Archinect - News

Henning Larsen unveils design for new Jeddah Opera House in Saudi Arabia

2024-04-23T15:53:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has announced a new cultural project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Danish firm's plans for the new Jeddah Opera House entail a 1,500-seat opera, 750-seat theater, and 150-seat Rehearsal Hall to be constructed at a site that forms the new Opera Quarter and is included as part of the larger Jeddah Central master plan.

In concept, the scheme presents a cluster of buildings along a central spine adhering to the Red Sea shoreline. Glowing geometric volumes display an irregular rhythm created in their facade’s coral stone and wood exteriors and enlivened by Mashrabiyas and Roshans, all of which are vernacular elements and responsive to the Al-Balad area's architectural history and character. The listed square footage of the project is 344,400 (or 32,000 square meters).

Image: Vivid Vision courtesy of Henning Larsen

Louis Becker, the Global Design Principal for Henning Larsen, describes the work: "The tradition of theater grew out of public space and everyday life — the casual...

NEOM's The Line is getting a lot shorter (for now)

2024-04-10T11:43:00-04:00

Bloomberg is reporting on a tip they received recently about NEOM’s The Line centerpiece as it advances on the first phase of construction in Saudi Arabia’s northwest highlands.

Last week, the outlet published details citing an anonymous source who said The Line segment is now expected to extend to only 2.4 kilometers and house 300,000 residents by the end of the decade. The figures cited are a drastic reduction from the 1.5 million-person, 170-kilometer goals that have been included in promotional materials since the launch of the project. The unnamed source spoke out of anonymity citing fears for “discussing non-public information.”

The report also claims unnamed contractors have been dismissed as a result of the missed objectives. Other satellite developments are however progressing on target. NEOM’s budget for 2024 has still yet to be approved after the Saudi Public Investment Fund saw its largest drop since 2020.

Related on Archinect: NEOM goes to Venice to promote its 'zero grav...

NEOM unveils new bridged Treyam resort development for the Gulf of Aqaba

2024-03-22T18:43:00-04:00

The next satellite development of NEOM has been announced as a new lagoon straddling resort called Treyam. News of its announcement follows last week’s update from NEOM detailing the golf course and resort concept Gidori from Aedas architects Ignacio Gomez and Lama Al-Kharboush in the Saudi Gulf of Aqaba region.

This latest destination will be developed in the same coast region and is promoted as being an “audacious design with minimal land intervention." This is the tenth project to be announced for the region since last October.

Image courtesy NEOM

Plans call for a 250-room hotel connected to either shoreline via a long skybridge whose facade embellishes a sunset-like illusion when viewed from a distance. Mark Foster Cage and Bashayer Bamohsen appear in a “Meet the Architects” video as Treyam’s lead designers along with the founder of Dubai’s JT+Partners, Joe Tabet.

Image courtesy NEOM

A 450-meter (1,476-feet) long rooftop infinity pool invites guests to a further “awe-inspiring” ex...

NEOM announces new Gidori resort and golf course satellite development — its tenth overall

2024-03-18T19:22:00-04:00

A new golf resort concept has been revealed as the latest satellite development for NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion+ experiment in urbanization and global luxury tourism.

'Gidori,' as it will be known, is designed to include an 18-hole course with a 200-unit residential component, 80-room hotel, beach club, and other sport and leisure facilities spread throughout a rocky coastal setting on the Gulf of Aqaba.

Image courtesy NEOM

Architects Ignacio Gomez and Lama Al-Kharboush (both of Aedas) are mentioned in a promotional video as being the lead designers for the project.

Video courtesy NEOM/YouTube

It follows Leyja, Epicon, Siranna, Utamo, Norlana, and Aquellum as the latest addition to the NEOM family. Marketing for the project appears to be centered on its integration within the landscape. A "progressive architectural centerpiece" called 'The Monolith' will greet visitors at the shoreline, keying their repose into the network of spas, pools, and gyms inside and anchoring the pr...

