Where Global Meets Local: The Contemporary Architecture of Saudi Arabia

Where Global Meets Local

The King Abdullah Financial District and the Contemporary Architecture of Saudi Arabia Stephanie Hamilton Senior Thesis Spring 2013 Professor Guile

Abstract The Arabian Gulf Region, and Saudi Arabia in particular, has proven an interesting and exciting venue for building in the past few decades. Reacting to the 1970’s oil boom subsequent economic and social outcomes, there have been many different approaches towards addressing the changing needs of Saudi cities during the past four decades. Today in particular presents a series of concerns that have shaped a new stage in the history of Saudi’s built environment. The Kingdom is currently facing huge population growth and rapid urbanization, causing housing shortages and rising unemployment rates. They are also bracing for a significant changes in the international oil market and looking to reduce their oil dependency by strengthening other business sectors and improving energy efficiency and other sustainability measures. The King Abdullah Financial District presents an interesting window into the current context of Saudi development. As a financial center its primary concern is strengthening Saudi Arabia’s international presence in business and service sectors while attracting foreign commerce. It also acts as a cultural and recreational center for the people of Riyadh, celebrating local heritage.

These goals are manifested in the physical design of the project, which blends a style of international steel-­‐and-­‐glass iconism with key elements of traditional Saudi building and urban planning. At first the District looks like any other contemporary development, but with closer scrutiny, it is clear that the project blends global and local nuances with poise, presenting a new model in Saudi building practices.

Acknowledgements I am particularly grateful for the guidance of Professor Guile and Professor McVaugh throughout this process, and for always pushing me to dig deeper. I would also like to thank Professor Spevack in the Religion department for sharing his insight and experience in Muslim cultures.

I also wish to thank Patti Intrieri of Cambridge Seven Associates and Troels E. Højlund Rasmussen of Henning Larsen Architects for accommodating my questions and providing me with additional information and documentation.

Next, I would like to thank Ann Ackerson of Inter Library Loan for being so accommodating of my numerous and somewhat obscure literature requests.

Without them, my research would not be possible.

Lastly, I would like to offer my special thanks to my friends and family, as well as the Colgate women’s crew team, for their constant support and encouragement throughout this project.

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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: BUILDING IN THE ARABIAN GULF

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SAUDI ARABIA’S ENCOUNTER WITH WESTERN MODERNITY

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A NEW SURGE OF GROWTH

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THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC AGENDAS OF THE KING ABDULLAH FINANCIAL DISTRICT

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ANALYSIS OF HENNING LARSEN’S MASTER PLAN

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TRADITIONAL SAUDI CULTURE AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

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THE ROLE OF ARCHITECTURE IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD

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GOALS REALIZED: BUILDING FOR THE MASTER PLAN

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CONCLUSION: A NEW ARCHITECTURE FOR THE ARABIAN PENINSULA

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ILLUSTRATIONS

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Introduction: Building in the Arabian Gulf

When we think of building in the Gulf States, what do we imagine? For me, I think of projects like the Burj al Arab1 (Figure 1), a 320m sail-­‐shaped hotel built on a man-­‐ made island just off the shore of Dubai’s Jumeriah Beach. Known for its lavish amenities, the hotel contains a cantilevered restaurant and helipad, both over 200 meters from the ground, and 8,000 square meters of 22-­‐carat gold decorating the interiors. It is first and foremost an exhibition of great wealth and exclusivity for the rich and famous. This style of development, known as ‘Dubaification,’2 rose from the oil boom of the 1970s, which endowed these Gulf States with huge wealth reserves that could be used towards pleasure and extravagance. It has become a model across the world, encompassing competition for the tallest towers, most glamorous, iconic designs, and most advanced technology. The trend continues to this day, as seen in lavish developments such as The Palms (Figure 2), a man made peninsula, and the Burj Khalifa (Figure 3), the world’s tallest tower, both in Dubai. However, while projects like these have grown to symbolize the Gulf, they cannot be the overall norm. Outside the realm of the wealthy sheikhs and oil beneficiaries, aside from these global icons of splendor, what is being built in these countries for the masses? I must admit that I began my research in the hope of proving that these

1 The Burj Al Arab was designed by the British firm WS Atkins and completed in 1999.

2 Dubaification, or Gulfification, refers to the luxurious, icon-­‐driven development style that rose in Dubai and then other Gulf cities as a result of petroleum wealth.

(Mashary A. Al-­‐Naim, "Riyadh: A City of 'Institutional' Architecture," in The Evolving Arab City: Tradition, Modernity, and Urban Development, ed. Yasser Elsheshtawy (New York, NY: Routlege, 2008), 4.; Ali A. Alraouf, "The Emergence of a New Urban Brand "Dubaization"," Journal of Cultural Exchange (Kultur Austausch), no. 111 (2006).)

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limitless projects of Dubaification were irresponsible endeavors lacking congruency with the true needs of the local people and the global economy. I soon realized, however, that this issue is far from a simple question of responsible building practices and responds to a complex matrix of factors. As taught by the Aga Khan, the imam of Ismali Muslims who has become a prominent figure in the field of architecture, buildings should be measured by their functionality and accountability to the needs of the community and environment. I discovered that these aims are not always simply to provide functional spaces and aesthetic intrigue; buildings can also offer publicity, pride, and social stimulus to their surroundings. Because of this we must evaluate all sides of and motives behind a project. In this way, Dubaification should be understood as a means to commemorate the Gulf States and celebrate their prosperity, as well as a model of competitive indulgence. Since this trend of Dubaification first took hold many Gulf States, and Saudi Arabia in particular, have encountered drastic changes to their population and economy.

These shifts have caused the Gulf States to reevaluate Dubai’s example, particularly since the real estate crash of 2008 when Dubai and other Gulf states went into significant debt. Instead, a new methodology is emerging that looks both outwards to the globalized world and inwards to embrace local needs and heritage, presenting a new phase in Saudi development.

I argue that this style represents a bridging and blurring of global and local distinctions in design. To examine this further I will evaluate a project currently under construction just outside of Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh, the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) (Figure 4). The project primarily responds to

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economic and social growth but also addresses a heightened awareness of both environmental and cultural preservation that has emerged in response to the heavily westernized building models of the oil boom. My analysis relies on a consideration of the current standards and requirements of architecture as an institution, the intricacies of local traditional building practices and their legacy in the area, and the micro and macro needs of the local people and the city itself. My work reacts to traditionalists including Hassan Fathy and the Aga Khan, who reject Dubai-­‐style development in favor of more site-­‐specific building with a heightened awareness of the immediate needs of the locals. Noting a neglect of architectural and cultural heritage over the past few decades, professional and governmental authorities such as these have helped to initiate a reawakening of localism in the building sector.

While there is limited published scholarship on the KAFD, my work synthesizes the various news articles and critiques with the firms’ own publications of their work. One of the most pertinent texts on the project is Nicolai Ouroussoff’s3 New York Times article “Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity.” Ouroussoff provides a brief but comprehensive overview of the economic and social issues addressed in the project and its relation to the rest of Riyadh, noting the need for a careful balance between local customs and western modernity. Our conclusions towards the design, however, differ at a crucial moment.

Ouroussoff describes the project as catering to the west in ways that alienate or ignore social constructs like privacy and gender separation. He claims that many of

3 Nicolai Ouroussoff was the New York Times architecture critic from 2004 until 2011.

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the public spaces are “closer in spirit to Las Vegas than Riyadh,”4 aligning the development with the Dubai model. While I understand this point of view, I have found that the project actually represents a new progression of localism. While the project has distinct goals to accommodate western values and culture in order to attract foreign business, the motives behind these goals are in fact aligned with the needs of the local people. While addressing the need for international economic growth this project incorporates and even celebrates important aspects of local culture. The project certainly represents a compromise between canonized tradition and progressive modernism, and in doing so offers a highly applicable approach to contemporary design.

First I will briefly explore Saudi Arabia’s relationship with Western industrialized modernism beginning with the discovery of oil and the ways in which it affected Saudis’ perception of western modernity and consumerism. Next I will explore the Kingdom’s current social, economic, and political concerns, followed by the core goals and initiatives behind the project and how they are manifested in the project’s master plan, created by Henning Larsen Architects. Then, with a basic understanding of the KAFD I will explore traditional building models of the Najd region in central Arabia, and their roots in the local culture and social structure. To contextualize my study I will also examine the role of architecture in today’s global context and its implications on current Saudi building models. Within this framework, I will analyze a few chosen building projects designed for the KAFD by various firms and their adherences to the goals of the master plan.

4 Nicolai Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity," The New York Times, December 13 2010.

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In its adherence to both local tradition and generic global iconism, and its provisions for the local economy in its world-­‐class facilities, this project combines a complex matrix of seemingly contradictory concerns to create a new standard for progressive architecture. It synthesizes Saudi Arabia’s at times tumultuous history with the west and the Kingdom’s current needs to produce an island development in which global and local become one.

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Saudi Arabia’s Encounter with Western Modernity

The state of Saudi Arabia’s urban development and the results of the rapid

change seen in the last few decades cannot be understood without a brief understanding of Saudi’s history and relationship with the ‘Western world,’ as it had a defining impact on the people’s perception of the term ‘modernity.’ This relationship begins, for our purposes, with the discovery of large quantities of oil in the country in 1938 and the subsequent involvement of the American oil company Aramco. This initial spark of the oil industry and the oil boom of the 1970’s, when the kingdom’s annual oil production more than doubled, redefined the country’s economy and to a large extent their very existence. According to Mashary A. Al-­‐ Naim, professor of Architectural criticism at Dammam University,5 says the “origin of contemporary architecture in Saudi Arabia” stems from the first facilities built by Aramco (Arabian-­‐American Oil Company) in Dhahran that used rectangular buildings and a organized grid structure6 for both their administrative and residential developments (Figure 5).7 While there were mixed reactions to these

5 Dammam University, which used to be part of the King Faisal University, is located in Dammam, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia, northeast of Riyadh. Its primary focuses are technology, medicine, engineering, and architecture. ("University of Dammam: New generations... Great inspirations," University of Dammam, http://www.ud.edu.sa/DU/en/index.htm.)

6 In response to the informal, traditional mud-­‐brick housing developments that arose as worker’s quarters near the new oil fields, in 1947 the Saudi government asked Aramco to commission American planners and engineers to design the Kingdom’s first planned cities, Dammam and Al Khobar, following the regular grid pattern used in the American worker’s quarters. Later, the Al Malaz master plan introduced the suburban villa to Riyadh in the late 1950’s, adding to the confrontation between traditional and westernized social models that continues today. (Al-­‐Naim, "Riyadh: A City of 'Institutional' Architecture," 124-­‐25.)

7 Ibid., 118.

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new developments among the people, ranging from staunch resistance to intrigue and wary acceptance, the government largely embraced the western model, allowing Aramco to oversee building development in areas outside the oil territories.

With the growth of the oil industry, Saudi Arabia’s main cities saw huge population increases, especially in the capital city of Riyadh. As the effects of Aramco infiltrated the city, and as new infrastructural and service requirements were met, the distinction between old and new became widely apparent.8 To address this “haphazard spread of urbanization”9 that rose in the 1960s, the Saudis often looked to the west for quick and easy solutions that seemed to function successfully in their own societies. The government elected Doxiadis Associates of Athens through an international competition to impose a grid layout on their strained city (Figure 6, 7). As seen in this project and other public developments10 westerners were not only making the formal design choices, they were also determining the city’s needs and the perceived purpose behind building projects. In this way western physical and conceptual manifestations were imported into Saudi’s new built environment. Another consequence of the urgency of this rapid transformation of the built environment was that new developments were not able to emulate naturally out of existing socio-­‐political parameters since social values did not change as quickly to match the changing economy and infrastructure. Instead, the criteria of development were dictated by the government to account for these

8 Mashary Al Naim, "Saudi Arabia's Modernity," Al Manakh 2: Gulf cont'd 23(2010): 421-­‐23.

9 Al-­‐Naim, "Riyadh: A City of 'Institutional' Architecture." p. 127 10 For example, Qasr al-­‐Hakm (Figure 8, Figure 9)

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urgent economic and infrastructural changes. While architecture can viably be used as a means to encourage or enforce a social change or movement,11 this top-­‐down method of development had two consequences. First was a fusion of the ideas of ‘modern’ and ‘western,’ and second a feeling of alienation between the environment and its occupants. When the streets of Riyadh were widened and straightened in accordance with the Doxiadis master plan, the traditional urban fabric that had been sustained for centuries before and had grown in alignment with local social and cultural constructs was disrupted.12 Many people felt their identities were being threatened and lost a sense of belonging to their environment. The mayor of Riyadh at the time is said to have called it a city of “Streets and Buildings,”13 demonstrating that while the physical environment changed around them, the people had not yet adapted to the changes to the built environment imported from the west in their social behaviors, and largely avoided the new wide streets and public areas. While the misconception that ‘modernization’ and ‘westernization’ are inherently and exclusively synonymous largely fueled this type of development, it is vital to note that the people were not always opposed to these physical changes and often embraced the new technologies and amenities that accompanied this new building

11 A similar and very relevant precedent for this was in the transformations of Paris

by Baron Haussmann between 1853-­‐69, when he demolished medieval style quarters of the city, with winding, convoluted streets and dense buildings, many of which had become slum areas, to build wide, straight, orthogonal avenues or boulevards. In a response to popular uprisings and revolts in the city, the new regularized, axial system made military travel and governmental surveillance and control easier. This pattern sparked a new approach to urban life in Paris, and subsequently became a model to many other European, American, and colonial cities around the world. (Stefano Bianca, Urban Form in the Arab World: Past and Present (New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Inc., 2000). 164-­‐66.)

12 Al-­‐Naim, "Riyadh: A City of 'Institutional' Architecture."

13 Ibid. p. 130

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style, and even the building style itself. On the other hand, however, there was widespread resistance to adopting any foreign social values or structures. Here is where a defining discrepancy lies, where the physical does not completely and seamlessly align with its surrounding sociocultural and natural environment.

In the following decades, the mid 1970s-­‐90s, a heightened awareness and spectrum of responses to the issue of misalignment between social concerns and the built environment arose. While the Saudis valued the recent developments as a sign of progress and prosperity, many noticed the alienating affects of the imported city.

A movement among planners, designers, and activist demanded a end to and even reversal of what they saw as abandonment of their cultural heritage. One noteworthy program, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture began in 1977 as an effort to highlight and promote contemporary building projects in Muslim dominated areas that naturally and rationally address and improve social and environmental concerns, including historic preservation, ecological maintenance, and healthy, affordable housing, to name a few. The award is unique because it takes a multidisciplinary approach to architectural critique, focusing on the feedback of the projects users and employing judges from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds.14 In practice, this initiative towards reviving and embracing traditional building heritage was executed in varying levels of authenticity. The government

14 Philip Jodidio, Under the Eaves of Architecture, The Aga Khan: Builder and Patron (New York, NY: Prestel Publishing, 2007). 16-­‐33.

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commenced an ongoing restoration of the central Qasr Alhokom district15 (Figure 8, 9), which is still considered a successful move towards the integration of existing and new. Other noteworthy projects that I will discuss further later include the King Abdul Aziz International Airport (Figure 10), and Tuwaiq Palace (Figure 11). This trend towards, “new traditionalism,”16 which was directly supported by the government and its development offices, employed traditional models and principles to varying degrees. A distinct complaint from the movement however, was that many architects and planners, who were either western or had been educated in western schools, did not fully understand traditional Saudi building practices and the meaning and impetus behind them. This produced a somewhat superficial, half-­‐hearted ‘cultural consciousness,’ a façade or veneer of authenticity.

