Atturaif Living Museum, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

ATTURAIF L I V I N G M U SE UM

AY E R S S A I N T G R O S S

Owner:

Arriyadh Development Authority; Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture:

Ayers Saint Gross Architects + Planners; Washington, DC

Exhibit Design: Multimedia Design: Museology: Mudbrick Conservation:

Lighting: Signage/Graphics: Engineering: Exterior Enclosure: Quantity Surveyors:

Studio Adeline Rispal; Paris, France InnoVision; Paris, France AP’Culture; Paris, France CRAterre-ENSAG; Grenoble, France CIAH; Cairo, Egypt Gilmore Lighting Design; Bethesda, MD Cloud Gehshan Associates; Philadelphia, PA Buro Happold; Riyadh, KSA Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates; Fairfax, VA Faithful + Gould; Abu Dhabi, UAE

Contact: William Skelsey, Principal, Ayers Saint Gross +1 202.628.1033 wskelsey@asg-architects.com

Atturaif Living Museum

Salwa Palace at Atturaif

The Washington, DC office of Ayers Saint Gross is working in Saudi Arabia to transform a little known settlement northwest of Riyadh into a world-class cultural tourism destination. Atturaif is the most historically significant and intact district of Addiriyah, (Old Diriyah), the capital of the first Saudi state.

This once thriving city of impressive palaces, mosques and defensive walls– built of stone and mud brick – lies largely in ruins. In 2010, UNESCO designated Atturaif as a World Heritage Site on the basis of its “outstanding universal value” and preservation plans developed by the Arriyadh Development Authority for the historic area.

Working with this government agency and an international team of consultants, Ayers Saint Gross is assisting in the transformation of the 58 acres site into a living history museum. A reception center for visitors, shaded walkways and exhibition galleries are designed as contemporary structures inserted within the existing ruins. Large areas of former courtyard homes are being restored and repurposed as a souk (market) for demonstration and sale of traditional crafts and culture.

SIZE 58 acres COMPLETION 2014 PROGRAM Visitor Center Museum Traditional Market & Farm Pedestrian Walkways Conservation

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Preserving a World Heritage Site

The Saudi government has gradually been restoring and rebuilding key structures in the historic settlement of Addiriyah, northwest of Riyadh, over the past few decades and now is undertaking an ambitious plan to turn its most significant historic precinct, Atturaif, into a major cultural tourist destination.

Detail of Najdi architecture

SITE LEGEND 1

Visitor Reception Center

2

Atturaif Bridge

3

Wadi Farm

4

Salwa Palace

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Addiriyah Museum

6

Mohammed bin Saud Mosque

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Treasury Museum

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Moudhi’s Sabala / Mosque

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Atturaif Souk Orientation

10 Souk 11 Traditional Food Court 12 Abdullah bin Saud Palace 13 Turki bin Saud Palace 14 Bujieri Development 15 Wadi Park

Preservation projects are fairly new to the Saudis, who have spent recent decades updating their cities with modern infrastructure and developments, including large-scale building projects designed by Westerners. One of the few historic sites in Saudi Arabia opened to tourists is Madain Saleh, an ancient city built by the Nabateans, the same civilization that once inhabited Petra in modern-day Jordan.

Atturaif is a more ambitious heritage project combining restoration, reconstruction and building new facilities in anticipation of drawing large numbers of tourists. To better understand the requirements of operating, preserving and interpreting such a heritage site, representatives of the Arriyadh Development Authority traveled to Virginia to tour the world’s largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg. They came away with a favorable impression of its various interpretative programs, from reconstructed homes to guides dressed in period costumes, and plan to emulate some of these techniques a within the Atturaif Living Museum.

Historical Context During the 15th century, the al Saud tribes settled in Addiriyah (or Diriyah)

SYRIA

situated along the Wadi Hanifah valley northwest of present-day Riyadh.

Their rulers gained power and influence until they governed the entire Najd,

IRAQ JORDAN

IRAN

Pe r

sia

nG

In 1744, Muhammad Ibn Saud, of the ruler of the Najd, formed an alliance

ul

Red Sea

EGYPT

Medina

Addiriyah Riyadh

f

QATAR

U.A.E. Mecca

SAUDI ARABIA

ERITREA YEMEN ETHIOPIA

with religious leader Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab to reform Islamic practices and unite the fractious Najdi tribes. After gaining tribal support, the al Saud leaders extended their rule to most of the Arabian peninsula, including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Their success laid the

OMAN

SUDAN

or central Arabian peninsula.

Arabian Sea

foundations of the first Saudi state and present-day kingdom.

Addiriyah flourished from 1745 until 1818, when it was sacked by the Ottomans who sought to regain control of the holy cities. Most of the al Saud fled Addiriyah, eventually regaining power, after many years of struggle, in the new capital of Riyadh.

SITE CONTEXT

Historic image of Atturaif

Architecture in the Ruins As a basic design principle of the project, the new buildings of Atturaif are clearly distinguished from historic structures. To integrate this contemporary architecture into the ruins as sensitively as possible, the Ayers Saint Gross project team extensively surveyed the existing structures on the site.

Laser scanning technology was used to record various architectural and archeological features in exacting detail. These measurements were subsequently transferred into digital, three-dimensional models to create highly accurate representations of the site, allowing the architects to work around the existing ruins with precision.