Foster + Partners reportedly designing world’s tallest building: a 1.2-mile-high Riyadh skyscraper

2024-03-04T11:46:00-05:00

The UK’s Architect's Journal has reported that Foster + Partners is working on the design of a 2-kilometer-high (1.2-mile-high) skyscraper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If delivered, the scheme would be the tallest building in the world, double the height of the Burj Khalifa, which currently holds the title.

According to AJ’s reporting, the development is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with “international design names” such as SOM also previously linked to the project. The scheme is reported to be sited close to the King Khalid International Airport, whose design is being overseen by Foster + Partners. When completed, the 14,000-acre complex is expected to be one of the world’s largest airports.

Related on Archinect: Foster + Partners to design 'one of the world's largest airports' in Riyadh. Image credit: Foster + Partners

Archinect has reached out to Foster + Partners for comment about the alleged skyscraper.

The news comes one week after we reported on updates from Sa...

NEOM updates progress on The Line and other satellite developments

2024-02-28T18:32:00-05:00

Progress on the Oxagon, Sindalah, and the 110-mile-long The Line centerpiece developments in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megaproject has been documented in a new update released this week.

Aerial photos combined with drone footage displaying their construction progress surfaced on NEOM social media accounts with a note about its tangibility to naysayers skeptical of the $500 billion vision of the country's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Video: NEOM/YouTube

It follows previous video updates from January and October of 2023. Since then, several additional developments (including Leyja, Epicon, Aquellum, and Siranna) have been announced.

Image: NEOM/YouTube

The first construction phases will reportedly be completed by 2030, with the British firm Atkins retained to oversee delivery of The Line, which is by far its largest and most technically challenging portion.

Image: NEOM/YouTube

Around 60,000 workers are reported to be on each construction site combined. The Saudi state has spent $5.6 ...

Populous unveils cliffside Saudi stadium design formed of modular cubes

2024-01-22T11:44:00-05:00

Populous has unveiled plans for a major stadium in Saudi Arabia to be constructed on top of a 650-foot-tall cliff. The Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium seeks to “draw visitors from across the globe and revolutionize the traditional stadium experience with its immersive design and unique technological features,” according to the team.

Image credit: Populous

Located in Qiddiya City, 40 minutes from the capital Riyadh, the venue is designed to host the country’s largest sports, entertainment, and cultural events and is expected to attract 7.6 million annual visits. The stadium will be the world’s first venue with a combined retractable roof, pitch, and LED wall, offering what the team calls “unparalleled versatility” in “allowing the space to transform into different ‘event modes’ in a matter of hours.”

When activated, the LED wall will display live event broadcasts, high-definition films, and laser shows. When not in use, the wall gives way to views of the city from the venue’s cliff...

Webuild wins $4.7 billion contract to deliver NEOM's Trojena artificial lake

2024-01-19T14:41:00-05:00

Italian contractor Webuild has won a $4.7 billion bid to deliver the central manmade water feature included in the Trojena mountainside resort concept that forms a vital part of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megadevelopment for 2030.

The contract calls for the construction of three dams and an artificial lake feature plus a new structure called the Bow that will house its 3,600-guest hotel and residences, complimenting a ski resort and network of experiential nature areas and wildlife reserves.

The roughly 1.7-mile-long lake itself will become the largest manmade body of water in Saudia Arabia, the firm says. Elevations at the site range from 4,920 to 8,530 feet. Bechtel had been previously contracted as the project manager. NEOM says they aim to have things completed in time for Trojena to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

Philip Gullett, the Executive Director – Region Head at Trojena, said in an update: “We have already completed around three million cubic meters of excavation at the la...

NEOM unveils new Aquellum resort concept from LAVA and NAME

2024-01-18T19:10:00-05:00

The latest satellite development of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project, a new mountainside resort destination called Aquellum, has been launched, along with other initiatives meant to promote sport, leisure, and tourism in the Gulf of Aqaba region.

The coastal development, which appears to feature the same concept for a self-styled "zero gravity urbanism" that defines The Line megacity’s internal layout, is slated to include luxury retail and hotel amenities along with art galleries and a sunken marina design, all tucked inside a 1,480-foot mountain and within traveling distance from its fellow Leyja, Epicon, and Siranna satellite resorts nearby.

