Najan Sets a Vernacular Vision for Walkable Village Life in El Gouna

In El Gouna Red Sea, water has never been scenery alone. It shapes the town’s geography and the routes between its neighbourhoods, with lagoons, marinas and canals woven into the urban fabric and yachts moored along its waterways. Najan, a new residential village in the Western District, draws on this defining feature at a more intimate scale, bringing the homes together around vernacular architecture.

Spanning 41,300 square metres, Najan adds a residential village to El Gouna’s Western District, with buildings arranged around a human-scale layout. Its homes range from studios to three-bedroom lofts, with architecture that reinterprets traditional Egyptian vernacular through a contemporary lens. The layout gives equal consideration to the spaces between buildings, where alleyways, walkways and shared areas form an integral part of village life.

The masterplan is anchored in a network of alleyways, passages and walkways connecting residential buildings to the water and to shared spaces along the way. Movement through Najan is designed around walking, with routes that take residents through different parts of the village as they go about their day.

The non-linear plan uses winding passages to create a succession of narrower lanes and open communal areas. This variation in scale gives the village a more intimate layout, with buildings and landscape arranged to define distinct spaces for gathering and quieter corners for residents. The routes between homes and the water become a key organising element of the masterplan, shaping how the village is navigated and experienced.

That pedestrian-first approach also shapes the way the village is intended to function socially. The passages and communal spaces create opportunities for everyday encounters, while the pool provides a common point of reference for residents. These are modest architectural decisions, but they influence how a neighbourhood is occupied, from the routes people take to the places where they might pause and spend time together.

For Mohamed Amer, CEO of El Gouna Red Sea and Managing Director of Orascom Development Egypt, the project returns to an idea that has informed the town since its beginnings.

“El Gouna Red Sea was built around water. From the very beginning, the lagoons shaped how people moved, where they gathered, and how a stretch of the Red Sea coast grew into a town that people chose to call home. With Najan, we are returning to that original idea and giving it a new form,” Amer says.

Najan also marks another stage in the development of El Gouna Red Sea’s Western District, adding a different residential format to a town that continues to expand as a year-round destination. Its range of homes accommodates different household sizes, while the compact village plan offers an alternative to developments organised primarily around individual residences and private outdoor space. With a more accessible residential offering, Najan also creates an opportunity for more people to become part of El Gouna Red Sea’s vibrant community.

“As El Gouna Red Sea continues to grow as a year-round home, our responsibility is to expand without losing the human scale that makes the town special. Najan does exactly that, adding a new way of living to our residential offering at an intimate, walkable scale, while keeping residents connected to everything El Gouna Red Sea has to offer,” Amer adds.

Najan builds on the idea of buying into a complete town rather than an isolated residential development. With delivery planned within two years, the village is intended to offer residents a place designed for everyday life, with homes, shared spaces and walkable connections already considered as part of a wider, established urban community.