This is certainly not true of all the projects of the era, but the feeling of identity loss, or misuse, continued through the end of the century and is still prevalent today. In a 1997 article entitled “Issue: Our Contemporary Buildings Have No Identity” from a Riyadh newspaper Al-­Yaum, the author writes “the architectural crisis of our contemporary buildings increases day after day… a confusion of images in the only description of our contemporary buildings.”17 This sentiment is still being felt today, but in the new and equally complex context of today’s globalized world. This

15 The Qasr Alhokm district, or Justice Palace district, along with the Diplomatic Quarter and Foreign Ministry Staff Housing, were integral development projects in the 1970’s in Riyadh that “changed the image of the city and drew attention to the identity of Riyadh and to the question of architectural identity.” (Al-­‐Naim, "Riyadh: A City of 'Institutional' Architecture," 133.) They marked a shift in the city’s approach to development and empowered local architects and planners as opposed to western firms in decision-­‐making, eventually leading to the creation of the Arriyadh Development Authority in 1983.

16 Ibid. p. 134 17 Ibid. p. 132

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sentiment is still being felt today, but in the new and equally complex context of today’s globalized world.

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A New Surge of Growth

Today, Saudi Arabia is frantically preparing for a wave of population growth.

With its current growth rate at 4.2% annually Riyadh, the capital and largest city in the Kingdom is projected to become a mega city by the year 2020 when its population rises from the current 6.2 million18 to 10 million people. There are many consequences tied to this growth, many of which are already being felt by the public.

First are the infrastructural and housing shortages. The Metropolitan Development Strategy for the Ar’Riyadh Region, MEDSTAR 2004-­‐2030 plan outlined by Buro Happold for the Ar’Riyadh Development Authority found that the Kingdom will need at least 1.15 million new housing units by 2025, while other sources speculate a need for 4 million within 10-­‐15 years.19 While city density will undoubtedly need to increase, its borders are also expected to spread immensely from a current area of about 2,700 km2 to about 5,000 km2 20 within the next decade or two, almost doubling in size (Figure 12). A strategic plan to 2020, produced by the Ar’Riyadh Development Authority, declares that “if the population grows to more than 10 million in the next fifteen years there will be a problem in maintaining the living standards of the city.”21

18 Al Manakh 2: Gulf Cont'd, vol. 23, Al Manakh (The Netherlands: Stitchting Archis,

Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, 2010). 34.

19 Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity."

20 "City of Riyadh: Actions Toward Sustainibility: Metropolitan Development

Strategy for the Ar'Riyadh Region," in World Urban Forum 5: The Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide (UN Habitat, 2004).

21 Al-­‐Naim, "Riyadh: A City of 'Institutional' Architecture." p. 144

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These reports also show that this rate of population growth will strain the country’s economy. More than half of the population is under twenty years of age22 and with the unemployment rate currently recorded 10.7%23 the situation will only worsen as these youth come of age. The population growth, which “has soared from 6 million in 1970 to 28 million today,”24 has far exceeded the economy’s job capacity. The government hopes to create “more than a million new jobs… within 10-­‐15 years.”25 For this and other reasons, the country is immersed in an ongoing campaign to reduce its oil dependency.

On one hand, the government sees reducing its reliance on oil as an avenue to create more jobs in the service, sciences, technological engineering, and finance sectors, noting that the largest oilrig only offers 2,000 jobs.26 Besides the need for increased employment opportunities, diversifying the Kingdom’s domestic and global market is vital for its stability in the future. Part of this stems from a foreseen shift in the global oil market, where growing Asian countries will become the largest importers of Middle Eastern oil over the United States, leading to rises in oil production from “unconventional oil reserves in North America and in Iraq.”27 Secondly, Saudi Arabia’s domestic oil consumption could dramatically limit their

22 "City of Riyadh: Actions Toward Sustainibility: Metropolitan Development

Strategy for the Ar'Riyadh Region."

23 This figure represents men only, but some estimates of the total unemployment

rate for both men and women suggest it to be as high as 25% ("The World Factbook," (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013).)

24 Kevin Sullivan, "Saudi Arabia's riches conceal a growing problem of poverty," Washington Post, December 3 2012.

25 Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity."

26 Sullivan, "Saudi Arabia's riches conceal a growing problem of poverty."

27 Naser Al-­‐Tamimi, "Saudi Arabia's oil policy: the challenges ahead," in Al Arabiya News (Al Arabiya News Channel, 2012).

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available exports, again reducing their prominence in the global market. The kingdom currently uses a quarter of its total fuel production domestically and uses “oil to generate half of its total electricity, and the rate is growing at around 8% annually.28 Additionally, it uses “more oil per capita than industrialized nations.”29 The situation is becoming almost dire; “a recent report published by Citigroup Inc warned that Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, risks becoming an oil importer in the next 20 years.”30 The government has sited improving energy efficiency as an urgent national priority, looking into renewable energy sources, clean energy technologies, and improved legislation, especially towards fuel subsidies. To procure economic stability in sectors other than oil, the Kingdom is looking to strengthen its presence in small and medium industries, science and technology, and finance. This will definitely require a lifestyle shift for many Saudis, but many economists and experts agree that, “the Kingdom should educate its people about the next stage… the reliance on oil policy cannot be guaranteed forever, and in practice could not be sustained”31 and that “if they don’t produce an economy that’s not dependant on oil, the country itself becomes unviable... It’s an end of the world scenario.”32 The government is approaching this issue in a few different fields, including promoting higher education and new infrastructural developments to support their economic visions. All of these endeavors, however, require new facilities to support the changes. Stimulating education requires new

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

32 Martin Cowley, "Prince Speaks of Saudi Arabia's Quest for Sustainability," University News (2010), http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2010/5355.html.

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universities with increased student capacity, promoting new businesses requires factory or office spaces, and implementing more efficient and advanced energy usage requires shifts in transportation, material production, and infrastructural technology.

Towards this end, one of the Saudis’ large-­‐scale initiatives is building specialized ‘island’ economic cities. The Saudi government has four planned economic cites33, all to be completed by 204034 (Figure 13). These isolates cell-­‐like systems concentrate on efficient, advanced development in a certain economic area.

They represent a survival mechanism that the government has carefully chosen for a few reasons to promote their much-­‐needed economic growth. In a hope of broadening their influence in non-­‐oil related industries, the Saudis hope to increase their global influence in other sectors in state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art facilities that speak to the international market. While this vision has many different formal, social, environmental and theoretical manifestations, let us first examine the planned specialized city and its theoretical and practical goals.

Many countries around the world have used specialized developments to promote change in their societies, largely for economic and demographic purposes.

There are a few benefits to this increasingly prevalent type of development. First, as

33The Kingdom is in the process of building the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh for light and processing industry, the Prince Adbul Aziz bin Mousaed Economic City in Hail for transportation, agricultural, mineral, and construction materials, the Knowledge Economic City in Madinah for education, tourism, and services, and the Jazan Economic City in Jaza for heavy and secondary industries, agriculture, and energy. (Swiss Business Hun GCC and Green Destinations LLC, "Economic Cities Saudi Arabia: Opportunity Assessment for Cleantech Companies," (Switzerland: OSEC Business Network Switzerland, 2010).)

34 Ibid.

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a densely populated, functionally interrelated network of offices, transportation between buildings becomes more efficient and fosters communication and collaboration between different companies and business sectors. Conversely, the development as a whole is distinctly separated from the rest of the city, which also has some important and intentional advantages. It allows the design to develop without the constraints of an existing city—both physical and social, towards the specific agenda of the site. This model has been used recently by Russia,35 Egypt and China36 towards similar aims and historically, for example, in, “Brasília in the 1950s or the colossal Soviet urban experiments of the 1930s.”37 While these planned cities are well into the design process, their completion and implementation into functioning entities of the Kingdom will be a lengthy process. A smaller but no less important project that demonstrates a similar phenomenon and that has recently been receiving international attention is the King Abdullah Financial District, a cohesive, mixed-­‐use urban development directly outside of the current boarders of Riyadh. (Figures 14, 15, 16, 17) The new district is set up as an island city, or a city within a city, and acts as a testing site for the

35 Russia is currently building Moscow City, a remote island of skyscrapers outside of Moscow’s city center. In both goals and physical appearance it shares many similarities with the KAFD. (Lukas I. Alpert, "Moscow Business Complex Sees Rebirth," The Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2013.)

36 Peter G. Rowe and Seng Kuan, Architectural Encounters with Essence and Form in Modern China (Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2002). 103.

37 Nicolai Ouroussoff, in his New York Times article “Laying out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity,” compares this type of development to Brasilia in the 1950s and Soviet urbanism of the 1930’s, but notes a that the current Saudi project differs from these precedents since it is “driven by anxiety over the future, not utopian idealism.” Both models, however, demonstrate a desire to promote social and economic change through the built environment, and more specifically a specialized, malleable, and efficient setting largely isolated from outside constraints.

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government to experiment in broadening their global economic influence. Through building a state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art financial facility the government hopes to not only educate and assist their own citizens but also to attract foreign investors and improve the Kingdom’s standing in the global market in non-­‐oil service sectors. The project is officially described as “a place where companies meet to do business, where students come to learn and where the best technology will serve the brightest minds.” Its mission statement is: “By bringing together our traditional values and our clear vision of the future we are creating a new and vibrant heart for our Kingdom’s economy.”38 The project is an interesting study for a few important reasons, and merits a closer examination. In many ways it represents a continuation of the dialogue in Saudi development that has been present ever since the birth of the oil industry, that of the integration of modern and ‘western’ technologies, ideologies, and values into the sociocultural and physical environment of the Kingdom. Within the context of the present day, however, the project addresses another layer of complexity of this dichotomy—globalization. On one hand, the project is undoubtedly concerned with the recent cries against the disappearance of heritage, Dubaification, and certain aspects of unwanted western influence on both social and physical levels. Yet at another level it strives to fulfill the economic needs of the growing population by engaging the global economy, and in doing so loosening its local ties in order to relate to other globalized cites. In balancing these two seemingly incompatible concerns, the project produces an innovative solution

38 "The King Abdullah Financial District," Teamspirit PR, www.kingabdullahfinancialdistrict.com.

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that incorporates traditional concerns into a state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art facility, representing a new phase in Saudi building and planning practices.

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The Social and Economic Agendas of the King Abdullah Financial District

The King Abdullah Financial District presents a noteworthy example of an

attempt to converse between traditional principles of spatial planning and new agendas and motives that have arisen with the growing influence of globalization. I argue that the project presents a complex balance, a middle ground between the two poles of global and local. Furthermore, within this intermingling of global and local principles, the boundaries between the two become blurred.

The project was commissioned by the Saudi Arabian Public Pension Agency, a division of the Ministry of Finance, to provide a new facility for business, economics, and technology sectors just north of the current city limits of Riyadh.

Henning Larsen Architects, a Danish firm with fairly significant experience working in the area,39 began the preliminary master plan in 2007. Slowly nearing its completion in the next few years, the district will cover 1.5 square kilometers on the northern edge of Riyadh, just outside of existing city limits (Figures 16, 17). As discussed before, this ‘island-­‐city’ model, which consists an entire, self-­‐sufficient city or district, including buildings, transportation, residences, and services, has become a common solution to population growth through reorienting urban sprawl and urban congestion. Instead of building into the existing city fabric, the relatively remote location gives designers and policy makers essentially limitless ground free from design constraints. While its isolation is a defining characteristic of the project,

39 Henning Larsen Architects designed other noteworthy projects including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, 1982-­‐84, and the Danish Embassy in Riyadh, 1981-­‐84.

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it will eventually be engulfed by the natural expansion of Riyadh with the projected population influx.

The driving force behind this project is the government’s desire to loosen Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil production, foreseeing eventual changes in the world’s oil consumption. Towards this end the Financial District aims to attract foreign investors and commerce in banking, insurance and investment, and financing. In doing so the expansive project hopes to assert Saudi Arabia’s prominence on the world stage and maintaining its status as one of the world’s 25 largest economies and controller of 20% of the world’s total oil reserves.40 Along with the global prestige, the project will hopefully contribute to the severe job shortage that is already evident among the population.

The new district is viewed as a necessary step for the government. With the imminent population increase in Riyadh, the regime realizes that its society is not sustainable in its current form. In an article in the New York Times, Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University is quoted saying, “in the long run if they don’t produce an economy that’s not dependent on oil, the country itself becomes unviable. I don’t know how they would be able to sustain life there.

It’s an end-­‐of-­‐the-­‐world scenario.”41 While it may seem surprising that oil-­‐rich countries like Saudi Arabia is facing a financially uncertain future, the reality is beginning to emerge that the extravagant, unchecked development of the 1970s-­‐90s oil boom is no longer viable. The ominous condition of exponential population

40 Mohammad al-­‐Asad, Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East

(Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 2012).

41 Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity."

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growth and a need for a new economy to support it within the current global context is giving rise to new design concerns that are molding the Saudis’ approach to development in the building sector.

The project is designed as an island of vertical density (Figure 18), a web of high rises and circulation arteries. Its center is dominated by formal limestone square created by the stock exchange and other banking towers. (Figure 19) This central complex is then surrounded by more than forty other corporate towers and high rises, oriented at irregular angles to each other. (Figure 20, Figure 21) Much of the complex is connected on the ground by a two-­‐story retail and recreational area.

There are also raised ‘Skywalk’ bridges between buildings and a monorail system encircling the complex. The architect’s renderings show glass canopied atrium spaces, which include one of the projects keystone elements, the pedestrian walkway inspired by the traditional desert wadi, or dry riverbed with shallow reflecting pools and palm vegetation on either side (Figure 22, Figure 23).

Most of the existing plans and renderings are not final as they are part of a guiding master plan. While the spatial ideas and defining features of Henning Larson’s vision will likely appear in the final product, many of the buildings are representational massing elements, intended to be replaced by more developed buildings by other internationally renowned architects. Along with corporate buildings, the complex will contain residences, commercial retail centers, religious facilities, recreational facilities including sports fields, and educational attractions

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including a children’s museum, science center, and the country’s first aquarium (Figure 82).42 In the preliminary renderings the buildings shown reflect widely accepted forms of international prestige: soaring glass and steel towers with simple iconic geometry. The complex’s design is largely informed by western financial district models including Wall Street, La Defense in Paris, and Canary Warf in London, creating “a kind of generic financial theme park”43 (Figure 24, Figure 25). At a certain level, this is true, but this universal language is used purposefully towards the project’s goals of improving the Kingdom’s domestic economy on the world scale.

With a closer look, we see many elements that are inspired by and even celebrate local heritage. In this project, with its seemingly incongruent agendas, it is important to understand not only the formal design choices aimed towards immediate functionality and aesthetic quality, but also possible motives behind these choices with regards to the globalized market. The intricate balance between global and local concerns represented in this project exemplifies a dual role of architecture, both as a facilitator of daily endeavors as well as a symbolic commodity on the world stage, which has become characteristic of today’s ‘global architecture.’ To explore this duality between functionality and marketing in architecture further, it is important to understand the project’s targeted audience as well as the message it is designed to relay.

42 Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity."

43 Ibid.

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The Financial District has a complex audience group. Because it hopes to attract foreign commerce to the country, the King Abdullah Financial District needs to present its prestige and prosperity in an internationally understood language, 44 as its audience has to some extent shifted from the building’s immediate users to include the greater global community. The question becomes, then, what are the immediate affects of importing this streamlined, almost generic style on the local people, and what are its potential capabilities for the future. Architects and planners, in collaboration with the government, are attempting in many ways to shape social change and introduce advanced formal and structural innovation to the area. Aside from using a primarily western-­‐or at least internationally understood formal language, they are also very obviously trying to cater to a western culture and social structure. According to Ouroussoff, the government recognizes the need to “crack the door open to some sort of Western-­‐style modernity – or at least a softer version of the Islam practiced here.”45 This becomes a defining feature of the project, distinguishing it from many approaches to ‘westernization’ that call for an embrace of ideas and practices that will advance society scientifically and economically without compromising the teachings and practice of Islam. Of course both approaches are executed in varying degrees, but the Financial District is distinct in that its stated agenda promotes a softening or westernizing of some

44 Today’s ‘international language’ is largely based on the western model that arose

from the International Style that originated in the 1920s and 30s in Europe, developing ideas of the skeleton structure and curtain wall, free façade, and form over function. It produced an aesthetic of stark, streamlined simplification free from any superfluous decoration.