Image courtesy NEOM

Guests will arrive via boat courtesy of a hidden canal entryway at the base of the development. A central 'experiential boulevard' serves as the main artery of the socially condensing courtyard space at the center of the 330-foot-tall above-ground component. A special innovation space called 'The Generator' is finally included a...

Janet Echelman completes rippling sculpture in Riyadh informed by earthquake and tsunami data

2024-01-12T13:52:00-05:00

Janet Echelman has completed a sculpture in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of the artist’s Earthtime series.

Named Earthtime 1.26 Riyadh, and installed in the city’s Wadi Namar in December 2023 for the Noor Riyadh light art festival, the sculpture “celebrates the interconnection of sky and earth, flexibility and strength, humans and our physical world, bridging opposites with bold colors and soft curves,” according to the artist.

Image credit: Janet Echelman

Image credit: Ahmed Hasan

The sculpture is composed of knotted fibers, and designed so that as a single knot moves in the wind, the location of every other knot in the sculpture’s surface is changed in what the artist describes as “an ever-unfolding dance of human-made creation with the forces of nature beyond our control.” The custom-engineered fibers are fifteen times stronger than steel by weight and were knotted and spliced with the help of centuries-old craft techniques.

Image credit: Janet Echelman

Image credit: Janet Echelma...

Populous reveals new esports arena design for Saudi Arabia's Qiddiya megaproject

2023-12-26T18:29:00-05:00

Populous has announced its plans for an esports gaming center in the new Qiddiya City entertainment district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The proposed Qiddiya City Esports Arena is included under the Saudi Vision 2030 umbrella and serves a considerable market of gaming fans within the country that is anticipated to grow to contribute $13 billion to the country’s GDP annually in the same time period.

Populous will leverage a considerable past experience in esports and gaming, including the NBA 2K League Broadcast Arena, Fortress Melbourne, and the new Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The firm says its final product will be unique to them all both in terms of scale and their users’ experience, creating a “fantasy world” with capacity for more than 5,155 players.

Image courtesy Populous

The program is divided into six translucent volumes, each with its own LED-lit entrance. Once inside, the gaming experience will be focused into a central bowl seating arrangement wrapped by two concours...

Morphosis breaks ground on new U.S. Embassy compound in Saudi Arabia

2023-12-26T11:41:00-05:00

Morphosis has broken ground on the firm’s new U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia compound project for Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter.

Located on a 27.5-acre site away from the capital’s center near the Hanifa River, the complex will be delivered at an unknown square footage in replacement of the embassy’s current facility from 1984.

In a recent Instagram post, the firm states: “This natural setting provided a key source of inspiration for the campus: we drew from the wadi's geometries to shape the campus planning and buildings throughout the site, guiding circulation and channeling breezes between the structures. The new Embassy design embodies an innovative approach to providing safe, functional, and sustainable facilities for the US diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia.”

Image courtesy U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia

According to the project team, the design prioritizes security throughout while integrating the most state-of-the-art and modern hospitality features with sensitivit...

Snøhetta designs Saudi opera house inspired by traditional Najdi architecture

2023-12-18T11:45:00-05:00

Snøhetta has unveiled its design for an opera house in Diriyah, on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Inspired by the surrounding desert landscape, local cultural heritage, and Najdi building traditions, the Royal Diriyah Opera House forms part of a wider master plan to redevelop the historic area.

Image credit: Binyan

Both the form and materiality of the opera house respond to a vernacular style in the area known as Najdi, which historically saw mud-brick structures closely clustered to create constant shade. Similarly, the proposed scheme comprises a cluster of buildings connected by open-access passages, responding to the need to shade visitors from the sun.

Image credit: Binyan

The concept behind the design was “the idea of earth from the riverbeds, which crack when exposed to the hot sun, is molded by wind and rain, and then finds a new shape as separate forms.” As a result, the cluster of buildings is imagined as rising from the ground to form open passages across the site. ...

