20/Kirby Zalameda

DESIGN DIRECTOR, MIXED-USE+RETAIL/RESIDENTIAL

∕ DLR GROUP MIDDLE EAST ∕

His expertise lies in several project categories with a substantial lineup of residential, mixed-use, hospitality, workplace, education, highrise, headquarters, staff accommodation and other various project types. Although his focus is on building design, there is a large contribution to the conceptualisation and development of master plans and urban designs that enable the conjunction of the buildings and their environment through place-making and lifestyle development. Involved and have equally led large-scale and complex design projects around the Middle East, South East Asia and some in North America.

Kirby Zalameda has over 26 years of professional experience, including the last three years as Design Director for Architecture with DLR Group Middle East and the previous fifteen years as a senior project designer for KEO International Consultants in the Gulf region. For the past 25 years, he has been a registered architect in >>>

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\ Aseer Front

Khamis Mushait, KSA

The project is located in Khamis Mushait a Saudi City of touristic and commercial significance. Aseer Front explores opportunities for a 4.7 KM walkaway strip as a point of rest, hiking and entertainment activating the avenue with a range of new facilities and integrating a future mall ‘Salman Avenue’ to this community park. The cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia is unique as it has remained mostly unaltered. The urban function of the Aseer Front has changed from the urban channel to the living avenue with landscape and public activities.\ the Philippines and a trustee and past president of the United Architects of the Philippines Abu Dhabi Chapter.

His extensive project experience includes high and low-rise residential buildings, corporate headquarters, office, mixed-use, institutional, hospitality, commercial, retail, educational, and transportation structures. He is involved in urban design and master planning projects in addition to building projects.

Zalameda explains his role: "Currently the Design Director of the design team, I am in charge of the start-up of projects involving pre-concept, concept, and

\ Hijaz Mall Redevelopment, Mecca, KSA

A nature inspired retail street development. The urban street experience is enriched by its reference to the natural. The journey inside the development is likened to the sinuous organic movement and physical formations of the wadi. with its winding turns walled in by monumental vertical formations.\ detailed design level master plans, as well as urban design and building design. For the past year, the majority of my involvement in building design typologies has been in education, residential, hospitality, retail, and mixed-use buildings. Having joined the office in early 2020 during ongoing design projects, the task of design managing some of the projects also became a role in which providing experienced design feedback to the teams was critical.

He is currently part of the office leadership team as well.

On of Alameda's projects include ABHA Mixed-Use Development in KSA. Abha Mixed-Use Development is a one-of-a-kind retail and hospitality destination poised to provide a remarkable retail, lifestyle F&B, and hospitality experience for the capital city of Abha in Saudi Arabia's Aseer region. Red Sea Markets Co., a real estate development company, is creating a vision for a destination in Abha, Saudi Arabia's south west, with an area of 75,564m2. The land is in the Al Areen master plan, East of Abha, and faces King Fahad Road from the South.

This new cultural centre will feature a oneof-a-kind collection of celebrated courtyards, plazas, and terraces that connect to a yearround multi-use events space. It is envisioned as a modern lifestyle neighbourhood for exquisite urban shopping and entertainment, celebrating a new mixed-use district within a family-friendly development filled with dining, events, and memorable attractions.

Another amazing project he is working on is the Hijaz Mall in KSA. The goal of Al Hijaz was to create a new retail and hospitality destination for the community and the pilgrims connecting cultures from all around the world in a single experience. The street level is enriched by its reference to nature while the journey inside the development is likened to the organic movement and physical formations of the wadi with winding turns walled in by monumental vertical formations. At the same time the different programs within the development are bridged together seamlessly in a design that does not only focus on connectivity but also on urban interaction.

In KSA, Zalameda is working on another eye-catching project called Aseer Front. The project is located in Khamis Mushait a Saudi City of touristic and commercial significance. The cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia is unique as it has remained mostly unaltered. The urban function of the Aseer Front has changed from the urban channel to the living avenue with landscape and public activities.