45 Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity."

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social and cultural traditions of the majority of the local people. To understand this further, let us take a closer look at the project’s master plan.

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Analysis of Henning Larsen’s Master Plan

While there are many other firms and design efforts involved in the project,

the master plan is the best reflection of the project incentives and goals. As stated in the previous chapter, the purpose of the financial district is both to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s role in the global market in service sectors, such as finance and technology and to improve its domestic capacity in these sectors. The complex is multidisciplinary, and basically functions as a self-­‐sufficient ‘city with-­‐in a city.’

The project is organized in a teardrop shape, with the highest vertical density, the financial buildings and connecting financial plaza, in the center. (Figure 19, Figure 21) There is a surrounding ring road that provides vehicular access at different points in the district. (Figure 26) Roadways within the city are below ground, as is parking. In fact, four floors of underground parking span almost the entire city. The idea here is that people either commuting from Riyadh or the surrounding areas will leave their car below ground upon their arrival to the city, and thereafter use only public transportation. The circulation within the District is based around the monorail system, which is raised above grade and connects the main attractions distributed across the complex (Figure 28). Immediately below the monorail level is the ‘Wadi,’ level, designed exclusively for pedestrian traffic (Figure 27). The Wadi, which means riverbed in Arabic, is reminiscent of the local Wadi Hanifa, which has a prized historical importance as the main source of water, and so of life, in the surrounding Nadj region.46 The Wadi in the KAFD becomes a guiding

46 The Wadi Hanifa watershed is “the most significant natural landmark in the region” whose development is “inextricably linked to the history of Riyadh.” Before

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principle behind the project, signifying its emphasis on green space, the pedestrian, and to an extent, the local context.47 Aside from basic plans and sections, one of the most insightful approaches to understanding the project is through the eyes of the designers in their imagined reality. Henning Larsen produced a number of simulated renderings48 and a promotional video49 which provide physical, architectural information as well as supplemental details that paint a vivid picture of the desired product. Here, the ways in which the designers represent and market their work is quite telling of their end vision. Henning Larsen’s design video begins with a helicopter flying over the iconic Kingdom Center (Figure 29) and Al Faisaliah Tower (Figure 30), both which have become symbols of ‘modern Riyadh,’ towards the new development. This opener implies, which signifies travel, foreign commerce, power and authority, presents the development as a continuation of the two iconic towers along King Fahad Road, a third iconic symbol of financial power and prosperity in Riyadh. As

the 1970’s oil boom, the city and the Wadi maintained a symbiotic relationship, offering food and water for regular maintenance. The wadi could not cope with the rapid growth that followed the oil boom, and was expended and largely neglected in the following decades. Recently, however, the government has embarked on a large-­‐ scale restoration and rehabilitation project, which received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010 for its dedication to environmental sustainability and local Islamic values and heritage. (Waed Samhouri, "2010 On Site Review Report, Wadi Hanifa Wetlands," (Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2010), 1-­‐4.)

47 While the project makes a deliberate attempt to celebrate local culture and heritage, as seen in the wadi, certain planning principles, and the content of attractions like the Geoscience Museum and Aquarium, it simultaneiously takes deliberate steps away from traditional local heritage, in, for example, building materials and western entertainment facilities such as theatre spaces in order to attract foreign commerce.

48 "Henning Larsen Architects: Projects," Henning Larsen Architects, http://www.henninglarsen.com/projects.aspx.

49 Henning Larsen Architects, "King Abdullah Financial District by Henning Larsen Architects," (youtube.com, 2012).

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we move closer, we see significant vehicle traffic along the ring road, but none in the very isolated development, which appears to stand alone in a vast empty landscape.

Here, the city appears overly futuristic, as if it came from a sci-­‐fi movie. It lacks any realistic cite specificity, and caters to the idea that the project was designed without place in mind and could therefore be inserted anywhere. With a closer look, however, this assertion weakens and we see site specificity in climate and environmental technology as well as social and formal principles.

Henning Larsen’s images place a heavy emphasis on nature, which is quite striking for such a dense, urbanized development. The opening of the video depicts the teardrop shaped District as a pointed leaf, which doesn’t show up in other renderings but likely symbolizes nature, sustainability, and growth. Much of the imagery of the project, however, depicts heavily vegetated green spaces surrounding the angular buildings, shaded by above screens and overhangs, as well as the monorail and skywalks. The Wadi runs through the space as a meandering stream, and is occasionally accompanied by fountains and additional reflecting pools. In the video, rustling palms and clothing suggest a light breeze, and the space seems to feel cool and protected. Surrounding buildings also incorporate green terraces and roof gardens, in both commercial and residential spaces. It is apparent in traditional Saudi Architecture, as we will soon discuss further, that both green spaces and water were valued not only for health and comfort benefits but also for their cooling properties. While these recessed and raised green spaces, for the most part on the exterior, may not provide the same air-­‐cooling function as a traditional courtyard, the primary urban green space in many types of Islamic and Arab

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architectures, they are perhaps reminiscent of this fundamental element.

Additionally they speak to the cultural value of human interaction with nature.

The site layout is certainly not orthogonal. The master plan, which only shows basic organization and massing, depicts an extremely irregular pattern of misshapen polygonal building forms. While these shapes do not necessarily represent the exact shape of the final building, and even so only represent the footprint, the plot is clearly densely occupied. There definitely more open spaces than shown in the broad master plan, since we know there are outdoor public plazas and sports fields, as well as raised outdoor terraces incorporated into the buildings.

Still, an economic and well-­‐planned use of space is clearly a priority, especially since the development is so definitively confined within the curved ring road. Obviously this deters the space from spreading, and instead channels growth into the vertical direction. Conversely, the city of Riyadh is expected to expand to accommodate the huge rates of population growth (Figure 12), and will likely engulf the development so that instead of a remote island, it will be integrated into a new city fabric. Still, its design offers a clearly defined space of fluid programmatic and formal coherence that will likely remain distinguished from any outside urban growth.

Within its boarders, we see a highly irregular walkway system between buildings. It is clear that this move away from the grid is speaking to traditional Saudi urban planning formally, where irregular juts and narrow paths are thought to conduce neighborly interaction and community cohesion (Figure 31). Obviously these paths are on a larger scale, since they have a higher user capacity and service much larger buildings, but I wonder if this formal element borrowed from the

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traditional functions in the same way in this project. The shapes are irregular and fairly intertwined, but because of their scale, they are fairly streamlined. It seems that in the scale of the project some of the alcoves and interlocking spaces that would conduce public interaction are lost. Both the height and scale of these buildings require more space between them than we would see in a traditional urban setting where buildings are generally less than five or six stories high, causing a slightly more anonymous experience in the public areas (Figure 32). Also because of the inflated scale, neighborhood blocks that would be most amenable to this interactive planning are lost when turned into high-­‐rise apartment buildings. Still, there are public spaces such as squares, parks, and building lobbies that might promote social interaction and solidarity. Though things are gained and lost in this particular implementation of the irregular, seemingly convoluted vernacular planning model, overall it is a step in the right direction. The main discrepancy, then, between this interpretation of the vernacular and its traditional intention is scale.

Compare this to, for example, Le Corbusier’s Radiant City (Figure 33), which divides urban space into huge city blocks, each with a self-­‐sufficient high-­‐rise what would contain all necessary services for a community. In channeling the built space into a single tower, his design frees vast expanses of green space, in order to reincorporate access to nature, a necessity for health and happiness, into urban life.

Looking at the model, however, it appears to be an extremely lonely space. Both the stark regularity of the grid and the dichotomy between soaring towers and vast park space alienate the human scale. Similarly, a study by John Lund Kriken and Philip Enquist of Skidmore, Owings and Merril entitled “Learning from Mistakes: Mixed

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Access Streets versus Transit Malls”50 looks at how loosing sight of the pedestrian scale caused the city of Chicago to rethink its vehicle-­‐free State Street shopping strip. When the city decided to clock the space to cars, creating an outdoor pedestrian mall accessible only to bus and subway, they simply widened the sidewalks. Instead of creating an interactive destination, however, the plan actually hindered local business; “the 50-­‐foot-­‐wide sidewalks, which dwarfed pedestrians and made the street seem empty at the busiest of times.”51 A second design team, in the 1990’s, noticing the root of the area’s decline, reintroduced the car, which provided more convenient access to businesses and narrowed the sidewalks (Figure 34). While the car is not necessary in this equation, the pedestrian scale is key to creating a lively, dynamic outdoor space (Figure 35).

The King Abdullah Financial District is certainly aware of the necessity of appealing to the pedestrian. Still, this is a crucial and complex design concern. How can a person on the ground relate to a thirty-­‐floor building,52 with the same coherence as a small neighborhood setting? Perhaps there is never an ideal solution to this issue, but soaring high-­‐rise buildings have become necessary in today’s world. The development actually shows a very interesting approach to this problem.

The discrepancy between the human pedestrian scale and that of the skyscrapers is, obviously, the height difference and the empty columns of space created between

50 John Lund Kriken, Philip Enquist, and Richard Rapaport, City Building: Nine Planning Principles for the Twenty-­First Century (New York: Princeton Architectural Press for Skidmore Owings and Merill, 2010). 76-­‐79.

51 Ibid., 77.

52 While this does not necessarily determine a height limit, Riyadh zoning laws allow buildings to be a maximum of 30 stories above ground. (al-­‐Asad, Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East: 218.)

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the towers, which are virtually inaccessible to humans. Henning Larsen’s design addresses this issue by introducing the pedestrian into these spaces in a network of over two miles53 of raised Skywalks, and thereby expanding the realm of the pedestrian to better meet the scale of the towers.

The Skywalks, or footbridges are meant to supplement the monorail system, which is also raised above street level. The Skywalks connect the six monorail stations to the surrounding buildings, and then those buildings to others where necessary. The Skywalks are designed as a faceted tube that can be adapted to any distance with a width ranging from four to six meters (Figure 36, 37). The walkways are also meant to add to the social coherence of the community. Henning Larsen states, “Here, business people will meet to interact and the cafes and shops of the towers will contribute to create a vibrant and attractive environment in the area. A visual connection from the Skywalks to the streets and plazas of the city will help pedestrians to find their way on the elevated bridges.”54 (Figure 38, 39) The walkways are relatively small spaces and provide channels for interaction and collaboration, both socially and for business, if the towers were isolated as exclusive entities. Also, it could be argued that the sidewalks have both functional and formal precedents in the vernacular, as bridges were used to expand residential spaces across sidewalks and exterior boundaries, often to accommodate a growing family55 (Figure 40).

53 Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity."

54 "Henning Larsen Architects: Projects".

55 Geoffrey King, The Traditional Architecture of Saudi Arabia (New York: I.B. Tauris

Publishers, 1998). 150.

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Additionally, the skywalks are a practical solution to the desert climate.

Oftentimes in the Gulf States, at peak temperatures people tend to avoid the outdoors, preferring to move between air-­‐conditioned buildings or using a car or taxi rather than walking. Putting aside the environmental debates of air-­‐conditioned glass structures in the desert, skywalks are actually quite beneficial on a larger scale. In a complex already devoid of cars, it eliminates the climatic deterrence of walking outside, further promoting ambulation. The monorail also acts towards this end.

The climate is a prominent concern in the master plan, and is addressed in a few different areas. Besides the Wadi, public fountains, and vegetation as cooling mechanisms, other methods of shading and climate-­‐control are apparent in the perspectival renderings. Sidewalks along the wadi and outdoor spaces like the Financial Plaza are shaded by slotted overhangs and roofs, providing both shade and ventilation in a similar way as the mushrabiya or the palm covered wooden beam roofs of mud-­‐brick houses. Many of the high-­‐rises, while only represented in generic massing, use the brise-­‐soleil, a screen similar to the mushrabiya, which projects off of the exterior façade either horizontally or vertically.56 The outdoor athletic field also has a sleek opaque retracting cover, presumably for shade rather than precipitation. It is given somewhat significant attention in the design video, demonstrating their dedication to climate control as well as their use of advanced technology.

56 Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, ed. Walter Shearer and

Abd-­‐el-­‐rahman Ahmed Sultan (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press for The United Nations University, 1986).

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In the renderings of residential spaces in Henning Larsen’s video, the floor-­‐ to-­‐ceiling windows of this high-­‐rise apartment building are also screened by mushrabiya-­like panels intricately perforated in a delicate, traditional-­‐looking pattern. While these screens loose their ventilation function when used behind glass, they still provide a soft shade that doesn’t completely disrupt the view. It is also unclear whether the pattern’s density is created based on desired light, where the higher panels allow more light to light the room while the lower panels have more intricate patterns with smaller openings to reduce glare at eye level. In this instance, the traditional forms are in a sense used just for superficial decoration, but still retain some of their traditional function. The degree to which these forms maintain their authenticity in their incorporation into the modern is up for debate and depends largely on which aspects of their traditional character are emphasized and valued. I would say that this is not an inaccurate use of the mushrabiya but it may be lacking in a full functional understanding, or perhaps some of its subtleties were deliberately left out in order to streamline it with the modern. Either way, its basic function is maintained, but again, leaves room for a more seamless integration of traditional and modern.

Again, while this rendering is somewhat vague and generic, there are some added details that should be examined. First we notice a clear distinction between western and non-­‐western dress (Figure 41). The majority of the figures are men wearing the traditional white robe, the thawb, and usually a white or red-­‐and-­‐white

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checked ghutrah57 (Figure 43). The women in the renderings, though decidedly few, wear the black thawb, or abaya, and some form of head covering58 (Figure 42). We also see men in western-­‐dress, but no western women. This could be speaking to a few different cultural practices and assumptions,59 but what is essential to note is that Henning Larsen made the effort to distinguish these generic models into eastern and western, demonstrating a primary goal to merge the two cultures into a collaborative and productive work environment, and in the process, promising to retain aspects of local culture and traditional customs.

These tributes to local heritage and society, both subtle and obvious, are offset by the government’s goal of global prestige; adherence to the global and the local, while not always contradictory, must be carefully balanced. Decidedly, the government hopes that “this will one day be the financial center of the entire Middle East,”60 representing the region on the world scale. The project thus established an interesting dynamic that both speaks to the local environment and strives to be culturally universal.

57 David E. Long, Culture and Customs of Saudi Arabia (Westport, Connecticut:

Greenwood Press, 2005). 58-­‐59.

58 Women can wear just the hijab, which covers their head and neck but not their

face, or can add the burqah, or facemask, or the tarha, a loose veil for the bottom of the face. (ibid.)

59 First, that Saudi women are less involved in business and have limited employment opportunities, and second, maybe that Western women are not only less numerous in the technology and finance sectors, but also less welcome to do business in Saudi Arabia.

60 Ouroussoff, "Laying Out Economic Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity."

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Traditional Saudi Culture and the Characteristics of Vernacular Architecture The term “tradition” can take on many different meanings and has been understood and addressed in different ways in the past few decades of Saudi history. The discontent towards tradition is partly due to varying levels of acceptance of foreign cultural institutions throughout the Kingdom’s interaction with western and other outside actors. In general cultures never remain fully isolated and stagnant, so where do we draw the line between what is ‘Islamic,’ ‘Saudi’ or native to the Riyadh area, and what is foreign? Is every part of western culture original, or did westerners borrow from Greek philosophers, Arab mathematicians, and other ‘outside influences’ to reach ‘renaissance,’ ‘enlightenment,’ or ‘modernity?’ We often describe our present situation as ‘the global age,’ because of our advanced digital communication technologies, rapid transportation methods, and commerce unrestrained by physical geography; yet have humans not always been influenced by their neighbors, either proximate or from across the world through trade routes and such? While this current categorization is certainly correct, it would be naïve to assume that societies were previously isolated from each other.