‘A spectacle of reform’: Rowan Moore throws cold water on NEOM's motivation and sustainable claims

2023-12-05T11:49:00-05:00

Conceivably, as one architect speculates, The Line will be “a Noah’s Ark for the happy few”, a privileged AI-controlled citadel set in an inhospitable desert. Otherwise it will be clickbait visible from space, two vast and pointless lines of glass whose colossal construction cost would defeat the Vision 2030 plan to reduce dependency on oil revenues. What’s more likely is that it will never be completed.

The Observer architecture critic blasts The Line as nonsensical, poorly conceived, a youthful self-promotional tool of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and ultimately mocking the leader’s claims that it is “designed to protect and enhance nature” before predicting much of it will never be completed.

NEOM has recently unveiled a trio of resort concepts for the Gulf of Aqaba, bringing the total number of planned developments to seven. As Moore points out, many of the projects’ realization dates remain unpublicized — hazy as though a desert mirage.

NEOM launches Siranna resort concept on the Gulf of Aqaba

2023-12-04T17:42:00-05:00

Another high-end luxury resort complex has been revealed in Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s NEOM megadevelopment on the Gulf of Aqaba.

The new Siranna development will include a 65-key hotel in addition to 35 “exclusive” residences geared toward tourists and complement the previous Leyja and Epicon resort concepts that were announced this year.

Image courtesy NEOM

Guests will be transited to the destination via water taxis, emerge from the Red Sea surf, and pass through a gateway of natural rock formations to find a tiered approach to the outcropping of hexagonal volumes that spring up from the surrounding landscape like shards of crystals.

Image courtesy NEOM

Paolo Testolini, the Dubai-based Principal and Global Sector Leader of Cities and Places for Woods Bagot’s UAE operation, appears in a promotional video as the architect that will lead its design. His colleague Nik Karalis appears also to be involved, stating that the concept will help “redefine our notions of what touri...

NEOM debuts new Epicon coastal resort and hotel concept

2023-11-17T16:58:00-05:00

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project has announced another new coastal resort concept located on the country’s Gulf of Aqaba.

The new Epicon destination follows last month’s announcement of Leyja, another hospitality project in the region. It will become the sixth development in NEOM’s portfolio, which includes the Trojena and Sindalah ski and yacht resorts, Oxagon industrial/residential tract, and the controversial 'zero-gravity urbanism' showcase THE LINE megacity.

Image courtesy NEOM

Two towers totaling 225 and 275 meters in height (738 and 902 feet, respectively) are included in Epicon's hotel concept, along with a distant resort and a string of luxury beach villas that are cast along the shoreline — the hotel buildings appearing as though a desert mirage.

Image courtesy NEOM

The 41-key hotel design with 14 apartment units offers twin-tower blocks connected via an elevated platform defined by exposed structural beams extending out in either direction. Its facade can be illuminated from t...

NEOM reveals new Leyja resort concepts designed by Mario Cucinella, Chris van Duijn, and Shaun Killa

2023-10-18T18:24:00-04:00

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megaproject has announced a new planned luxury resort development called Leyja that features designs from teams led by architects Mario Cucinella, Chris van Duijn, and Shaun Killa.

Details on the new aspect of the development are scarce, though the plan is to include three hotels and an experience center placed at nodes along a winding gulch leading inland from the Gulf of Aqaba.

Renderings show the structures being inserted into the 400-meter-high natural rock formations at the site.

The Adventure Hotel concept by Chris van Duijn/OMA. Image courtesy of NEOM

The 'Adventure Hotel,' designed by van Duijn, is stepped vertically as though a staircase leading up the walls of the cliff whose topography is accentuated by its form. The hotel is intended to provide a base for tourists to pursue rock climbing and other "high-octane" activities.

It is joined by an oasis-straddling design from Cucine...

NEOM previews satellite developments at Riyadh real estate conference

2023-09-19T14:10:00-04:00

More details have emerged regarding Saudi Arabia’s plans for the TROJENA and OXAGON segments of their $500 billion NEOM megaproject after the country participated in a regional real estate trade conference in Riyadh last week.

