Landscape Architecture, Masterplanning
Mixed-use, Workplace, Residential
In 2018, we were asked to respond to a design competition to create a new, mixed-use innovation hub for Riyadh. Working in collaboration with our architecture colleagues, our task was to provide landscape design to support the development of an extensive site. The project scope comprised a residential zone, hotels, offices and conference centres, plus cultural institutions specialising in education, creative and digital media, technology and arts. A core part of the challenge was to ensure the site’s central wadi waterbody could be reactivated to rejuvenate and preserve its natural condition.
In our proposal, we united the site’s cultural assets along the edge of the wadi. Through this approach, we ensured these assets would share common streets and spaces with one another, enabling healthy interaction between different user groups at all times. We also embraced the wadi, which runs along the middle of the site, as the central spine of the project. This would ensure that the water flowing through it would become the lifeblood of the city.
Our landscape designs provide a blueprint for the enhancement of the wadi water system and the introduction of indigenous plant communities. The asset clustering, meanwhile, will maximise engagement between users, visitors and the wider community with functional and flexible spaces Ultimately, the masterplan supports the development of a connected city that will enable walkability and, one day, an integrated sustainable transport system. It lays the foundations for a world-class destination.