Early Islamic civilizations prized themselves for being tolerant and inclusive of other cultures, using diversity as a source of strength and even unity.61 Saudi Arabia’s culture, pre-­‐Aramco, was largely shaped by the teachings and

61 Sabina Foster, "Municipality in Unity," Architectural Record: Architecture + Islam

74, no. 6 (2004).

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implementation of Islam, which still plays a defining role in the majority of the civil and political sectors of the government.62 While the Kingdom was definitely shaped and cultivated by interactions with neighboring and distant peoples throughout the years, its interaction with foreign oil investors raised new concerns to a society that had remained largely unchanged for centuries, both in social customs and physical appearance. The discovery of oil in the 1930’s and the production boom of the 1970’s induced a cultural evolution that was outside of the realm of natural cultural transmission. While not necessarily negative, many of the changes were imposed on the citizens from the top-­‐down in order to maintain and adapt to the rapidly growing demands of the new oil economy. While it is obviously impossible to say what Saudi Arabia would have been without the introduction of industrial-­‐scale oil wells, and by extension what Saudi culture would have been without this interaction

62 Here it is important to understand the premise behind the Saudi regime, as it defines the relationship between religion and politics. Abdel Aziz Rahman Al Saud (Ibn Saud), a tribal leader in the Najd region was angered by his family’s expulsion from their native city of Riyadh. In a conquest to regain territory and wealth, he aligned himself with the followers of Muhammad b. ‘Abd al Wahhab, a powerful religious extremist and founder of the Wahhabi sect of Islam who declared jihad against all other Muslims. The two forces gained territory across the region and collected religious taxes from their subjects. With the help of the British, who wanted to both maintain their influence in the region after the fall of the Ottomans and ensure a relatively weak, malleable Arab state, Ibn Saud declared himself King of the present state of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Today, the Sauds and the Wahhabs are inextricably mixed through intermarriage, and represent a blend of political and religious power. There are varying degrees of adherence to the strict Wahhabi tradition throughout the family, which now has an estimated 7,000 members. While some family members are part of the cleric body, which interprets and enforces Shari’a law, others abide to religious standards when necessary but otherwise live quite impious lives. Still, this century-­‐old bond ensures the prevalence of both voices and has interesting implications towards Saudi’s interaction with western culture, especially towards any efforts to liberalize or secularize. (Hamid Algar, Wahhabism: A Critical Essay (Oneonta, NY: Islamic Publications International, 2002).; Saïd K. Aburish, The Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud (New York: St. Marten's Press, 1995).)

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with the west, it can be argued that this form of rapid cultural exchange had significant long-­‐term effects on the country’s development. Still, this does not mean that the dialogue that arose in the following decades between Saudi Arabia and the ‘outside world’ was completely unique, as all cultures share some aspects of human history, and progressively build upon each other.

Why then, does there seem to be such a clash of cultures in this instance in Saudi history? Let us first examine the current discourse calling for an embrace of the traditional, local, vernacular ways of Saudi Arabia. In the past two decades, and in some instances before, many different authorities, including designers and activists like Hassan Fathy and world leaders like the Aga Khan, the government, and scholars and educators, have suggested or demanded a re-­‐embrace of the pre-­‐ western heritage of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in an attempt to rectify the ‘haphazard’ developments of the oil boom. The Saudi government has declared preserving local heritage a priority and has launched restoration initiatives, evident in the regime’s public statements, media campaigns, and commissioned social and building projects. In a speech given at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Prince Faisal bin Turki Al Faisal recognized the complex dichotomy of meeting current needs without loosing the knowledge and culture gained through Saudi heritage. He stated, “Reform in the built environment sector is key to a sustainable future for cities and towns in Saudi Arabia. We believe that compact, dense cities with efficient public transport systems and energy efficient buildings are vital to a sustainable urban strategy. We also believe that technologies are not the solution but a tool, and that real solutions can be found in our traditional methods. However, the challenge,

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again, is how to integrate traditional methods of planning and building with new technologies.”63

It is clear that the Kingdom values state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art technologies and understands the importance of providing these amenities to their people, as well as the possibly negative affects of compromising or modifying their local heritage. On the other hand, the Prince realizes that tradition and modernity, or modern technology, are not mutually exclusive. He even goes on to say that tradition is a valuable learning tool—it helped humanity achieve modernity and should not simply be thrown away. Still, achieving a balance between the two is difficult, and is an issue that all societies face as they constantly adapt to changing times.

Prince Faisal’s sentiments are also reflected in government documents and publications, demonstrating that these are not just words, but are actually shaping the regime’s actions. A recent book, The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Indentity”64 cites concern for the loss of local heritage all over the Kingdom as a driving force behind the book’s creation. In the foreword, Dr. Abdul-­‐ Aziz Mohamed Bin Ayyaf, Mayor of Riyadh, acknowledges loss of local heritage as a byproduct of heavy urbanization. He says, “we express our concern over beautiful architectural heritage and related technical skills; but we see good omens in the serious efforts made recently, and feel optimistic about the increased public awareness of the significance of genuine urban heritage and the necessity for the preservation and development of old heritage buildings to keep pace with the new…. It is hoped that this work may serve as a

63 Cowley, "Prince Speaks of Saudi Arabia's Quest for Sustainability".

64 Beautifully and richly illustrated with photographs, hand drawings and

watercolors, the book celebrates the invaluable architectural diversity seen in the various regions of the Kingdom, with an underlying tone that more should be done to preserve this heritage.

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guideline for researchers and would be instrumental for raising public awareness for the maintenance of our unique native heritage.”65

The authors also site rapid urbanization, oil production, and heavy reliance on the automobile as causes for the endangerment of the local architectural heritage. They note that the art and physical design of any society reflect cultural values and social customs, and while they never remain stagnant throughout time they provide a vital knowledge background for any advancement in any sector, whether social, economic, or physical.

These initiatives are also apparent in the government sponsored education systems, specifically in the new King Saud University College of Architecture and Planning’s Department of Architecture and Building Sciences. The school’s visionary principles include “cultural continuity,” “environmental sustainability,” and “technological development,” and their objectives are “maintaining the values of Muslim culture, Saudi community traditions, and the ethics of the architectural profession…preserving the Islamic values, respecting the needs of Saudi community, and adopting profession’s ethics. Preserving the natural environment and the architectural heritage of the country.”66 As we will see in further discussion, education is a crucial component of implementing new design methodologies.

Whatever this new educational influence on commercial construction, however, its existence alone demonstrates a strong movement towards revisiting and

65 AIA Ellahi M. Ishteeaque, and Dr. Fahad A. Al Said, The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: "Architecture and Identity" (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Al-­‐Turath and the Riyadh Municipality, 2008).

66 "King Saud University College of Architecture and Planning," King Saud University-­‐ College of Architecture and Planning, http://colleges.ksu.edu.sa/ArchitectureandPlanning/Arch/Default.html.

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reincorporating design principles from pre-­‐Aramco Saudi Architecture.

With innovative implications towards education, politics, and the architectural profession, the Aga Khan and his Award for Architecture play an important role in Gulf-­‐based and worldwide building practices. The Award (AKAA) is a subset of The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a philanthropic group dedicated to promoting social, economic, and cultural change in the developing world. Owned and lead by the Aga Khan (Figure 44), the Imam or spiritual leader of the Shi’a Ismaili Muslims, it embraces the moral values and teachings of Islam and addresses people of all ethnicities, genders, and religions in thirty different countries. The Award was conceived as a way to combat poor and irresponsible design practices that the Aga Khan and others saw as threats to social growth and integrity in the Modern Muslim world.67 Largely in response to oil-­‐related development as well as wealth inequality in Muslim regions, the Award looks to promote cultural and site specificity in new projects. While design and form are important to the Aga Khan, his main motivation to create the Award was that these inept building projects were not contributing to human welfare in the ways in which he knew architecture was capable.

The Award has proven to be controversial and progressive, questioning several established norms in the field of Architecture (Figure 45). The structure and goals of the Award itself differ from any other Architectural award in the world, raising a dialogue that reexamines the field itself. For example, it questions the best way to critique architecture, and even seeks to redefine the very criteria that deems

67 General info on the creation of the Award and its motives: Jodidio, Under the Eaves of Architecture.

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architecture ‘successful.’ Its emphasis on function and program over form is ideologically different from other awards such as the Pritzker Prize, which primarily commemorate innovative aesthetics.68 Through the progressive vision of the Aga Khan and his wealth of resources, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture has advanced the field of Architecture in a multitude of areas.69 Its most important contributions to the Muslim and developing world are its ideas about the world’s approach to the built environment and the structure of physical institutions as a means of cultivating change and even more generally, how social change can be procured on the ground. The AKAA has set a standard of technologically advanced, responsible, and multidisciplinary architecture, which stretches architecture’s functional expectations and capabilities.

There have been a few projects in Saudi history that have been widely considered successful modern adaptations to the social and environmental conditions of the Kingdom. Two of the most renowned, the Hajj Terminal in the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah (Figure 10, Figure 46), designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill during 1978-­‐82, and Tuwaiq Palace in Riyadh (Figure 11),

68 An architectural journalist for the New York Times, in a review of the award, describes awards such as the Pritzker and the AIA’s Honor Awards as beauty contests, where their emphasis on aesthetics and physical form and disregard for long-­‐term functionality distinguish them drastically from the AKAA. (Paul Goldberger, "The Curious Business of Architecture Awards," The New York Times, 29 September 1983.)

69 One of the AKAA’s most noteworthy endeavors is the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) which has departments at Harvard and MIT and offers degrees and concentrations in various aspects of the architecture and culture of the Muslim world. As one of the largest recourses on Islamic architecture in America, the program plays a defining role in the west’s exposure to and perception of building in the Muslim world. It also has an underlying goal to spread awareness of the bias of the western education system, and while it doesn’t hope to eliminate this bias it attempts to create a bridge between eastern and western ideologies.

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designed by OHO joint venture: Atelier Frei Otto, Buro Happold, and Omrania Associates70 in 1985 received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in the 1983 and 1998 cycles, respectively. Both have become iconic in the Saudi built environment, and while they were designed under different circumstances and national concerns, they demonstrate the incorporation of traditional values and forms on the commercial scale. First, the Hajj terminal uses extremely advanced suspension technology in a tent-­‐pavilion complex that spans 40.5 hectares, the largest in the world as of 2007.71 The terminal was built to accommodate growing crowds of Muslims making the pilgrimage to Mecca, and can accommodate between 50,000 and 80,000 travelers in a matter of hours. The technology speaks to tribal tent architecture that has been a part of the architecture of all different regions of the country, most notably the Bedouins. The tent is ideal for the desert because of its light shading material and energy-­‐efficient natural cooling (Figure 48). The layout is a natural and rational solution to a large public space, but is also reminiscent of vaulted, pillared gathering spaces used in Mosques and other large meeting places in traditional Islamic architecture (Figure 49). The AKAA judges deemed the project, “A technologically correct solution to the problem posed by modern vernacular architecture. Though the architects may come from Chicago or New York, they have proposed a solution that is appropriate and indeed innovative…the Hajj Terminal clearly demonstrates that modern technology and, indeed, the intervention of Western architects can be put to fruitful use in the modernization of facilities specifically intended for use in the Muslim world.”72

70 The OHO joint venture was created in 1980 specifically for this one-­‐time project. ("ArcNet," (Cambridge, MA: Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013).) Omrania and Associates is a Riyadh-­‐based firm that is developing a few parcels in the King Abdullah Financial District, however none of their designs have been published with any detail.

71 Jodidio, Under the Eaves of Architecture: 54.

72 Ibid.

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This project is particularly significant because of its extreme scale. While it does use advanced technology and relies on a steel structure it also uses traditional technologies to serve their intended functions (Figure 47), in this case the tent as a shading mechanism that has a low heat conductivity, conduces ventilation, and requires little to no energy.

Similarly, the Tuwaiq Palace is a cultural and recreational center for the Diplomatic Quarter still used today as a symbol of the capital city of Riyadh (Figure 51). The project is defined by a spiraling form opening inwards to a lush, vegetated landscape, inspired by a desert oasis (Figure 50, Figure 52). It is prized for its elegant dichotomies: heavy and light materials seen in the thick stone walls and suspended canvas tents, the soft interior carved from the harsh desert exterior, and the combination of masonry, concrete, tensile fabric technology, and landscaping (Figure 11, 53, 54) The Aga Khan recognized it as a “clear and present reference to two local, traditional structure types – tents and fortresses.”73 Again, the technology and most of the materials, aside from the local limestone, was imported, but then reapplied in a site-­‐sensitive manner.

Considering that some level of loyalty or adherence to the local culture is an important issue for many different authorities in Saudi Arabia and the larger Muslim world, let us examine the specifics of this local tradition and why it is held so dearly.

Many of the social rules and customs in Saudi Arabia come from the teachings of Islam, as the vast majority of the population practice Sunni Salafi or Wahhabi Islam and are ruled by a religious monarchy. Islamic texts such as the Qur’an and Sunnah

73 Ibid., 72-­‐75.

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do not provide specific building regulations and codes but rather the building style emulated in response to the social needs and habits of the people.74 Islamic architecture is characterized more by its function than form, and is not tied to any specific time in history or location. Instead, it responds to a set of essential, adaptable principles, and, “Since every age has its own problems and challenges, the solutions and perceptions deduced from the fundamental principles and permanent values of life have to vary to some extent,”75 it is in a constant state of flux.

Hisham Mortada, a professor of architecture and urban planning at the University of Arizona and the King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia, gives a comprehensive outline of the cultural principles of the built environment associated with Islam albeit through a tone of discontentment about the abandonment of many traditional principles in today’s urban development.76 Many essential elements of the Islamic built environment spawn from ideas of modesty, frugality, and generosity. The Qur’an teaches that it is man’s responsibility to respect the earth and its natural resources. This means using what he or she needs, but not in excess.

In other words, consumption and preservation must be kept in a fine balance.

Natural resources are meant to sustain life present and future and must be used wisely. It is immoral for an individual or group of individuals to use more than their share of the ‘God-­‐given’ resources and thereby limit another group or future generation’s share. Essential natural resources, including water, food, clean air, and

74 Hisham Mortada, Traditional Islamic Principles of the Built Environment (New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003). xiv.

75 Spahic Omer, "Towards Understanding Islamic Architecture," Islamic Studies 47, no. 4 (2008).

76 Mortada, Traditional Islamic Principles of the Built Environment.

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shade, belong to the greater community, the ummah, and each member has a right only to the materials they need. Furthermore, it is forbidden to contaminate or harm natural resources that might be required by others in the future. Some even believe that excessive noise that bothers neighbors, hazardous wastes, exhaust gases, radioactive substances, and pesticides are forbidden by Islam. These beliefs alone have obvious repercussions in the build environment.

Towards frugality and efficiency, to reduce the use of materials and to prolong their lifespan, buildings are designed to accommodate shifting needs of their occupants. Instead of designed from the façade inwards, as in many western building models, buildings in the Muslim world are often designed from the inner courtyard space, out. In this way, instead of having a smooth, established outer shell, the building’s only confining feature is the inner void and it is free to expand, changing its outward façade.

