Diriyah Art Futures” in Riyadh is the first public project launched as part of Vision 2030 and will house studios, exhibition spaces, research labs, artist residences, an auditorium, and a training center for new media and digital languages, in an area of 12,000 sqm. This contemporary structure is set along the desert’s edge, north of Riyadh, near the UNESCO site of At-Turaif, the ancient capital of the Najd desert region and one of the Arabian Peninsula’s most important historic and archaeological sites.The spaces between the building’s volumes echo the narrow streets and small squares of ancient settlements.
We wanted to give the impression that the architecture was emerging from the earth,” say the architects. “This is our way of approaching a project: using natural values to create a contemporary language deeply rooted in the place.”
The “DIRIYAH ART FUTURES” is not a compact building, but rather made up of distinct, clean volumes that develop horizontally along the edge of Wadi Hanifa, an agricultural depression in the middle of the desert plateau. Designed to reconnect the urban and agricultural parts of the wadi and to restore the balance between built environment and nature, its volumes alternate with narrow and deep passages that create shaded and cool areas, in accordance with the traditional Najdi architecture typical of the region. A tailoring job, like a garment custom-made for that land with specific objectives.