As part of the inaugural Cityscape Global meeting, promoters of NEOM were on hand to present their accelerated plans for each development, which are alternatively a ski resort/wildlife reserve and a manmade industrial island with residential tracts that can accommodate up to 90,000 residents. Details about Sindalah, a massive yacht club and terraced beach resort island, were presented as well.

Image courtesy NEOM via Facebook

The event was meant to lure potential investors and property buyers through a high-tech sales pitch with immersive exhibitions and panel discussions featuring members of NEOM’s leadership team. Models of each site were included along with VR headset tours, architectural drawings, and other media relating to the development, which is being...

Saudi Arabia is restarting construction on record-setting Jeddah Tower

2023-09-18T17:07:00-04:00

Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) has restarted work on the world’s tallest tower, the 1,000-metre-plus-tall Jeddah Tower project in Saudi Arabia. [...] The developer has invited contractors to bid by the end of this year for a contract to complete the record-breaking structure. Kingdom Holding Company CEO Talal Ibrahim Almaiman confirmed that the tender has been officially issued when contacted by MEED.

The Jeddah Tower project, designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, first appeared on Archinect in 2011 and is roughly one-third of the way through the construction of its record-setting superstructure, MEED reports. Progress had been halted in January of 2018 over labor shortages and was further delayed by the pandemic. The Saudi Binladin Group (or SBG), which originally managed the project, has since undergone a debt restructuring and will be replaced by one of 14 potential contractors hailing from Europe, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Lebanon, and Kuwait.

Architect Gordon Gill had told reporters for CNN to "Never say never" when asked last fall whether or not construction would ever resume.

Previously on Archinect: Jeddah Tower construction reaches 63rd floor

Once completed, the tower will stand slightly over 1 kilometer (3,280 feet) in total height, though the exact figure is said to be kept secret. The megatall tower is currently projected to add $12.5 billion US...

NEOM draws a Line in the sand: Adjaye now off the project

2023-08-15T18:29:00-04:00

David Adjaye’s public reckoning over sexual misconduct allegations launched by three former employees has now reportedly cost him his seat on one of recent history’s most-publicized architecture projects, as the Architects’ Journal is revealing that Adjaye Associates is no longer involved in NEOM’s controversial The Line megacity development in Saudi Arabia.

The news broke Tuesday in the wake of several other public institutions’ decisions regarding his status on projects worldwide. The AJ reported officials as saying his inclusion was only for a preliminary "pre-concept" design consultation and that the project's "third and final" design phase would be announced in September sans his participation.

Earlier today, we reported on Adjaye’s dismissal from the International Slavery Museum renovation project in Liverpool. With the move, his firm has now officially been taken off of Vermont’s Shelburne Museum extension, the planned waterfront redevelopment in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Sh...

New NEOM documentary features Thom Mayne, Peter Cook, Reinier de Graaf, and other architects speaking highly of The Line megacity project

2023-07-28T13:06:00-04:00

A new look behind the process and select architects involved in Saudi Arabia’s controversial The Line megacity for NEOM has been released, answering some questions as to its ideation while leaving many remaining in regard to the project's structural engineering, technical specifics, and design feasibility overall.

Among the torrent of quickly-spliced and placable bromides, the 45-minute "documentary" features Peter Cook stating, "if it's to be a success... parts of it will fail." None of the interviewees, including especially Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, offered an explanation as to how the "top-down, hardcore engineering" OMA partner Reinier de Graaf describes will be carried out in any detail, an element which has been a constant source of criticism since the segment was first announced a year ago.

"Many projects acquire their sanity as they go along, and I think very, very much the case here too — and the jury's out," de Graaf stated before bemoaning a "complete lac...

Saudi Arabia begins securing financing agreements for various NEOM developments

2023-07-17T12:52:00-04:00

Saudi Arabia's megaproject Neom is seeking to raise 10 billion riyals ($2.7bn) in loans, according to a report in Bloomberg published on Monday. The early stages of the $500bn planned city will be financed by money raised from local lenders, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Banks are currently in negotiations with Neom, and the loan could be completed in the next few months.