With the above building strategies included, this category of vernacular desert architecture evolved as a way to harness and utilize the harsh desert conditions and limited resources to best accommodate human needs and comfort. There are actually very advanced and intricate technologies that have been developed for building in hot arid climates, and it is important to understand these standards and precedents when building in Saudi Arabia. Hassan Fathy,77 (Figure 55) an acclaimed

77 Hassan Fathy, 1900-­‐1989, was an Egyptian architect and scholar known for his work on housing for poor and rural communities and his consideration of climate control, public health, and traditional craft in his designs. ("ArcNet.") He was the head of the Architecture section of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Cairo. He has received many prestigious award for his work including the Union of International Architects Gold Medal, the Egyptian Government’s National Prize for

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Egyptian architect who specializes in studying and implementing vernacular architectural precedents, gives a detailed case study of the functional and scientific basis for vernacular desert architecture of the Arab regions. In an attempt to ‘bridge the gulf that separates folk architecture from architect’s architecture”78 he argues that traditional architecture needs to be understood for its knowledge of navigating the challenges of desert life that accumulated and evolved through years of trial and experimentation.79 This knowledge should not be simply pushed aside or thrown away, but rather adapted to the changing needs of the community.

To take advantage of the wisdom achieved through years of architectural traditions of the reasons behind the choices of generations of natives is vital to understand the reasons behind design choices, in order to advance architecture to better meet society’s changing needs. Building materials carry an elementary significance and can offer different structural, aesthetic, and functional contributions. In the desert especially, the walls and roof must evaluated in terms of their insulating capabilities. Specific heat,80 thickness, and surface area are the main contributing factors behind building materials in desert architecture. Insulating the interior from the hot exterior can be achieved by using a material that has a low specific heat and heat conductivity. This means that it cannot absorb much energy from the outside air, or at least absorbs it slowly and therefore delays heat transfer

Arts and Letters, and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s Chairman’s Award.

(Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture.)

78 Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: xx.

79 Ibid.

80 a value assigned to each substance measured by the quantity of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one unit mass by one degree of temperature (ibid.)

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to the space inside. This is a natural insulation mechanism that is elementary but critically important to climate control of interior spaces. Mud brick, certain stones, wood, and vegetative materials all have relatively low capacities for heat conductivity, while materials such as glass metal, and concrete have high capacities for heat transmittance (Figure 56). Because outer materials directly affect the heat flow and temperature relationship between indoors and outdoors, selecting a material will determine the energy required from other sources to maintain a comfortable interior environment. In fact, Fathy claims that “a 3x3-­‐m glass wall in a building exposed to solar radiation on a warm, clear tropical day will let in approximately 2000 kilocalories per hour. To maintain the microclimate of a building thus exposed within the human comfort zone, two tons of refrigeration capacity are required.”81

With the current rates of population growth and development scale, some form of synthetic refrigeration is required, but imagine, as Fathy suggests, how much energy could be saved by balancing the extensively evolved and tested traditional methods, as stated above, with modern needs. Consider a glass curtain walled skyscraper in the middle of the 110°F desert landscape. Pumping energy into this contained environment in the form of air-­‐conditioning is similar to trying to fill a colander with water; since the glass provides essentially no barrier to exterior heat conduction and provides no shading, the cool air is quickly heated, creating a greenhouse affect.82 The input is never-­‐ending and much energy and cool air is lost in the process. While energy loss is likely unavoidable, these are important lessons to consider.

81 Ibid.

82Ibid.

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Also related to material use, as well as building layout and orientation, is thermodynamics, or airflow. An efficient solution to any building problem in the desert, or any location, should address the local wind patterns, as well as any currents or air movement created by buildings. A knowledge of these phenomena will shape aperture placement as well as overall building orientation on the site.

Interestingly, roof materials were found to be very important for conducing airflow in many examples of vernacular desert architecture; slat roofs covered in palm fords were a prevalent solution because of their breathability (Figure 57). Fathy points out that when materials like concrete and corrugated iron were introduced and replaced these palm roofs, the interior spaces prevented air passage and became stuffy and hot, requiring additional methods of cooling.83 In highlighting the natural evolution of architecture in relation to its environment, Fathy points out that the proportion of window area to wall area decreases closer to the equator, and gabled roofs decrease in pitch84 responding to the rise in temperature and drop in precipitation.

Another element of traditional architecture that responds to a respectful use of natural materials is solar-­‐related technology. Because of the often unbearably hot sun in the Arabian Desert shade is a crucial factor in both public and private spaces.

Buildings need to be designed to work with their surroundings to provide the most possible shade for both their interior and exterior spaces. Traditionally, building

83 Conversely, Fathy also notes that a recent fad of modernized ‘brise-­‐soleil’ roof structures in tropical areas was adopted by architects in colder regions for their exotic appearance, again instigating an architecture that inappropriately ignores function for form.

84 Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: 4.

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heights were determined in relation to the width of the street between them, so that they could shade the sidewalks for passersby85 (Figure 58). Windows are also important when thinking about shade and light allowance. In general, openings serve two main functions: to allow light and air into the interior and to provide a view. With this in mind, these openings can be manipulated by different shading systems including the venetian blind, the brise-­‐soleil (Figure 59), and the mashrabiya (Figure 62) to control the amount of incoming light, heat, and breeze to best accommodate human comfort. All three technologies are variances of perforated shades, each with different limitations and gains. The brise-­‐soleil is a technology often incorporated into glass-­‐and-­‐steel buildings as a way to counter the ‘greenhouse effect’ caused by the glass curtain wall. These slatted or patterned panels either protrude from the façade perpendicularly to shade the window below, or project from the wall as a parallel plane set on apertures, acting as an exterior venetian blind (Figure 61). Fathy says that while this design, with the correct calculations, can reduce solar heat transfer by up to one-­‐third, it warps the views to the exterior, undermining a primary purpose behind a glass wall (Figure 60).

Another shading technique, the mashrabiya, is common in the western provinces of Saudi Arabia, near Makkah and Medinah.86 The mashrabiya is a cantilevered screened box that protrudes from the façade, similar to a bay window (Figure 62).

The wooden screens vary in aperture density, which is calculated to accommodate

85 These measurements depended both on the orientation of the sun and the

building site, since in an urban setting buildings could not always be built at the optimal orientation, with the longest side running east to west (ibid., 42.).

86 Ellahi M. Ishteeaque, The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: "Architecture and Identity".

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the desired airflow and flight allowance. Often the screen has smaller openings at eye-­‐level to both prevent glare and provide privacy and larger openings above eye-­‐ level to brighten the room and allow more airflow (Figure 63). The delicate perforations also provide a more coherent view than the wide striped paneling of the brise-­‐soleil.

Lastly, manipulation of airflow is a vital element of desert architecture. One design that proves quite effective is the malqaf. While windows do provide some airflow, they must be very small, thus limiting the light and view. The malqaf (Figure 64), or ‘air-­‐catcher’ is an opening extended in a tower above the building and oriented to catch the strongest breezes. This has a few key advantages. First, its height allows it to reach the stronger breezes that are often stifled at street level by other buildings, especially in dense urban areas. The width of the shaft and size of the opening are dictated by the air temperature at the site of intake87, so that they air is drawn inside by pressure differentials and can be sufficiently cooled before entering the living space.88 A variation to the malqaf that is common in the Gulf States contains two or four apertures at the top of the airshaft with diagonal partitions, allowing them to catch breezes from different directions. Fathy points out that this technology has been used successfully in modern buildings, citing Paul Rudolph’s School of Architecture building at Yale University (Figure 65).89

87 Larger openings for lower air temperatures, and smaller openings with narrow

shafts when the air is hot so as to slow the airflow and allow time for it to cool in the shaft 88 Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: 56-­‐60.

89 The angular ventilation forms that protrude as vertical structural elements in the Yale Art and Architecture building, 1963, are distributed in a pinwheel orientation, presumably for access to different directional airflow, like the malqaf. (ibid., 58.,

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On the larger urban scale, spatial layout is also designed to harness airflow and cool living spaces. Across North Africa and the Middle-­‐Eastern region we see a prevailing planning model that uses winding, irregular streets and large interior courtyard and garden spaces. While a regular grid system is often favored for vehicular transportation, there are certain advantages to this traditional city that should be studied, and to whatever extent they are implemented, should not be forgotten. First, winding, fragmented streets trap cool air, especially that gained from the night hours, and break up hot daytime breezes that would otherwise instantly permeate the city streets (Figure 58). Courtyards have a similar affect, trapping cool air and providing a small level of insulation to the exterior climate (Figure 66). There are advantages to both the gird plan and the meandering organization, but Fathy suggests that the advantages from both can be merged, proposing isolated quarters with grid-­‐like connecting avenues and access roads, as seen in the ‘quarters’ promoted in the Dynopolis concept developed by the Greek firm Doxiadis90 (Figure 7).

Besides environmental concerns, social principles are reinforced through religion and culture in the Arab regions. As we saw in the discussion of environmental responsibility, one of the most important values of Islam is commitment to the ummah. Within the community, social interaction and solidarity, along with respect for privacy and other individual rights, are the largest governing concerns. This

"United Nations University Archive," (United Nations Univerity)., Paul Rudolph, Writings on Architecture, ed. Nina Rappaport (New Haven, CT: Yale School of Architecture, Yale University Press, 2008). 66-­‐67, 98-­‐100.)

90Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: 65.

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mutual commitment, ‘mu’amalat’91 promotes strong neighborly bonds, collaboration towards communal benefit, and prohibits actions that harm others. These principles are manifested throughout the model of the traditional ‘Islamic’ built environment.

Irregular, narrow streets with small piazza-­‐like spaces and alcoves encourage neighborly interaction (Figure 31). Consistent densities among urban sections prevailed over large, wide-­‐open spaces to promote social cohesion. Easy access for all to public amenities such as markets, or suqs, and the mosque is required for social equality. This dictated that, in addition to large central commercial and public establishments, smaller ones are scattered evenly throughout the city, causing integration between public and private zones as well as the emergence of decentralized, peripheral nodes. Along these lines of equality in urban zoning, segregation between social classes is discouraged, as is the outward display of wealth.

Another vital aspect of ‘mu’amalat,’ refraining from harming or imposing on other members of the ummah, deters building practices that encroach on the rights to property or natural resources of one’s neighbors. Towards this end building heights are regulated so that they don’t block access to light or, when possible, air flow to neighboring buildings. Personal privacy is also held paramount both in popular culture and legislation. Windows facing the street are generally screened or above eye level. It is prohibited to create a window that looks into a neighbor’s space, and despite their integration, commercial zones are restricted from drawing public attention to residential spaces. Even within the house, spaces for receiving guests

91 Mortada, Traditional Islamic Principles of the Built Environment: 21.

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are strictly separated from those meant for family members only, and especially those meant for women only.

Much of the apertures and basic layout of a traditional Muslim building are designed with privacy in mind. Interestingly, when the western villa model was implemented, houses stood by themselves with open spaces on all sides between the houses whereas the traditional adjoined urban row houses actually provided more privacy as windows generally faced the public domain of the street and not directly towards a neighbor’s property (Figure 67). To adapt the new villa model to traditional values of privacy, people often built adjunct metal fences between houses, screening their property from any neighbors or passersby (Figure 68, 69).

This is a noteworthy example of the consequences of implementing a physical change that is not supported or influenced by local social customs. These houses, while valued for their ‘modernism,’ could not meet generally established social needs and inhibitors had to find ad-­‐hoc solutions to the new model’s ineptitude.

Lastly, along the same lines as privacy and resourcefulness, vanity and extravagance is generally prohibited in the Islamic tradition. While modesty and frugality are usually encouraged in most cultures, it becomes difficult to maintain these values in a capitalistic consumer context. Generally Islamic building models embraced these virtues by encouraging environmental resourcefulness, camaraderie within the ummah, and generosity towards those less fortunate.

Through these ideas of social equality and selflessness, it is understood that material gains are unnecessary, as they add no enrichment to the soul. Because physical things do not accompany the soul to the afterlife, to paradise, it is only our

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actions and character that matter on the Day of Judgment. Instead, wealth should be spent only on necessary things. Increased wealth should not lead to increased consumption, but should lead to higher self-­‐restraint towards extravagance.92 Despite this, material indulgences are, by human nature, difficult to abstain from.

While today’s materialism is often associated with mass production and other technological that rose from Western modernity, we do see extravagance in building practices even in early Muslim communities, for example, the gilded dome of the Dome of the Rock (Figure 70) in Jerusalem or the mosaic-­‐encrusted Umayyad desert palaces (Figure 71). Obviously these buildings have more public purposes than single-­‐family homes, and it could be possible to argue that their extravagance is justified as its role in legitimizing the culture on the world scale. This issue closely mirrors some of the discussions of architecture today, particularly the issue of justifying design choices that might go against generally accepted cultural rules.

While it is impossible, especially as an outsider, to declare what choices are right and wrong in relation to the implementation of the teachings of the Qur’an, the incongruities themselves present an interesting point of investigation.

Now, with this brief understanding of the cultural values behind some of the design choices common in the architecture of Muslim communities, let us examine the choices behind today’s building projects in Saudi Arabia. To what extent do these projects understand and incorporate traditional social values, and how do they blend them with today’s building requirements? What are the motivations

92 The Qur’an is actually quite harsh towards extravagant consumption, and in one translation says, “But squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift.

Verily spendthrifts are brothers of the Evil Ones’ (Qur’an, Sura 17:26-­‐7) ibid., 42-­‐44.

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behind these chosen inclusions and exclusions, conformities and alterations? We have seen much uproar from architects, scholars, and other activists complaining of an inappropriate model of development that lacks some functional benefits of traditional models of building. It seems that the sentiments held by Mortada, that, “In studying the patterns of development around the world, it appears that the process of modernization is typically more akin to forgetting basic principles and abandoning the origins of social and cultural cohesion and ecological viability, than a conscious process of evaluation the real costs and what is gained or lost when the traditional ways are exchanged for modern technologies, convenience, comfort, speed, status, or profit”93

are shared by many. Even the government seems to understand the need to change their trajectory and reexamine social and environmental consequences of the built environment.

The recent trend of re-­‐embracing Saudi heritage, as reflected in scholarship, government policies and initiatives, and recent public building projects, is in many aspects a reaction to the speed and chaos with which the country was exposed to modern and western principles. The difference between the development of the past four decades and the preceding centuries of steady, gradual development is that the rapid economic growth required infrastructural and even cultural changes that did not stem naturally from social trends. According to Hassan Fathy, “however fast technology advances, however radically the economy changes, all change must be related to the rate of change of man himself.”94 This discrepancy between the growth rate of the exterior environment versus the adaptation of the people as top-­‐ down change is crucial to the issue at hand today. As demonstrated by the King

93 Ibid.

94 Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: xxi.

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Abdullah Financial District, the Kingdom, now released from the immediate influence of western Aramco and an urgency to meet the needs of the oil economy, is taking a more calculated approach to balancing both local and global concerns, all the while acting towards their social welfare agendas.

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The Role of Architecture in the Globalized World

We have examined the principles of traditional architecture in an attempt to

understand its core values and principles that architects and planners seek to learn from and reincorporate into contemporary buildings. Tradition, as many of the voices discussed in previous chapters stress, is not rooted in any specific time period but rather is fluid and constantly shifting to incorporate changing times: “‘Tradition’ means the chain of revealed truth, wisdom and knowledge, which is transmitted and renewed generation by generation, thus linking various successive layers of temporal existence to the primordial reality which originated them.”95 Traditionalists, then strive to understand and learn from the essential concepts represented by this local cultural ‘knowledge bank’ and reapply them to the new design problems, creating a compatibility among function, the needs of the intended audience or users, and the surrounding environment. Many of the large-­‐scale design challenges faced in Saudi Arabia today struggle to balance the social and economic pressures from the global market context and result in different implications towards cultural continuity.

The ways in which designers and their clientele approach large-­‐scale public projects designed for a global audience have a defining impact on today’s architecture. Interestingly, education plays an important role in this conversation.

