MB.
selected works 2 0 0 6 - 2 0 1 8
For Samiha Khashoggi 1956 - 2006
Mohammed Al Mukhtar Ballool Architect, Assoc. AIA
Mohammed Ballool is a Saudi architect and Designer, he was born November, 1982. In the year 2005 Ballool obtained his bachelor’s degree in Architecture from King Fahad University (KFUPM) with 2nd honor. In 2004 Ballool worked as an intern architect at “Zuhair Fayez Consultants”. From the year 2006 to 2009 he worked as an architect at Omrania & Associates, one of the leading and prominent architectural firms in the middle east situated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He had the opportunity to work on iconic projects in the kingdom like Capital Market Authority tower in King Abdullah Financial District, Kingdom City Tower and Masterplan in Jeddah, King Abdalaziz center for world culture and won first place award on Riyadh Municipality building competition. From the year 2009 to 2013, Ballool worked as a Design Manager at Alinma Bank, he was responsible for designing all bank facilities including ATM’s, standalone branches and multi-story regional buildings, prepare design program, Time line, bidding documents, follow up with municipality to get all required approvals and evaluate contractors’ Pre-qualification documents. After that he worked in real estate for 2 years as a Design developer and Project Manager for many projects. At the same period of time he designed, supervised and built his own villa. In 2012, he established his own practice «addmore», specialized in architectural renderings, physical models, graphic design and advertisement. Later, in 2016, 13 years of designing, supervision and hard work paid off and MB Architects was born. This book brings you a selection of projects, photography and sketches.
Riyadh, 2018
The Hidden Garden. MB Architects
Strip Mall 6000 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Telal Hittin development , Prince Turkey Alawwal street - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Hidden Garden. MB Architects 2030, a dream coming true in Saudi Arabia, an increased demand for events, exhibitions, plaza’s, and public spaces. Here comes The Hidden Garden, a mixed use building containing shops, restaurants, coffee shops, gym, plaza and offices spaces. The project is all about “elegance” in terms of looks and materials. A huge factor in the design is how to make the outdoor spaces more comfortable and suitable for the public to use through out the summer season, since it is too hot in this region; a terrace has been introduced to the design with two layers of protection from the harsh sun during the afternoon. The first layer will be the perforated metal mesh with a brass finish, simple yet it resembles the main theme for the project. The second layer will be the trees located behind the mesh, both work together creating what is called a “hidden garden” to cool the space and make it accessible to public during summer times.
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The Hidden Garden
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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street shot showing the relationship between the drop off area plaza and the building.
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view of the plaza showing the hierarchy in the green cover throughout the project
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The Hidden Garden
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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The Hidden Garden
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Visual showing the hierarchy of using different materials with the green cover.
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Cross section through the main building and the car showroom.
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Visual showing the Terrace of the main building
The Hidden Garden
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
L . M Residence. MB Architects
Residential Villa 800 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Hittin , Prince Turkey Alawwal street Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
L . M Residence. MB Architects Located in one of the prestigious neighborhoods in Riyadh, this villa was a challenge. the client payed a lot for the 800m2 land and he wanted to benefit from each square meter. Started from having under ground parking for four cars with natural lighting, daily entrance and swimming pool on the basement level. The requirement was to have the services on the basement floor (kitchen, storages, driver rooms, parking, etc..) with no interference with the residents. The client himself required a large living for him in the basement while giving his wife all the space she needed in the ground floor. The ground floor main living with a double volume height, over looking the courtyard and the swimming pool. Another living was introduced with a clean kitchen, divided by steps and not solid walls to maintain the openness required by the architect for the quality of space.
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L . M Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
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L . M Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
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The facade of the villa is the main aspect of design for this project, creating the perforated stone wall while having a continuous balcony running through the bedrooms for protection against thermal heat and maintain the privacy needed at the same time without sacrificing the aesthetics of the villa.
L . M Residence
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Formal living room view
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
Another aspect of the design was the materials used for the villa. Earthy colors stone with touches of brass bars in deferent places just to get 1
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that sparkle as the sun rises and sets on the horizon.