A separate $3 billion loan will be required for Shushah Island, the luxury resort component of the $500 billion megadevelopment whose record-setting centerpiece is promised for 2025. Another $800 million was secured recently towards the development of Sindalah, which is set to be the project’s first portion to open next year. $5.6 billion more is on the way to build temporary housing and other facilities for 95,000 workers on The Line. The Saudi Private Investment Fund (which underpins NEOM) holds $778 billion in assets currently, according to Bloomberg.

BESIX and Boskalis awarded $800 million contract for first phase of Port of NEOM development

2023-05-27T13:24:00-04:00

Belgian-French construction group BESIX and Dutch dredging and heavylift company Boskalis have been announced as the first European contractors to be awarded a design and build lump sum contract by NEOM to work on the first phase of development for the Port of NEOM project.

BESIX will work in partnership with local partner Modern Building Leaders (MBL). Together, the companies will be responsible for the design and build of nearly two miles of quay walls of variant types. Boskalis will be responsible for the deepening and widening of the main access channel. Located on the Red Sea, near the Suez Canal, the port is the primary seaport entry to NEOM. It is currently Duba Port, which is one of Saudi Arabia’s smallest in terms of goods handling. This development aims to transform the existing port to become the world’s most technologically advanced, efficient, and sustainable.

The Port of NEOM will be surrounded by Oxagon, a planned floating city that is part of the NEOM project. It ...

NEOM goes to Venice to promote its 'zero gravity urbanism' concept

2023-05-17T12:11:00-04:00

A new exhibition titled Zero Gravity Urbanism—Principles for a New Livability will explore the conceptual underpinnings behind Saudi Arabia’s contentious NEOM megadevelopment parallel with the start of the 2023 Venice Biennale on May 20th.

Featuring contributions from Morphosis, Peter Cook, UNStudio, Studio Fuksas, Oyler Wu, and Adjaye Associates, the exhibition presents what organizers say are the $500 billion endeavor’s "seven key principles [...] defined and brought to life through the proposals of architects and urban thinkers, who are envisioning the foundations of a new livability in NEOM."

Other than the plan’s 110-mile main THE LINE segment, details on NEOM’s Oxagon, Trojena, and Sindalah regional developments will also be presented.

Previously on Archinect: OMA, Peter Cook, Morphosis, Adjaye Associates among firms showcasing design proposals in NEOM's recent The Line Experience exhibition

A series of lectures and public presentations will supplement the exhibition. Peter Coo...

UN rights experts weigh in on Saudi Arabia’s planned execution of three NEOM opponents

2023-05-05T17:28:00-04:00

UN rights experts have denounced the pending execution of three members of a Saudi tribe, reportedly in connection with their opposition to a planned Red Sea megacity. [...] The three men – Shadly Ahmad Mahmoud Abou Taqiqa al-Huwaiti, Ibrahim Salih Ahmad Abou Khalil al-Huwaiti and Atallah Moussa Mohammed al-Huwaiti – were reportedly sentenced to death on 5 August last year and their sentences were upheld on appeal on 23 January, the statement said.

The men were originally charged under a 2017 anti-terrorism law. The Saudi government has also reportedly plagued their tribal group with drone surveillance, bribery, and even threats of violence since the announcement of the project the same year. Other opponents inside the development’s massive 105- by 200-mile master planning area have been imprisoned as well.

Previously on Archinect: Opposition to NEOM displacement leads three Saudi tribesmen to death sentences

UN rights experts say their planned deaths cannot be justified by international standards. Saudi Arabia alarmingly executed nearly twice as many citizens between 2015 and 2022 as it did in the four-year period prior, despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's attempts to present himself as a liberal reformer.

AECOM picked as project management consultancy for NEOM International Aiport

2023-03-28T15:40:00-04:00

AECOM has announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide project management consultancy services for the NEOM International Airport in Saudi Arabia.

The firm will offer support towards master planning, design, and construction services as well as testing, commissioning, operational readiness, activation, and transition. AECOM has been present throughout NEOM’s development so far. In 2019, the firm won a project management contract for the development of NEOM Bay.