When the Saudi government first (and suddenly) encountered a demand for industrialized buildings, vehicular road systems, and other requirements of their new economy, their own local architects lacked the experience necessary to

95 Bianca, Urban Form in the Arab World: Past and Present: 23.

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undertake these types of large-­‐scale projects. The problem was reinforced and prolonged by the lack of resources in architecture schools and educators familiar with this industrialized design, as it was new to everyone in the area. To meet these new design practices architects had to go to the west for education, and in many ways lost familiarity with the local vernacular (leading to similar results as a foreign architect would have). Today, however, there has been a revival in many fields of higher education, which has strengthened Saudi architectural education.

Instead, the government looked to industrialized countries, where architecture and planning firms had experience designing these types of modern infrastructure, using a method of design that seemed to function within their needs.

On the other side, while these foreign architects and firms had a knowledge of industrialized buildings, they had very little understanding of the social structures and cultural values that shaped the existing built environment of Saudi Arabia. This discrepancy must have been understood to some extent to both local Saudi authorities and foreign designers, so there must be another layer of issues they were considering. Towards this hypothesis, we have to examine architecture in its role as a cultural and commercial commodity. Therefore, in an attempt to fully understand the decisions behind using imported modern or western forms, during the oil boom and in the present, we must understand the ways in which the field of architecture acts today.

From a professional standpoint, the range of the architect widened as communication and transportation methods grew. Design movements became removed from any particular locale as designers could more easily travel and spread

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their influence, in the form of both knowledge exchange and built projects. This is particularly characteristic of the International Style, where the ideas of influential designers such as Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius traveled between continents spreading their schools of thought. “Le Corbusier was arguably one of the first global architects to capture the public imagination through design work,”96 and was followed by many other influential architects who took on a similar role. Louis Kahn, for example, gained international fame for his National Assembly building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which although decidedly modern, was so attuned to the local programmatic needs that it created a completely new style that evolved into a national landmark (Figure 72).

Today, this role still exists and is accompanied by a more recent development, the international firm. Together, these make up an elite group of designers that largely define the stage of iconic, large-­‐scale projects across the globe.

Both the name and the designs these firms create have become a commodity or status symbol necessary for a city’s recognition on the world-­‐stage, for being labeled ‘world class.’ It is as if a city having a building by ‘starchitects,’ or world-­‐renowned architect’s whose heavy press coverage give them an popular culture celebrity status,97 such as Rem Koolhaas, Frank Ghery, or Zaha Hadid, is akin to owning a designer handbag or a fancy car, validating a perception of prosperity or superiority.

Along with individual architects a select few large international firms such as SOM,98

96 James R. Faulconbridge, "The Regulation of Design in Global Architecture Firms:

Embedding and Emplacing Buildings," Urban Studies Journal 46, no. 12 (2009); ibid.

97 Ibid.

98 Skidmore Owings and Merill, founded in 1936 in Chicago, Illinois

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Gensler99, or HOK,100 among others, make up a “relatively small elite (group) of internationally renowned architects, many of whom have achieved something akin to the star status previously reserved for those engaged in more popular culture pursuits,”101 whose name becomes almost a stamp of authentication, an essential prerequisite for a project, or even an entire city to achieve ‘world-­‐class’ status. This caused many architects and firms to be seen as celebrities, and has caused fundamental changes to the way architectural design is approached and perceived.

Because of the commercial commoditization of these projects as symbols of prestige, aesthetically, these firms and architects are largely confined to the client’s desires, which often conform to the global consumer trend of sleek, sculptural, iconic buildings. At another level, large-­‐scale firms that have the opportunity to break into the international scene and receive commissions in foreign countries are competing for public recognition. In order to compete at this level, these firms and architects rely on media to reinforce and maintain their status as a trend-­‐setting, famed designer; they too have incentive to conform to this fad of iconism. Conversely, the firm’s name itself can bring prestige to the project, becoming another commodity to elevate the value to the project.

One of the best examples of this consumerism in architecture is Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (Figure 73). Built in 1997, it has become an internationally admired project that was commissioned by the local

99 Grensler, based in San Francisco, 100 Hellmuth, Obata and Kassanaum, established in 1955 in St. Louis, Missouri

101 Kuan, Architectural Encounters with Essence and Form in Modern China: 187.

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government as part of a public works revival program.102 This project sparked the “much-­‐debated Bilbao effect, which turns cities into tourist destinations and encourages urban tourism in which culture becomes an increasingly commercialized machine.”103 The building was so revolutionary and successful that many other cities around the world look to this project when they seek to raise their prestige on the world stage. This phenomenon, of buildings as a status symbol is certainly not new. Cathedrals, mosques, and other grand public buildings throughout history have been used to demonstrate power, authority, or prosperity both to citizens and foreigners. Certain styles at different times were canonized as symbols across cultures, for instance neoclassicism seen in many European and American government buildings in their own countries and colonized states essentially became an internationally understood symbol of power (Figure 74).

Even the architect’s fame has been a factor in building prestige for a long time, as clients and city officials validated their grand projects by commissioning one of the ‘masters,’ such as Palladio or Michelangelo, for example. The difference between those masters and today seems to be the breadth of influence induced by today’s highly integrated global economy. Instead of speaking to their neighbors, these cities are competing for recognition among all others in the world. In this way the style and language becomes uniform, where singularity and extravagance are paramount measures of success and fame, rather than functionality. This trend of iconism has become widely characteristic of the Gulf region.

102 Ibid.

103 "Battle of the Icons," Think:Act, no. Special I (2012).

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This region is in some ways unique because of the extensive wealth accumulated in such a short time in many of these oil-­‐rich countries. Not only was there an urgency to industrialize infrastructure and services to meet western standards, there was a considerable amount of excess wealth available, creating a competition for biggest and greatest, a desire that has been inherent in human nature throughout history. In the case of the Burj Khalifa (Figure 3), in Dubai United Arab Emirates,104 the project had one goal in mind, to be outrageously and unprecedentedly large. Designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the Burj was completed at 2,717 feet tall, surpassing the previous ‘tallest tower,’ Taipei 101 in Taiwan (Figure 75), by over 1,000 feet105 and severely dwarfing its surroundings.

This expression of opulence had become a competition among Arab rulers, and across the world, in both vertical height and general amenities.106 Amounting to a total cost of $1.5 billion, the project was dubbed the “Hummer of skyscrapers” by architectural critics shortly after its opening ceremony.107 Additionally, the building uses approximately one million liters of water daily and has its own 11,000-­‐volt power line.108 The competition for the highest structure has persisted throughout history, as has the constant advancement of technology. The carefully calculated

104 Originally named the Burj Dubai, the tower was renamed after the 2009 international financial crisis when Shiek Khalifa-­‐bin-­‐Zayed al-­‐Nahyan of Abu Dhabi provided aid to the struggling city of Dubai, Blair Kamin, "Burj Khalifa, Dubai," Architectural Record 198, no. 8 (2010); al-­‐Asad, Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East.

105 Kamin, "Burj Khalifa, Dubai."

106 "Battle of the Icons."

107 Kamin, "Burj Khalifa, Dubai."

108 al-­‐Asad, Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East.

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structure proved to be elegantly simple but strikingly advanced, becoming an icon on the modern world stage.

In the spirit of this competition for international prestige, many are looking to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the other Emirates states as the standard to beat.

Guardian magazine, however, called the Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest tower, “Completely unsustainable;”109 consequences of this Dubai-­‐style growth are beginning to surface, particularly after the 2008 real estate crash that left Duabi bankrupt. Here is where we must consider the other incentives behind this type of building.

Inspired by the competition for Dubaification, the Saudi regime has commissioned and built a few noteworthy iconic projects including the Kingdom Center (Figure 29) and the Al Faisaliyah Center (Figure 30), which symbolize the Riyadh skyline, and the Makkah Clock Royal Tower (Figure 76), currently the third tallest building in the world. Also in the works are the Burj Rafal (Figure 77), a residential tower near the King Abdullah Financial Center that will become the tallest tower in Riyadh, and the planned Kingdom Tower in Jeddah (Figure 78), which upon its completion in approximately five years will become the world’s tallest tower. Designed by Adrian Smith and Golden Gill Architecture, the building will stand at 3,280 ft, dwarfing the Burj Khalifa by about 564 ft (Figure 79).110 The commission, according to Gordon Gill, described the project as “representing an

109 Kamin, "Burj Khalifa, Dubai."

110 Jenny Jones, "World's Tallest Buildings Must Be More Than Tall," Civil

Engineering 81, no. 6 (2011).

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outreach and a symbol of Saudi Arabia for a kind of global iconic status.”111 Like the Burj Khalifa, all of these extravagant projects are built primarily for their global audience rather than the local needs or cultural standards. In a sense they are deliberately built out of context, so that they can meet these global standards. This pursuit of iconism across industrialized cities at the very least disrupts architecture’s sense of place, since instead of speaking to the people and environment around it the building is primarily speaking to those of this same ‘world-­‐class’ status in cities across the globe. Many architects and scholars notice an issue here: “how, indeed do, global architects fulfill what is assumed to be a basic principle of all architectural work, the embedding of a building in its local context?”112 As we saw before, there are many different ways of understanding, approaching, and incorporating traditional elements and principles in architecture.

Similarly, there are a variety of ways in which a building can appeal to its surroundings, for instance in formal or decorative elements, function or program, and layout or parti. Depending on the intent behind the project, it can appeal to local social structures, or, like many of these iconic towers, might speak to local needs through attracting foreign capital and boosting the local economy on the world stage.

There are definitely projects designed by western firms for eastern countries that are considered successfully aligned to local cultural values, for example the Tuwaiq Palace in Riyadh (Figure 11) and Louis Kahn’s National Assembly building

111 "Battle of the Icons."

112 Faulconbridge, "The Regulation of Design in Global Architecture Firms:

Embedding and Emplacing Buildings."

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in Dhaka (Figure 72), demonstrating that cultural authenticity from a foreign firm is possible. There are also examples of designs that make more superficial, decorative historical connections, and are considered less authentic. Either way, it is vital to consider the client’s desires that largely dictate the project’s parameters and requirements. In Faulconbridge’s study, a number of architects from undisclosed global firms give their experience in client’s desires. One interviewee claims, “When somebody hires an architect from New York to design in Dubai or Taiwan, at some level the client is looking for… an approach that is different from what is (already) there.” Another interviewee admits, “Our work is not really contextual… It probably is very specific to a location and a culture and all that. But I would still think that some kind of international style, we’re not trying to do a French building in France or a German building in Germany.

That’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid really.”113

While some might see adherence to cultural continuity as a fundamental requirement for a building’s contextual appropriateness, others may have different goals in mind or approaches to site specificity that purposefully neglect or disregard existing or previously held cultural forms and standards.

With these two different viewpoints, it is impossible to find an objective conclusion to what defines architectural success, but it must be noted that within this new ‘globalized’ context, a new stage of architecture emerges. This new architecture in many ways strives to break itself from its immediate environment to be associated with outside network of ‘world-­‐class’ buildings and cities. I would argue, however, that it also incorporates a new kind of localism since it is speaking to the changing needs of the people and their economy. These iconic buildings strive

113 Ibid.

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to provide the equipment necessary to survive in today’s globalized world and participate in its economy while also speaking to a wide array of local historical precedents. Along with this iconism, however, comes an emphasis on the façade, which both challenge fundamental traditional perceptions of architecture.

Façadism, the emphasis on the exterior envelope as the polished public face of the project, has become a defining feature of global architecture as so it has become a primary element of this new ‘phase’ of architecture. As we saw before, traditional architecture that has been shaped by Islamic principles usually emphasizes a stark exterior to encourage social equality and discourage vanity.

Similarly, the local Islamic building practices generally emphasize an inner courtyard core, from whence the building projects, creating a malleable, unceremonious exterior frame. A western façade, usually a calculated, often symmetrical, polished entity actually limits adaptability to the community’s changing needs. Instead, traditional Arabian architecture’s, “additive quality, its unspecialized open-­‐ended nature, so distinct from the closed final form typical of most high-­‐style designs…enables traditional buildings to accept changes and additions which would visually and conceptually destroy a high-­‐style building.”114 This emphasis on the interior in traditional vernacular architecture contains a piece of wisdom particularly applicable to sustainability in today’s world. In the context of a public project, however, it must also conform to the universally understood parameters of consumerism. The outer façade, today, essentially acts as advertisement for the project and its values and functions. This is where traditional

114 Ellahi M. Ishteeaque, "Some Notes on Ethno-­‐Architecture: An Anthology on Traditional Architecture of Saudi Arabia," The Arabaian Journal for Science and Engineering 20, no. 1 (1995): 21.

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values must be adapted, but not forgotten. Hopefully building adaptability can be sustained in other areas, as we will see in SOM’s Conference Center (Figure 80) in the King Abdullah Financial District. If we understand localism to rely on a continuum of traditional values and their implications and manifestations on the immediate social, cultural, and economic environment, and globalism to pertain to an economic and cultural exchange in a worldwide network, the two have become inherently related in today’s world. In this way, “Together… the complex interweaving of design-­‐ and consumption-­‐ side regulation means that, whilst the global firm or architect might actually consider themselves to be designing a ‘global’ rather than local building, the work of global architects and global firms actually leads to buildings that have a more distinctive ‘local’ identity than might be first realized.”115

This is largely because the needs of the locals are constantly changing and affecting design in sometimes unseen ways. While adhering to global façadism designers might think they are abandoning traditional values, but in fact they are adapting to the changing times, and may be incorporating local knowledge and values in other ways, further adding to the accumulated ‘bank of knowledge’ from whence vernacular architecture grows.

Again, it is impossible to say which is ‘better’ or more successful or appropriate. In both form and function, traditional buildings may reflect existing values of private interiors and adaptability to growing families or changing functions of a structure, where globally designed structures may provide economic benefits, along with new amenities to foreigners and locals, and increased tourism.

Here is where the endlessly complex issue ties: how can architects, designers, and

115 Faulconbridge, "The Regulation of Design in Global Architecture Firms: Embedding and Emplacing Buildings."

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clients find a middle ground, and incorporate the most advantageous combination of both in their programs and physical designs.

There are varying opinions as to the degree to which we should embrace either side, but it is undeniable that centuries of an architectural tradition contain invaluable lessons that cannot be easily dismissed. Similarly, it is also imperative to understand the changing needs of this globalized world. However it came about, mandated from foreign and local officials or produced by the people, the current global market economy and complex web of global information transfer has produced an unprecedented social environment. The King Abdullah Financial District represents a mindful and progressive attempt towards this end, with its fundamental goals incorporating both global and local issues.

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Goals Realized: Building for the Master Plan

Now that we have a thorough understanding of the master plan and some of

the issues involved in its analysis, let us now look further into how the plan was implemented into specific building programs. International competitions were held for the main attractions and building projects in the master plan, and a few international firms emerged as the forerunners for the second stage of the process: construction. I will look at the work of two prominent firms, Cambridge Seven Associates, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Skidmore Owings and Merrill, and their solutions to the master plan. These firms each have adopted many roles and projects in the district, but I will focus on Cambridge Seven’s designs for the Geoclimate Museum and Saudi Arabia’s first Aquarium, and SOM’s Muqarnas Tower and Conference Center. All of these projects adhere to the design criteria established in Henning Larsen’s master plan, what Patricia Intrieri, AIA, Principal at Cambridge Seven describes as ‘acrysteline,’ ‘fractile,’ ‘faceted’ forms inspired by desert rock; no curved forms.116 Cambridge Seven, a multidisciplinary firm with experience in museum and exhibit design and an extensive resume of work in the area, was commissioned to build two of the main attractions in the District, the Geo-­‐Science Center (Figure 81) and the first Saudi National Aquarium (Figure 82). The science center is comprised of two adjacent buildings, the Geo-­‐Climate Center and the Science Museum (Figure 83). The museums are designed to celebrate Saudi contributions to science and

116 Taken from a phone conversation I had with Ms. Intrieri, the project manager for C7’s KAFD projects and much of their other work in the Gulf States, on February 22, 2013

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environmental education and take “inspiration from the Islamic tradition of alchemy that led to modern chemistry but with a modern interpretation.”117 The firm is designing both the outer ‘shell’ of the building and the interior exhibits, which is something they specialize in. In both buildings, the galleries are organized in four categories, ‘Earth,’ ‘Water,’ ‘Fire,’ and ‘Air,’ with an overarching theme of the connection between technology and nature (Figure 84). The complex also contains a Planetarium with a connected ‘Space’ exhibit and an Imax theatre. The program encourages a hands-­‐on, interactive experience and offers presentations and group activities. Each exhibit also embraces Muslim history, and begins with a tribute to an influential Islamic figure in that particular field.118 In educating the local people on the contributions of their society to the world, the project celebrates the local environment and identity, both as its own entity and in situ within the surrounding world.