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Brass Bar
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Interior lighting through perforations
L . M Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
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Swimming pool in the Basement area
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Exploded showing the different levels of the building
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L . M Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
K S Residence. MB Architects
Residence 2000 m2 Doha, Qatar
K S Residence. MB Architects This project was almost have done when we were asked to redesign the plans and elevations while maintaining the existing column layouts and structure. The main theme was to treat the building as one big stone, and carve the openings through it. The result was vertical stepped stone work on the windows edges with brass coated glass frames. As the requirement was a symmetrical design, creating the main living as double volume space helped in breaking the non-interesting factor that some symmetrical designs come with.
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Site Doha, Qatar
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Doha, Qatar, 2017
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K S Residence
Doha, Qatar, 2017
The main theme was to treat the building as one big stone, and carve the openings through it. The result was vertical stepped 1
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stone work on the windows edges with brass coated glass frames.
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K S Residence
Doha, Qatar, 2017
M . B Residence. MB Architects
Residential Villa 640 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Al Rihab , King Khaled Road Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
M . B Residence. MB Architects The architect private villa and home, located in Rihab area. North west of Riyadh, just a bit a way from the capital traffic and noise. A quite neighborhood, The architect designed the villa as a three story plus a basement to cover the requirements for him and his family and to save enough space to make an outdoor lap pool, sitting area and a play ground. Designed to have a thick solid wall from the west (as temperature reaches 50 Celsius at summer), and full glass ground floor over viewing the garden and pool facing east side.
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M . B Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2012
Bedrooms in the first floor are shifted from one another to create hierarchy in the elevation and balconies for the interior of the villa. The wooden treatment in the elevation highlights this articulation on the facade and a black stone finish for the cantilevered slab that protects the bedroom’s large windows from the harsh noon sun through out the year.
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M . B Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2012
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view from the garden
M . B Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2012
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M . B Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2012
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M . B Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2012
N . S Duplex. MB Architects
Residential Duplex Villa 640 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Al Rihab , King Khaled Road Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
N . S Duplex. MB Architects This project is for a client, who wanted to build two villas in a 640 m2 land. The result was having for each villa a 10x32 land, with the setbacks included; the maximum width for each villa was 8 meters. Here came the challenge to design the spaces to have the feeling of a much bigger space than it’s actually is. An open space living in the ground floor and a basement with natural lighting access is huge factor in this design.
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N . S Duplex
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2018
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N . S Duplex
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2018
For the elevations, we wanted to get rid of the huge ugly partitions between the neighbors, which is very common in Saudi Arabia to achieve the privacy. Here comes the modern Mashrabia design we introduced so that light can be accessed to the side master bedroom and in the same time, no overlooking toward neighbors to respect the privacy needs. A similar design approach was repeated on the front elevation to make the two villas look like one, to avoid having the looks of repeated villas.
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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2018
K Residence. MB Architects
Residential Villa 600 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
K Residence. MB Architects The client wanted a small villa in his fathers palace’s garden. The design is simple, we made the villa in a linear form to take advantage of the green garden and not to take too much space from it as well. The client is in his 20’s and we made sure the design is fresh, easy going and simple too. As the client requested a multipurpose room and an office; we didn’t want to extend the foot print of the villa, so we made a basement floor with a setback to pull down the landscape as it flows together with natural lighting into the basement spaces.
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K Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
MB Architects. MB Architects
Office Interior 100 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
MB Architects. The design approach for our office is to give it the looks and feel of “Home� because this is what it means to us (the design team). we had to knock down some walls and the small windows to have a one big window for maximum natural lighting. Open ceiling, no walls, rustic furniture, brick walls, brass and wood, all works together to make this office as warm, comfortable, and efficient for a healthy and creative environment for our talented team, you should visit us, we serve the best coffee in town.
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Site Al-Waha, Othman Bin Affan Road - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. N
MB Architects.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Knocking down a wall to maximize natural light
MB Architects.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Rustic furniture, brick walls, brass and wood, all works together to make this office as warm, comfortable,
MB Architects.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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MB Architects.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
RIYADH MUNICIPALITY Omrania
Offices and mixed use 50,000 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site King Fahad Road, Riyadh, KSA
RIYADH MUNICIPALITY Omrania The Municipality complex is a response to its urban context, harsh desert environment, and its functional program. Contextually, the complex serves as a new heart for the city; placed as a connecting thread for a proposed highly landscaped promenade. The building form engages in an energetic dialogue with its surroundings. The complex is approached through its outdoor plaza, which is open to the east to celebrate the lively pedestrian activity on the street. The gradual ramping and massing of the building is also designed to mediate its scale and interact with its immediate environment.