Previously on Archinect: Aecom wins project management contract for Saudi Arabia's Neom Bay

Additionally, in more recent news, it was announced that British engineering consultancy Atkins had been enlisted as a strategic Delivery Partner for The Line, the complicated linear city concept that aims to be the centerpiece of the NEOM megaproject.

Previously on Archinect: Atkins joins NEOM as strategic partner for The Line project

“We are very pleased to be part of this innovative NEOM project, which is set ...

Centre Pompidou is expanding to Seoul and Saudi Arabia

2023-03-28T11:44:00-04:00

The iconic Centre Pompidou has confirmed that it will open a branch in Seoul, South Korea. The new museum, set to open in 2025, will join the center’s existing network of outposts in Shanghai, Malaga, and the French city of Metz.

According to Artnews, the new museum will be housed in the headquarters of South Korean business conglomerate Hanwa Group, in a skyscraper known as 63 Square. French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte is expected to oversee the design of the museum, having previously fulfilled interior design roles for the Louvre Museum and the British Museum.

When opened, the so-called “Pompidou Center Hanwha Seoul” will have permission to use the French museum’s properties for four years in a deal reported to be worth approximately 20 million USD. Throughout the four-year collaboration, the center will offer eight monographic exhibitions, spanning two per year, based on a selection of works from ...

Atkins joins NEOM as strategic partner for The Line project

2023-02-24T18:17:00-05:00

British engineering concern Atkins has been announced as a strategic Delivery Partner for The Line, Saudi Arabia’s complicated centerpiece for the NEOM megadevelopment that is set to be constructed in just under three years.

As part of their five-year contract, Atkins will provide project and construction consultancy services in unison with the project’s other, now-assumed partners that include Bechtel, Morphosis, and several leading international firms revealed last month via an exhibition in Riyadh.

In a press release, Atkins stated “[t]he project has adopted a highly collaborative delivery model in response to its scale, complexity, supply chain and requirements for innovation.”

Earlier on Archinect: The Line, the largest part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project, looks like a total fantasy

“As a Delivery Partner organization, we will work closely with NEOM and our partners to seamlessly connect people, data and technology to drive innovation, value, efficiency and certainty...

A first look at Saudi Arabia's new 400x400x400-meter Riyadh tower proposal

2023-02-18T07:00:00-05:00

A massive new proposed structure purporting to be “the largest inner city building in the world” is on tap for the Saudi capital of Riyadh, according to local news reports.

The so-called “Mukaab” will form the centerpiece of a new downtown core for the city called New Murabba, which is expected to add 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, 980,000 square meters of retail space, 1.4 million square meters of office space, an 80-venue entertainment and cultural program, another 1.8 million square meters of community facility space as well as a technology and design-focused university.

At 400 meters (1,312 feet) cubed, the Mukaab tower bills itself as being able to contain 20 times the volume of the Empire State Building. Its design is said to be inspired by vernacular Najdi architecture.

Still from New Murabba promotional video.

Inside, 2 million square meters of floor space for various mixed-use programs will be stacked in a biomimetic ...

OMA, Peter Cook, Morphosis, Adjaye Associates among firms showcasing design proposals in NEOM's recent The Line Experience exhibition

2023-02-02T15:00:00-05:00

A list of architecture firms involved in the design of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project has come to light along with a preview exhibition on view now in Riyadh at the Diriyah Biennale Foundation for Contemporary Art that features proposals from unspecified designers.

Peter Cook, Adjaye Associates, OMA, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Studio Fuksas, Oyler Wu Collaborative, Morphosis Architects, Tom Wiscombe Architecture, HOK, Delugan Meissl Architects, UNStudio, and Coop Himmelb(l)au are the entities included in the exhibition, according to a report published recently in the Architects' Journal.

Exhibition image courtesy of NEOM (2022).

The scope of each firm’s involvement remains unclear as the proposals were not credited to anyone specifically. The Architects’ Journal was also unable to obtain either confirmation or quotes from any of the firms named in the exhibition, making it a guessing game that nevertheless reflects on the $500 billion project’s murkiness and the reluctance of global de...