The two buildings are some of the main attractions of the District, and together define a science plaza that is easily accessible from the wadi and monorail, as well as the underground parking garages (Figure 85). These museums, while decidedly state of the art and ‘world-­‐class,’ are dedicated to the local context. Either to enrich the knowledge and pride of local Saudis or to promote their heritage to international visitors, the exhibition, in both program and form, are fundamentally tied to local inspirations. The exteriors of the buildings take their inspiration from

117 "Cambridge Seven Associates: Work," Cambridge Seven Associates,

http://www.c7a.com/work.

118 Ibid.

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geodes or crystalline forms emerging from the ground.119 The result is irregular angular forms encased in gold (Science Center) and bronze (Geo-­‐Climate Center) glazing. Less visible, however, are environmental technologies or social standards as seen in vernacular building and planning. This is most likely tied to its image as a forward-­‐looking mark of scientific progress, which is generally communicated in glass and steel, sculptural forms rather than traditional earth architecture.

Interestingly, one piece of the museums’ programs, the theatre spaces, encounters a very obvious social obstacle. In my conversation with Ms. Inrieri, she said that cinema spaces, or any large auditorium setting, are actually against building code in Saudi Arabia because of gender rules and modesty. To address this conflict, the design team worked with local authorities and the building inspectors to find a satisfactory solution to gender separation. Each show will have two screenings, one for men only and one for families—men, women, and children.

While this supplemental scheduling is certainly feasible, it seems that it is only necessary because the physical form was a somewhat limited solution to the social and cultural needs of the occupants. Here I am reminded of Saudis’ early responses to the introduction of the domestic villa. When the villa did not provide the privacy Saudis were accustomed to and valued greatly, they added make-­‐shift sheet metal fences between properties, demonstrating that this model of design was not attuned to cultural needs and customs. Ideally, the building could in some way be molded to the Saudi’s immediate needs and a new theatre model could be developed.

119 Ibid.

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It seems that this solution to the auditorium space is aligned with the Riyadh Investment Company’s goal to cater to foreign customs in order to attract their business, but does it match values and agendas of the people of Riyadh? Obviously citizens have varying opinions towards the Kingdom’s social, cultural, and religious laws and practices, as it is in every society, but Intrieri seemed to suggest that there are grounds for this move towards liberalization of some social restraints within the local community. She said that many Saudis send their kids to American or western colleges, and that most of the Saudis she has encountered who are in ‘positions of power’ have at least been to the West, or even were themselves schooled there. At the very least, the younger generations ‘know what’s out there’120 This doesn’t necessarily mean that they support a relaxation of existing religious laws, but shows that they are, in some ways open to embracing the West.121 Still, any changes like this must happen gradually.

SOM’s work, too, presents an interesting approach to the reconciliation of tradition and modern, global and local outlined by the master plan. First is their conference center, commissioned by King Abdullah to be a focal point for the Development (Figure 80). It is designed as a low, sprawling organic form that is supposed to rise gradually from the ground, mimicking the “angular desert

120 Patti Intrieri, phone conversation and e-­‐mail correspondence February 22 2013.

121 King Abdullah is known for being a reformist; he recently appointed thirty women to the Shura Council and gave women the right to vote and run in political elections. Although some critics claim this is only a symbolic gesture since the Shura Council cannot actually make laws, it demonstrates the King and his supporters’ commitment to reform, and especially towards gender laws. ("Saudi King swears in first women on Shura Council," BBC Middle East, February 20 2013..)

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landscape.”122 The park surrounding the building extends from the wadi walkway, and visually onto the indigenous grass-­‐covered roof of the conference center (Figure 86, 87). As a LEED platinum design, this green roof is one of its many sustainability measures, and is meant to reduce the irrigation requirements of the surrounding green spaces. Grey water runoff from the area will also be stored in underground cisterns (Figure 88).123 Other sustainability technologies include a solar chimney system, in which solar absorption panels at the ceiling of the atrium space draw hot air upwards and out of adjusting ventilation panels in the roof, as well as shading techniques. The façade’s protrusions are calculated to provide shade to the nearby areas, and the opacity of the glass on each facet is determined by its degree of exposure to the desert sun (FIG…). The building is also designed to be able to conform to the changing needs of its occupants, hopefully prolonging its lifetime. It has malleable, retractable wall partitions to create versatile spaces, and electrochromic glass walls between rooms so that their opacity can be adjusted for privacy and light admittance (Figure 89). Additionally, the building has state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐ art audiovisual and communication technology, with projection screens on all four walls of the conference rooms and an interface server, or “media cloud” will connect each room to services personnel and allow them to connect to other conference rooms within the development and worldwide.

This building certainly demonstrates the Saudi’s commitment to technology and global commerce. While environmental sustainability is also one of its largest concerns, I wonder if the status incentive to be green is dictating the design, along

122 "SOM: Projects," Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, https://www.som.com/projects.

123 Ibid.

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with or above actual environmental benefits. Of course these endeavors are a huge step forward from the average energy-­‐guzzling glass skyscraper, and uses shading and ventilation techniques that have roots in indigenous architecture.124 Still, the building seems almost exaggeratedly high tech. This may be necessary in the realm of ‘world-­‐class’ cities, but, as a study by Venture Middle East for the Big Five International Building and Construction show, the use of natural materials is one of the best ways to reduce energy consumption. As discussed before, glass and steel is not only more practical for skyscrapers but it also symbolizes design sophistication on the international scale. Still, local, natural materials could have been considered for the relatively small size of this building. The study reminds us that the transportation costs to import foreign materials need to be considered and claimed that because this largely western method of sustainable building is relatively new to the region, “contractors faced issues in obtaining the materials” and encountered “high cost of sustainable materials when compared to traditional ones.”125 While cost is not a pressing issue in this project, it is noteworthy that local, natural materials are scarce, if at all present, in this development. The Development prides itself on being a mixed-­‐use complex, and maybe doesn’t need to rely so heavily on the glass-­‐and-­‐steel skyscraper model. Perhaps some spaces like residences and recreational facilities could incorporate local building materials and methods, which are so pertinent to the desert climate regardless of form and aesthetic. These buildings, which don’t require the vertical height of commercial

124 the brise-­‐soleil or mashrabiya for shading, for example, and the malqaf roof vent 125 "New Technologies Utilised in the GCC Market," in The Big 5 International Building and Construction Show (Ventures Middle East, 2011).

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high-­‐rises, could instead incorporate local materials into a different-­‐but still current-­‐ type of design, following the example of Tuwaiq Palace (Figure 11).

Next is SOM’s Muqarnas Tower (Figure 90, 91), which I will briefly examine simply as a shell-­‐façade. The general building parameter given to SOM was to create a distinct statement for the district’s skyline.126 The exterior glass wall is treated as an undulating argyle pattern. Functionally, the undulations, or overhangs, are calculated based on room function and desired shading in the spaces below (Figure 92). Aesthetically, however, they are, as I assume through the project’s name, reminiscent of muqarnas, the intricate detailing, usually used on domed ceilings and vaults in many styles of Islamic architecture (Figure 93). The muqarnas, which are basically a three-­‐dimensionally projected geometrical kaleidoscope-­‐like form, like a network of nesting vaults, are primarily to disguise the structure of the ceiling, and, especially in religious spaces, to make it feel effortless and mystical. The intricate projecting pattern disrupts the usually flat surface of the wall in a convoluted but beautiful display. While clearly SOM’s interpretation is simplified, and flattened, it is questionable whether the inspiration is used correctly, in its authentic purpose.

Because it is used in a translucent glass curtain wall, it seems that the structure is not disguised, but merely ‘arabized.’ I would argue, then, that this is a regression from some of the other current building initiatives towards the superficial, ‘wall-­‐ paper’ connections to Islamic and Arabian heritage that scholars and activists like the Aga Khan and Hassan Fathy opposed.

126 "SOM: Projects".

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Conclusion: A New Architecture for the Arabian Peninsula At first glance, this project may appear to be part if this trend of Dubaification, creating an international spectacle of wealth and prosperity. There are a few crucial elements, however, which distinguish this project from the kitsch commercialization of the Dubai model. Instead of incorporating local heritage in a superficial veneer, like the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, or neglecting it completely, like the Palms development, the KAFD attempts to understand the core values and principles behind the local vernacular. While there are moments when allegiances to the traditional are primarily physical and lack congruency with the intension of the original form, as seen in SOM’s Muqarnas Tower. Other aspects of the project, however, extrapolate and streamline the technological wisdom and basic purpose from local and traditional forms to adapt them to the present context. This is seen in District’s irregular, organic layout, emphasis on the pedestrian, focus on innovative passive cooling techniques, and integration of mixed-­‐use spaces towards a self-­‐ sufficient community system.

Again, cultural continuity is essential in this discussion. While tradition can be approached in a number of different ways, its definition is fluid and ambiguous, constantly evolving with time. In this way tradition can be thought of a knowledge bank that helps us approach and adapt to the future, using the collective experience of past generations. Hassan Fathy demonstrates this idea in his architecture, and expresses the importance of understanding cultural heritage: “when we are cut off from (it), we are forced to deal individually with problems that take more than one

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life span to solve. It is beyond our means.”127 While many of the recent building projects in the Gulf region use state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art technology, many ignore the basic building principles that evolved through past heritage. The King Abdullah Financial District represents a middle ground between new and old, and a step forward for the Gulf States.

In today’s world, architecture must be understood both as a functional institution and as a commercialized commodity. To evaluate the parameters shaping the KAFD’s design, we must have a full understanding of the complex matrix of concerns being addressed. These include economic growth, housing and employment shortages, population expansion, international prestige, local entertainment, education, and cultural preservation. This is a distinctive mix of concerns, and it will be interesting to see how the District operates upon opening. As an ‘island city’ and an experiment of social liberalism compared to the rest of Riyadh, it could have varying results as it is integrated into the existing city, especially concerning social and religious conservatives and the Saudi religious police. Whatever the outcomes, however, the very attempt represents a new and innovative stage in design. Especially in today’s globalized world, this project signifies the importance of maintaining site specificity as technology and economy render geographic limitations obsolete.

In the end, neither the courtyard-­‐mud brick model nor the sterile glass-­‐and-­‐ steel skyscraper could achieve the wide range of goals of the project. This is where the KAFD steps ahead, as it integrates the core essentials of both models,

127 Ahmad Hamid, Hassan Fathy and Continuity in Islamic Architecture: the Birth of a New Modern (New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 2010). 48.

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traditionalism and generic global urbanism. In doing so, the project enriches the intellectual base on which it stands, providing a compelling solution to the discrepancy between local and global contexts.

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Illustrations

Figure 1: Burj Al Arab, WS Atkins, Jumeriah Beach, Dubai. 1999.

Figure 2: Palm Jumeriah, designed by HHCP Architects and constructed by Nakheel for the Dubai government. Jumeriah Beach, Dubai, 2001.

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Figure 3: Burj Khalifa, SOM, 2010. Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Figure 4: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering, May 2008.

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Figure 5: Dammam planned housing development, 1960’s, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Figure 6: Doxiadis Associates International, Doxiadis Master Plan, grid showing accepted population densities. Riyadh, 1967-­‐2000.

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Figure 7: Doxiadis Associates International, Doxiadis Master Plan. Riyadh, 1967-­‐ 2000.

Figure 8: Qasr al-­‐Hakm plan

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Figure 9: Qadr al-­‐Hakm street rendering

Figure 10: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. King Abdul Aziz International Airport Hajj Terminal. Jeddah, 1982.

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Figure 11: OHO Joint Venture: Frei Otto, Buro Happold, Omrania Associates, Tuwaiq Palace, Riyadh, 1985.

Figure 12: Buro Happold, Riyadh’s Geographical Footprint, Medstar 2030, 1902-­‐ 2008.

Figure 13: Scale of King Abdullah Financial District to Saudi’s four planned ‘Economic Cities.’ 2008.

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Figure 14: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering, May 2008.

Figure 15: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District aerial rendering. May 2008.

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Figure 16: Riyadh and the Kind Abdullah Financial District, Google Earth, April 5, 2013.

Figure 17: The Kind Abdullah Financial District, Google Earth, April 5, 2013.

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Figure 18: Sketch of the KAFD showing its growth channeled into the vertical direction.

FIGURE 19: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District Financial Plaza rendering, May 2008.

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FIGURE 20: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District master plan and site map, May 2006.

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Figure 21: Henning Larsen Architects, Section of King Abdullah Financial District showing recreational and athletic green spaces, including the wadi. May, 2006.

Figure 22: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering showing pedestrians in the wadi. May, 2008.

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Figure 23: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering showing a reflecting pool in the wadi and the raised monorail. May, 2008.

Figure 24: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Canary Warf (master plan). London, 1991.

Figure 25: La Défense, Paris, 1951-­‐.

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Figure 26: Modelcraft rendering for the Arriyadh Investment Company, King Abdullah Financial District ring-­‐access road, June 2012.

Figure 27: Modelcraft rendering for the Arriyadh Investment Company, King Abdullah Financial District Wadi, June 2012.

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Figure 28: Modelcraft rendering for the Arriyadh Investment Company, King Abdullah Financial District monorail, June 2012.

Figure 29: Kingdom Center, Riyadh. Omrania and Associates, 2002.

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Figure 30: Al-­‐Faisaliah Tower, Riyadh. Norman Foster and Partners, 2000.

Figure 31: Traditional versus orthogonal grid neighborhood plan and their affects on social interaction

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Figure 32: Henning Larsen, Nightview of wadi and Skywalks, 2008.

Figure 33: Le Corbusier, Radiant City model, 1924.

Figure 34: Diagram of State Street, Chicago with car access.

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Figure 35: Comparison of the pedestrian scale to the vehicular scale and its effects on social alienation.

Figure 36: Henning Larsen, Skywalk rendering. 2009-­‐10.

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Figure 37: Henning Larsen, Skywalk elevation. 2009-­‐10.

Figure 38: Henning Larsen, Skywalk rendering in context. 2009-­‐10.

Figure 39: Henning Larsen, Skywalk rendering interior. 2009-­‐10.

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Figure 40: Traditional urban bridge in Jalajil, Saudi Arabia.

Figure 41: Henning Larsen Architects, Interior office rendering, 2008.

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Figure 42: Henning Larsen Architects, Villas in the Sky exterior rendering, 2008.

Figure 43: Henning Larsen Architects, Interior lobby rendering, 2008.

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Figure 44: His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. February, 2007.

Figure 45: Aga Khan Award for Architecture Steering Committee for the first cycle, 1978. The Aga Khan seated in the middle, with Renata Holod to his right, and Oleg Grabar and William Porter to his left.

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Figure 46: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. King Abdul Aziz International Airport Hajj Terminal. Jeddah, 1982.

Figure 47: Hajj Term arch in continuity p. 125

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Figure 48: Bedouin tent uses tensile canvas and provides shade and passive cooling for natural climate control.

Figure 49: The Great Mosque of Cordoba, vaulted prayer hall. Cordoba Spain, Umayyad Dynasty, 9th-­‐10th centuries.

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Figure 50: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh, 1985.

