
- Firm
- MESA Design Group
- Disciplines
- Resort Master Planning, Land-Use Planning, Design Guidelines
A MESA Design Group project within an international development team. Work completed with MESA Design Group as part of multidisciplinary project teams.
Project imagery and photography courtesy of MESA Design Group.
Context
Soma Bay was a large mixed-use destination plan combining land use, hospitality, residential districts, circulation, public realm, and a unifying identity for a Red Sea setting.
My role
My documented work included conceptual design, the CAD framework and master-plan production, theming and branding, design-guideline writing and coordination, land-use planning, lot-layout revisions, lighting text, and final-submittal production.
Design challenge
The plan needed to coordinate development intensity, land use, movement, coastal character, and a recognizable identity across many parcels and future project teams.
Approach
The work paired an illustrative master plan with land-use controls and design guidelines. Narrative themes and spatial rules provided continuity while allowing individual districts and sites to develop over time.
Result
The team delivered high-resolution illustrative and land-use plans together with a coordinated design-guideline package.
Looking back
Soma Bay strengthened my belief that a plan is most valuable when it can guide many later decisions without becoming brittle.