Riviera Residences Tower 1

Herzog & de Meuron reinterprets pearl diving in a Reem Island tower

The Basel firm behind the Tate Modern, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie and Beijing's National Stadium has now put its name on a residential building on Al Reem Island. Riviera Residences Tower 1 is the first of two towers in this Mered development, with handover set for March 30, 2029. The volumes range from 27 to 35 storeys, sitting on a shared ground floor. The undulating facade is clad in iridescent materials that recall mother of pearl. The scheme mixes 1 to 3 bedroom apartments, duplexes, 3 and 4 bedroom villas and a single penthouse, all sold freehold.

Pearl divers' mother of pearl, cast onto the facade

The design concept draws on a specific piece of local history. Before oil, pearl diving sustained the Gulf coast, and Herzog & de Meuron have turned that legacy into shimmering surfaces that shift with the light. The wavy lines of the envelope break from the straight towers that still dominate Reem Island. The firm employs more than 500 people and has residential credits including 56 Leonard Street in New York and One Park Drive at Canary Wharf. For an investor, a name of this stature matters at resale, since it remains uncommon in Abu Dhabi's residential market. What still needs checking, though, is how these iridescent finishes hold up over time under Gulf conditions, something only the built product will confirm.

From a 64 sqm one bedroom to a one off penthouse

The brochure lays out clear starting sizes. The one bedroom starts at 64 sqm, the two bedroom at 107 sqm and the three bedroom at 173 sqm. That last figure stands out locally, where many recently built three bedrooms top out under 150 sqm. The stepped massing of the facade produces varied layouts, and Mered points out that apartments are not simply repeated floor after floor. Duplexes round out the range, sitting between the standard apartment and the villa.

Six Sky Villas and waterfront Ocean Villas

The top tier splits into two categories. The Sky Villas, just six of them, sit on the upper floors with wide terraces and their own private pool. The Ocean Villas, offered in 3 and 4 bedroom layouts, sit at the water's edge facing the lagoon and the sea. A single penthouse tops the building. This deliberate scarcity, seven residences in total at the upper levels, targets buyers looking for a villa without leaving the city, a type of product in short supply on the island.

Four pools, a cold plunge and a padel court

Amenities are organized into four zones: lounge, wellness, sport and family. There are four pools in total, including two adult lounge pools, a lap pool and an outdoor children's pool. The wellness zone adds an outdoor cold plunge pool with a misting shower, a sauna, a hammam and a spa fitted with an ice bath. On the sport side, there's a padel court, outdoor crossfit and yoga areas, and a weights terrace. The brochure is inconsistent on whether there are two or three indoor fitness studios, a detail worth confirming with the developer. Families get a cinema room, an event room and a cafeteria with an open kitchen.

Between Reem Mall and Yas Island

The building fronts a promenade lined with cafes, restaurants and shops at ground level. Reem Mall, The Galleria and Sorbonne Abu Dhabi are all 5 to 15 minutes away by car. Yas Island, home to Ferrari World and Warner Bros. World, is about twenty minutes off, with a future Disney park set to join them there. The international airport is half an hour away, and Dubai roughly an hour by highway. The likely buyer profile fits an expat family working in the capital, or a Gulf buyer after a seaside second home.

First phase ahead of Tower 2

Tower 1 opens sales for a complex that will eventually count two towers. Buying into the first phase typically secures the best pricing, but it also means living next to a construction site after handover, since the second tower will still be under construction or unfinished. The March 30, 2029 date leaves roughly three years for construction. Mered hasn't shared much of its delivery track record, so a cautious buyer would do well to ask for a precise timeline covering both towers before signing.