Figure 51: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace, view towards Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh, 1985.

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Figure 52: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace, interior ‘oasis’, Riyadh, 1985.

Figure 53: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace elevations, 1985.

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Figure 54: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace interior: canvas, glass, and stone.

Riyadh, 1985.

Figure 55: Hassan Fathy, a member of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s first steering committee, 1980.

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(a)

(b) Figure 56: Relationship between interior and exterior temperature and a calculated ‘human comfort zone for a) a mud brick building and b) a concrete building, for climate of Cairo

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Figure 57: Slat roof covered in Palms.

Figure 58: Solar effects on traditional city form.

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Figure 59: Contemporary brise-­‐soleil.

Figure 60: View through vertical brise-­‐soleil.

Figure 61: Henning Larsen, Cascading Condos and brise-­‐soleil siding.

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Figure 62: Traditional Mashrabiyyah.

Figure 63: Mashrabiyya of the Jamal Ad-­‐Din Adh-­‐Dhahabi house in Cairo demonstrating the perforations getting larger at higher levels.

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Figure 64: Malqaf wind catchers for row houses.

Figure 65: Paul Rudolph, Yale Art and Architecture building model, showing malqaf-­‐like ventilation systems. Hartford, CT, 1963.

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Figure 66: Climate cycles in typical courtyard house in Riyadh.

Figure 67: Traditional courtyard model (left) and modern detached villas (right).

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Figure 68: Modern detached villas with makeshift metal fenced for privacy.

Figure 69: Modern villas with huge metal wall added for privacy.

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Figure 70: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 691 CE.

Figure 71: Qasr al-­‐Kharānah desert palace, Qasr al-­‐Kharānah, Jordan. 8th century.

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Figure 72: Louis Kahn, National Assembly. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1983.

Figure 73: Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain, 1997.

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Figure 74: William Thornton (the first of many architects), United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., 1793-­‐.

Figure 75: C.Y. Lee and Partners, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan. 1999-­‐2004.

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Figure 76: Dar Al-­‐Handasah Architects, Abraj Al Bait, Makkah, 2004-­‐2012. Makkah Clock Royal Tower is currently the second tallest in the world.

Figure 77: P & T Architects and Engineers, Burj Rafal. Riyadh, 2010-­‐2013.

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Figure 78: Kingdom Tower, Jeddah Saudi Arabia, 2013-­‐2018.

Figure 79: Comparison of the tallest towers of Riyadh, to scale.

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Figure 80: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center. 2013.

Figure 81: Cambridge Seven Associates, Geo-­‐Science Center, King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

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Figure 82: Cambridge Seven Associates, Saudi National Aquarium, site plan. King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

Figure 83: Cambridge Seven Associates, Geo-­‐Science Center site plan. King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

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Figure 84: Cambridge Seven Associates, Programmatic diagram of the Geo-­‐Science Center. King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

Figure 85: Cambridge Seven, Geo-­‐Science site model, 2012.

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Figure 86: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center. Landscaping and Green Roof. 2013.

Figure 87: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center green roof.

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Figure 88: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center. Grey water shed collection system.

Figure 89: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center. Interactive adjustable natural lighting screen.

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Figure 90: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, Muqarnas Tower. 2012-­‐13.

Figure 91: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, Muqarnas Tower. Perspectival section.

2012-­‐13.

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Figure 92: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. Muqarnas Tower Fin-­‐depth diagram.

Figure 93: Muqarnas diagram.

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List of Illustrations

Cover Image: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering, 2006.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 1: Burj Al Arab, WS Atkins, Jumeriah Beach, Dubai. 1999.

From: http://www.allaboutskyscrapers.com/property/burj-­‐al-­‐arab

Figure 2: Palm Jumeriah, designed by HHCP Architects and constructed by Nakheel for the Dubai government. Jumeriah Beach, Dubai, 2001.

From: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PalmIslandDubai.JPG

Figure 3: Burj Khalifa, SOM, 2010. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. From: http://www.e-­‐architect.co.uk/dubai/burj_khalifa_tower.htm

Figure 4: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering, May 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 5: Dammam planned housing development, 1960’s, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

From: Al Manakh 2: Gulf cont’d, p. 422

Figure 6: Doxiadis Associates International, Doxiadis Master Plan, grid showing accepted population densities. 1967-­‐2000.

From: Al Manakh 2: Gulf cont’d, p. 251

Figure 7: Doxiadis Associates International, Doxiadis Master Plan, 1967-­‐2000.

From: Al Manakh 2: Gulf cont’d, p. 250

Figure 8: Plan of Qasr al-­‐Hakm From: Traditional Islamic Principles of the Built Environment, p. 151

Figure 9: Rendering of street view in Qasr Hakm From: Traditional Islamic Principles of the Built Environment, p. 151

Figure 10: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. King Abdul Aziz International Airport Hajj Terminal. Jeddah, 1982.

From: Archnet.org

Figure 11: OHO Joint Venture: Frei Otto, Buro Happold, Omrania Associates, Tuwaiq Palace, Riyadh, 1985.

From: Archnet.org

129

Figure 12: Buro Happold, Riyadh’s Geographical Footprint, Medstar 2030, 1902-­‐ 2008.

From: Medstar 2030, City of Riyadh: Actions Towards Sustainability, 2008.

Figure 13: Scale of King Abdullah Financial District to Saudi’s four planned ‘Economic Cities.’ 2008.

From: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/king-­‐abdullah-­‐financial-­‐ district-­‐conference-­‐center/35569/

Figure 14: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering, May 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 15: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District aerial rendering. May 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 16: Riyadh and the Kind Abdullah Financial District, Google Earth, April 5, 2013.

Figure 17: The Kind Abdullah Financial District, Google Earth, April 5, 2013.

Figure 18: Sketch of the KAFD showing its growth channeled into the vertical direction.

From: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/king-­‐abdullah-­‐financial-­‐ district-­‐conference-­‐center/35569/

Figure 19: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District Financial Plaza rendering, May 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 20: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District master plan and site map, May 2006.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 21: Henning Larsen Architects, Section of King Abdullah Financial District showing recreational and athletic green spaces, including the Wadi. May, 2006.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 22: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering showing pedestrians in the Wadi. May, 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 23: Henning Larsen Architects, King Abdullah Financial District rendering showing a reflecting pool in the Wadi and the raised monorail. May, 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

130

Figure 24: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Canary Warf (master plan). London, 1991.

From: Canary Warf, London, http://www.europepics.org/london-­‐canary-­‐wharf-­‐ sunrise.html

Figure 25: La Défense, Paris, 1951-­‐.

From: http://www.blogforphotos.com/hdr-­‐in-­‐paris-­‐la-­‐defense/

Figure 26: Modelcraft rendering for the Arriyadh Investment Company, King Abdullah Financial District ring-­‐access road, June 2012.

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTekey9wDA

Figure 27: Modelcraft rendering for the Arriyadh Investment Company, King Abdullah Financial District Wadi, June 2012.

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTekey9wDA

Figure 28: Modelcraft rendering for the Arriyadh Investment Company, King Abdullah Financial District monorail, June 2012.

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTekey9wDA

Figure 29: Omrania and Associates, Kingdom Center. Riyadh, 2002. From: http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-­‐4341423606

Figure 30: Norman Foster and Partners, Al-­‐Faisaliah Tower, Riyadh. 2000. From: http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/?fuseaction=wanappln.showprojectbigim ages&mode=2&img=1&pro_id=10633

Figure 31: Traditional versus orthogonal grid neighborhood plan and their affects on social interaction From: Al Manakh 2: Gulf cont’d, p. 203

Figure 32: Henning Larsen, Nighttime view of Wadi and Skywalks, 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 33: Le Corbusier, Radiant City model, 1924.

From: http://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/arch-­‐311-­‐presentation-­‐13-­‐le-­‐ corbusier-­‐-­‐paul-­‐rudolph/deck/93899

Figure 34: Diagram of State Street, Chicago with car access.

From: City Building: Nine Planning Principles for the Twenty-­First Century, p. 77.

Figure 35: Comparison of the pedestrian scale to the vehicular scale and its effects on social alienation.

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p. 291.

Figure 36: Henning Larsen, Skywalk rendering. 2009-­‐10.

131

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 37: Henning Larsen, Skywalk elevation. 2009-­‐10.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 38: Henning Larsen, Skywalk rendering with context. 2009-­‐10.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 39: Henning Larsen, Skywalk rendering interior. 2009-­‐10.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 40: Traditional urban bridge in Jalajil. Saudi Arabia.

From: The Traditional Architecture of Saudi Arabia, p. 150.

Figure 41: Henning Larsen Architects, Interior office rendering, 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 42: Henning Larsen Architects, Villas in the Sky exterior rendering, 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 43: Henning Larsen Architects, Interior lobby rendering, 2008.

From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 44: His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. February, 2007.

From: Under the Eaves of Architecture, p. 37.

Figure 45: Aga Khan Award for Architecture Steering Committee for the first cycle, 1978. The Aga Khan seated in the middle, with Renata Holod to his right and Oleg Grabar and William Porter to his left.

From: Under the Eaves of Architecture, p. 19.

Figure 46: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. King Abdul Aziz International Airport Hajj Terminal. Jeddah, 1982.

From: Architecture in Continuity: Building in the Islamic World Today, p. 127.

Figure 47: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. King Abdul Aziz International Airport Hajj Terminal tent technology. Jeddah, 1982.

From: Architecture in Continuity: Building in the Islamic World Today, p. 125.

Figure 48: Bedouin tent uses tensile canvas and provides shade and passive cooling for natural climate control.

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p. 41.

Figure 49: The Great Mosque of Cordoba, vaulted prayer hall. Cordoba Spain, Umayyad Dynasty, 9th-­‐10th centuries.

132

From: http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/904/flashcards/814904/jpg/13-­‐ 111323641756116.jpg

Figure 50: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh, 1985.

From: Archnet.org

Figure 51: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace, view towards Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh, 1985.

From: Archnet.org

Figure 52: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace, interior ‘oasis’, Riyadh, 1985.

From: Archnet.org

Figure 53: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace elevations, 1985.

From: Legacies for the Future, Contemporary Architecture in Islamic Societies, p. 46

Figure 54: OHO Joint Venture, Tuwaiq Palace interior: canvas, glass, and stone.

Riyadh, 1985.

From: Archnet.org

Figure 55: Hassan Fathy, a member of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s first steering committee, 1980.

From: Under the Eaves of Architecture, p. 20

Figure 56: Relationship between interior and exterior temperature and a calculated ‘human comfort zone for a) a mud brick building and b) a concrete building, for climate of Cairo From: Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p. 78-­‐9.

Figure 57: Slat roof covered in Palms.

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p. 244.

Figure 58: Solar effects on traditional city form.

From: Al Manakh 2: Gulf cont’d, p. 197.

Figure 59: Contemporary brise-­‐soleil.

From: http://www.orble.com/timber-­‐brise-­‐soleil/

Figure 60: View through vertical brise-­‐soleil.

From: Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p. 92.

Figure 61: Henning Larsen Architects, Cascading Condos. Exterior brise-­‐soleil. From: Henning Larsen Architects

Figure 62: Traditional Mushrabiyyah.

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p.29.

133

Figure 63: Mashrabiyya of the Jamal Ad-­‐Din Adh-­‐Dhahabi house in Cairo demonstrating the perforations getting larger at higher levels.

From: Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p. 94.

Figure 64: Malwaf wind catchers for row houses.

From: Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p. 81.

Figure 65: Paul Rudolph, Yale Art and Architecture building model, showing malqaf-­‐ like ventilation systems. Hartford, CT, 1963.

From: Writings on Architecture, p.69.

Figure 66: Climate cycles in typical courtyard house in Riyadh.

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p. 25.

Figure 67: Traditional courtyard model (left) and modern detached villas (right).

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p.310.

Figure 68: Modern detached villas with makeshift metal fenced for privacy.

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p. 334.

Figure 69: Modern villas with huge metal wall added for privacy.

From: The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: “Architecture and Identity,” p. 331.

Figure 70: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 691.

From: http://tedcarnahan.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/2010/03/DomeOfRock.jpg

Figure 71: Qaṣr al-­‐Kharānah desert palace, Qaṣr al-­‐Kharānah, Jordan. 8th century.

From: Artstor, http://www.artes.com/c/htm/Home.aspx

Figure 72: Louis Kahn, National Assembly. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1983.

From: Under the Eaves of Architecture, p. 59

Figure 73: Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain, 1997.

From: http://www.irishberliner.com/2012/08/bilbao-­‐and-­‐bizkaia.html

Figure 74: William Thornton (the first of many architects), United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., 1793-­‐.

From: http://workerslawwatch.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/2012/04/US-­‐capitol-­‐ building.jpg

Figure 75: C.Y. Lee and Partners, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan. 1999-­‐2004.

From: http://turkeyconstructionindustry.com/wp-­‐ content/uploads/2011/09/Taipei-­‐101-­‐T3.jpg

134

Figure 76: Dar Al-­‐Handasah Architects, Abraj Al Bait, Makkah, 2004-­‐2012. Makkah Clock Royal Tower is currently the second tallest in the world.

From: http://wondrouspics.com/tallest-­‐clock-­‐tower-­‐of-­‐the-­‐world-­‐makkah-­‐ royal/makkah-­‐royal-­‐clock-­‐tower/

Figure 77: P & T Architects and Engineers, Burj Rafal. Riyadh, 2010-­‐2013. http://www.designmena.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/2012/11/Burj-­‐Rafal-­‐10-­‐ 581x400.jpg

Figure 78: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architects, Kingdom Tower. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2013-­‐2018. Projected to be the tallest building in the world upon its completion at 3,281 ft.

From: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=525819

Figure 79: Comparison of the tallest towers of Riyadh, to scale.

From: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2386/rafa12copy.jpg

Figure 80: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center, 2013.

From: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/king-­‐abdullah-­‐financial-­‐ district-­‐conference-­‐center/35569/

Figure 81: Cambridge Seven Associates, Geo-­‐Science Center, King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

From: Cambridge Seven Associates

Figure 82: Cambridge Seven Associates, Saudi National Aquarium, site plan. King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

From: Cambridge Seven Associates

Figure 83: Cambridge Seven Associates, Geo-­‐Science Center site plan. King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

From: Cambridge Seven Associates

Figure 84: Cambridge Seven Associates, Programmatic diagram of the Geo-­‐Science Center. King Abdullah Financial District, 2012.

From: Cambridge Seven Associates

Figure 85: Cambridge Seven, Geo-­‐Science site model, 2012.

From: Cambridge Seven Associates

Figure 86: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center. Landscaping and Green Roof. 2013.

From: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/king-­‐abdullah-­‐financial-­‐ district-­‐conference-­‐center/35569/

135

Figure 87: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center green roof.

From: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/king-­‐abdullah-­‐financial-­‐ district-­‐conference-­‐center/35569/

Figure 88: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center. Grey water shed collection system.

From: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/king-­‐abdullah-­‐financial-­‐ district-­‐conference-­‐center/35569/

Figure 89: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, KAFD Conference Center. Interactive, adjustable natural lighting screen.

From: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/view/king-­‐abdullah-­‐financial-­‐ district-­‐conference-­‐center/35569/

Figure 90: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, Muqarnas Tower. 2012-­‐13.

From: https://www.som.com/project/muqarnas-­‐tower

Figure 91: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, Muqarnas Tower. Perspectival section.

2012-­‐13.

From: http://openbuildings.com/buildings/muqarnas-­‐tower-­‐profile-­‐40266

Figure 92: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. Muqarnas Tower Fin-­‐depth diagram.

From: http://openbuildings.com/buildings/muqarnas-­‐tower-­‐profile-­‐40266

Figure 93: Muqarnas diagram.

From: Urban Form in the Arab World: Past and Present, p. 46

136

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