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Riyadh Municipality
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2009
Sustainable strategies are considered at various levels. The overall protective form that engulfs the plaza with its shaded and misted pathways creates a pleasant micro climate on the site. Building facades are differentiated through varying skin and envelope treatments that respond to solar orientation. This building morphology is further reinforced by a processional green roof and by occupying the rest of the roof with photovoltaic panels.
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Riyadh Municipality
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2009
The building is ordered as a set of efficient office blocks modules organized as buildings unto themselves; yet connected physically, spatially, and visually by a series of hierarchically-arranged circulation and social spaces (interior atriums and circulation spines). The set of office blocks generates opportunities for departmental differentiation and grouping, allowing varying levels of public interaction through a layered system of vertical zoning within each departmental group.
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Riyadh Municipality
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2009
KING ABDULAZIZ CENTER FOR WORLD CULTURE Omrania / Henning Larsen Architects
Residential Villa 600 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Gharb Adh Dhahran, Dhahran, KSA
KING ABDULAZIZ CENTER FOR WORLD CULTURE Omrania / Henning Larsen Architects Inspired by the dynamic undulating sand dunes of the Arabian landscape and its geology, the iconic building aims to shine in the world’s skyline as a landmark for Culture, yet being site specific and rooted in the Saudi Arabian Culture and history. Creating an icon of quality and sustainability, the project also wishes to create spaces, which becomes sensational and intriguing joining the cultural variety of activities in a rich environment, which in turn stimulates dialogue and interaction for all users no matter age, background or purpose. Openness, interaction and energy are some of the key elements of the identity of this fascinating destination.
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King Abdulaziz center for world culture
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2007
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It is iconic and intriguing yet user friendly and inviting. It is a destination of choice in its own right regardless of its contents. The Center is a dynamic interactive learning hub that culminates in an energetic, yet sensitive architecture, a landmark for the modern Cultural Centres, an identity for a new culture to come, a building that evokes the same sublime feeling as a beautiful piece of art.
King Abdulaziz center for world culture
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2007
From a distance the building stands out as a beacon of light and movement that attracts the surrounding areas and emits culture to the people displaying its changing functions and events day and night.
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King Abdulaziz center for world culture
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2007
At a closer range the building glimpses with a rich variety of functions and spaces, it is a magnet; people are drawn to visit the building and its lush and playful landscapes regardless of its content.
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King Abdulaziz center for world culture
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2007
Kingdom City Omrania / HOK
Urban Design 7,200,000 m2 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Abhur North, Jeddah, KSA
Kingdom City Omrania / HOK Kingdom City will be the largest real estate development to be built in Jeddah housing the tallest tower in the world. Prominently located on a prime 710 hectare site, it will establish the new northern District Sub-centre for the City of Jeddah. The centrally located iconic Tower will generate interest and act as a catalyst for adjacent development. The project will be comprised of commercial, residential, institutional, entertainment, retail and hotel facilities, in addition to a vibrant “Main Street� shopping district at the heart of this new mixed use community. The site has a fully integrated system of linked open spaces and parks that are connected through landscaped walkways and bicycle paths to the public waterfront that runs through the site. The waterfront along the inland waterway is the primary public open space in the development, winding its way through the principal neighborhoods as it transitions from the Red Sea to Obhur Creek.
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Kingdom City
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2009
The site is organized into a series of different neighborhoods that feature specific centralized focal points. High density commercial office development is concentrated along the Central Boulevard and surrounds the east side of the Tower in the Business District. This is framed by low-density commercial office acting as a buffer to the north and the south of the Central Boulevard. High and medium density residences and hotels are concentrated in the waterway corridor along the western side of the site. Mixed-use development is located at the core of the urban community in the southwest part of the site and on the short main street area in the northern villa neighborhood. Villa and townhouse neighborhoods are located along the northern and south eastern edges of the site.
Special land uses – the Retail
Complex, the primary infrastructure yard, the Community Facilities Campus and the College Campus sit as buffers along the eastern side of the south boundary of the site. Special landmark buildings – the Tower and Mosque, sit in prominent, visible, central locations.
