This luxury hotel, which will mark the entrance to the Kuwait Free Trade Zone, rises from the hot sand like the crater of an extinct volcano. The face of this lava-like nodule is slightly tilted, offering guests spectacular views of the harbour and the Gulf beyond. The atrium opens into a garden oasis which is sunk below sand level and fed by continually flowing sprinklers set in the void's edge. The spray from these jets refracts into natural rainbows and creates an illusory and surreal roof, like the memory of a volcanic dome blown off in some ancient eruption. The rainbows cast an unusual and atmospheric light inside the crater of glass, heightening the sense of wonder at this cool green retreat set within the arid desertscape of Kuwait.