View of walkway

3-D laser survey of courtyard houses

Addiriyah Museum ramp Š Studio Adeline Rispal

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e

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a Atturaif entry

SITE LEGEND a Shuttle Drop-off b Entry Ramp c Entry Bridge d Visitor Reception Center e Salwa Palace f

Addiriyah Museum

g Mohammed bin Saud Mosque h Mosque Archeology Area

Visitor Reception Center

i

Wadi Farm

j

Farm House

k

Historic Well

l

Wadi Hanifah (Roadway)

Atturaif Entry and Visitor Reception

View of entry bridge

Setting the stage for the visitor experience at Atturaif is a landscaped gateway precinct extending along the dry riverbed of the Wadi Hanifah.

It includes a traditional Saudi farm showcasing agrarian life in this desert oasis. A grove of date palms, other indigenous crops and a working, animal-powered well capture the setting of farm life within the original settlement.

Palm grove Wadi Farm

The gateway area is entered from a contemporary arched footbridge leading to a terraced reception center where guests buy tickets and are introduced to the sights of Atturaif. From this building, shaded walkways extend through the ruins to the Addiriyah Museum, Grand Mosque, neighboring attractions and up into the city core. A dramatic sound and light show is designed to highlight the most important structures on the site for the crowds of tourists expected to arrive at night when desert temperatures are the coolest.

Salwa Palace Walkway From the reception center, visitors walk through the original gate of the Salwa Palace where a stone path built between the existing walls leads to the palace “maglis” or entrance hall. In some places, the stone foundations are partially reconstructed to protect the ruins and express the original architecture of the palace. Inside the entrance hall are interpretative displays and a choice of routes to the Salwa Palace, Addiriyah Museum and other destinations within Atturaif.

at the intersections between these offshoots and the main pathway are shaded by tensile fabric canopies supported by steel posts to provide rest stops and interpretative stations.

To walk through the palace and reach the museum, visitors continue their tour on an elevated walkway guiding them through the dramatic ruins of the enormous structure.

Overlooks extending from the walkway provide places to view the palace chambers with colored brick markers indicating important features along the route. The platforms

The walkway’s steel framework, concrete planks and cable railings are clearly contemporary to differentiate the new design from its historic surroundings. The structure is raised on columns to minimize its impact on the archaeology and allow cabling for power and data as well as lighting and projectors to be mounted below the platform and hidden from view.

Lighting and an evaporative cooling system are integrated into the walkway to create a comfortable environment for viewing the ruins during daytime and evening hours. At night, sensors within the lighting system allow the light to follow the visitors’ movements as if they were carrying lanterns to lead them through the darkness.

PRIMARY PATH ENTER WALKWAY

SECONDARY PATH EGRESS PATH WALKWAY OCCUPANT

EXIT WALKWAY ENTER MUSEUM

WALKWAY EGRESS

WALKWAY EGRESS

Interpretive bricks from platform

Plan of walkway and museum

Walkway overlook shaded by fabric canopy

Addiriyah Museum Atturaif ’s most impressive structure is the four-story Salwa Palace, home to the first three Saudi rulers. After stabilization and repair, this dramatic mud-brick ruin will become the backdrop to a museum focused on the history of the first Saudi State.

Visitors tour the palace ruins on an elevated walkway extending through the museum where exhibits and multimedia displays interpret the history and archeology of the site. Exhibit designer Studio Adeline Rispal of Paris,

France, is minimizing intrusive signage by establishing a system of colored bricks along the museum route. These markers cue viewers to consult their guide book or electronic device to learn more about each landmark.

From the walkway, visitors enter a contemporary building of steel and glass where galleries are arranged as a continuous, unfolding sequence within the old palace structure. Through artifacts, maps and touch screens, the exhibits trace the rise of Saudi rule, from Addiriyah to the current monarchy.

Š Studio Adeline Rispal

Gallery of the present Saudi state

Addiriyah Museum exhibits Š Studio Adeline Rispal

Aerial view of Addiriyah Museum

CONSERVATION TRUSS SHADING CANOPY

GALLERY ROOF

GLAZED ENCLOSURE

STEEL STRUCTURE

GALLERY

SALWA PALACE RUIN

Exploded View of the Museum

Addiriyah Museum gallery Š Studio Adeline Rispal

Atturaif Souk The urban core of Atturaif comprises small, mud-brick dwellings that are being rehabilitated and reused as an Arabian market or souk. In addition to shops, the marketplace features artisans demonstrating traditional craft-making, preparing native foods and reciting poetry.

New pathways and plazas link each activity through a dense network of restored courtyard homes. World-class methods for conserving and restoring these structures are being employed by Ayers Saint Gross in consultation with Craterre, an international expert in mudbrick architecture based in Grenoble, France.

Souk courtyard for crafts

Traditional food court

Souk courtyard

Multi-media Experience Throughout Atturaif, multi-media installations expand the understanding of the historic settlement and its distinctive landmarks. They help visitors engage with the entire site, especially at night, as they wander through the ruins. Illuminated imagery moving across the mud-brick architecture and voices reciting poetry and telling stories provide a more poetic interpretation of the settlement’s history than the focused displays inside the museum and other structures.

Š InnoVision

Multimedia location diagram

Created by French designer Alain Dupuy, the light and sound effects enliven the archeology with stories related to the political, religious, military and hospitality themes of the site. Calligraphy morphing into palm trees and warriors, camel caravans and other imagery relate the history of Atturaif through changing graphics while sounds of animals and people recall various activities within the former Saudi capital.

A flexible and adaptable system, the efficient LED projectors and other multi-media equipment can be updated with imagery for special events. They are integrated into the site so as not to disturb the integrity of the archaeology.

© InnoVision

Calligraphic animation studies and wall projections

©InnoVision

1100 First Street, NE Suite 800 Washington, DC 20002 www.asg-architects.com wskelsey@asg-architects.com