Designed by architect Chad Oppenheim, FAIA, of the international firm Oppenheim Architecture, The Jewel towers rise in unison on the city’s shores, joining luxury residences with a five-star hotel—all spanning across a three-tower crystalline complex. The mixed-use development sets a new standard of luxury living among a spread of business amenities, dining experiences, and health and wellness services, all while paying tribute to its surroundings.

Oppenheim Architecture was selected as a winner of developer RDG’s international competition held for the design of the project. Inspired by the region’s culture and elements native to the land, firm principal Chad Oppenheim developed the design concept from a set of three smoky quartz crystals—drawing from their shape, features and overall significance. Pushing up from the site, the towers pierce the skyline as prismatic stalagmites reflecting and refracting light to create an iconic urban geology.

In developing the design concept, it was crucial to understand and uncover the spirit of place—the site’s histories and ecologies, so the architectural ‘object’ wasn’t an arbitrary form, but one that resonated with the land and its people. The three crystals were captured with 3D scanning and, with minimal modification, translated into the full-size towers that illuminate the coast today.

The project was a collaboration between Oppenheim as the design architect and DBI as the local architect of record, with construction of the towers beginning in February 2016. Such a high-profile mixed-used development required thorough consultation with the city to achieve a design with both international significance and local relevance.