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Kingdom City
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2009
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The central waterway serves as a recreational resource for the entire community. It will provide a continuously accessible landscaped right-of way along the water’s edge, making the waterway and shoreline a major open space and park within the community. Because of its design and orientation, the waterfront will also provide beautiful views for the entire extent of its length.
Kingdom City
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2009
Riyadh Building Regulations Omrania
Urban Design Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Riyadh, KSA
Riyadh Building Regulations Omrania This project establishes a flexible planning tool that clearly defines the regulations for building heights along the major roads in Riyadh city. Heights and densities of buildings along arterial roads and commercial corridors (activity spines) are reviewed and evaluated along roads that are greater than 40 meters wide. The ensuing urban development will conform with the guidelines defined by MEDSTAR on land use distribution, densities, Floor Area Ratios (FAR), functional aspects related to traffic and transport, and infrastructure aspects. The Scope of Work can be summarized into three distinct parts: •
Study of the heights and densities along arterial roads and commercial corridors, including Ring Roads;
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Heights ONLY reviewed along roads 40 m wide and greater, maintaining the overall floor area ratio as proposed by MEDSTAR;
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An analysis and general concept for a building height envelope for Al Riyadh as a whole.
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Š Mohammed Ballool
Riyadh Building Regulations
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2007
HRH Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Residence Omrania
Concept Design Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Site Riyadh, KSA
HRH Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Residence Omrania Conceptual proposal sketches for HRH prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Palace. The approach varies between formal and hidden (private) layout for the main palace. The palace will replace the old King Khaled palace in Riyadh.
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Option 1
F . K Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
Option 2
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Option 3
F . K Residence
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2016
PENDULUM MB architects \ Riwaq interiors
Product Design Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PENDULUM Luxurious swings MB architects \ Riwaq interiors A designing concept that entails motion, whereby the body is suspended from a fixed point as it moves by the action of an acquired movement. The designers came up with a concept, known to be a child’s play but can be reconfigured to make it as part of a home or office interiors, making them more joyful with a well-designed luxurious product. Design Team : Mohammed Ballool, Nouf Almoneef, Haifa Aledrisi and Tamara Hamad
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Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Marble on Leather. Beirut, 2 0 1 7. Marble block and Leather belt.
A swing that is composed of two contrasting elements that are seen in our daily life. The color and the texture of the two materials gave a domestic feel. L 65 X W 25 X H 250 cm
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Brass Bangles Riyadh, 2 0 1 7. Curved gold coated steel rods.
Creating a piece of jewelry that stands out in a space with round steel rods that are connected in one point and forming golden bangles. L 100 X W 30 X H 250 cm
Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Floating Terrazzo. Riyadh, 2 0 1 7. Terrazzo and gold coated steel.
Bringing reminiscence of your grandmother’s old house or your school’s floor pavement, we are honoring this piece of memory with two gold coated steel hanged frames to give it the luxurious look. L 60 X W 30 X H 250 cm
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Transparent Sadu Riyadh, 2 0 1 7. Acrylic and brass sheet.
Celebrating Saudi Arabian patterns in a contemporary way, the Sadu pattern was created abstractly with brass sheet and covered with two acrylics. L 60 X W 30 X H 250 cm
Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Creating a piece of jewelry that stands out in a space with round steel rods that are connected in one point and forming golden bangles.
Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
Bringing reminiscence of your grandmother’s old house or your school’s floor pavement, we are honoring this piece of memory with two gold coated steel hanged frames to give it the luxurious look.
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Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
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Celebrating Saudi Arabian patterns in a contemporary way, the Sadu pattern was created abstractly with brass sheet and covered with two acrylics.
Pendulum
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2017
Photography MB Architects
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Photography
Italy, 2010
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Photography
Haql, Saudi Arabia, 2018
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Photography
Haql, Saudi Arabia, 2018
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Photography
Haql, Saudi Arabia, 2018
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Photography
Tanhat, Saudi Arabia, 2016
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Photography
KAFD, Riyadh, 2016
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Photography
KAFD, Riyadh, 2016
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Photography
GOSI Office Park, Riyadh, 2016
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Sketches
Deriyah Museum, Riyadh, 2016
Mohammed Ballool Selected works 2006 - 2018