Desalination Plant to Become Arts Centre

English designer Thomas Heatherwick’s studio, which has a team of around 200 problemsolving designers dedicated to making the physical world around us better for everyone, has been tasked with conceiving the Jeddah Central Museum, which will be situated in a former desalination plant alongside the Red Sea.

Heatherwick will turn the desalination plant into a souk for artisans as part of a new waterfront neighborhood focused on art and craftsmanship. Its main turbine hall will be converted into a dramatic exhibition space, with the inside of the building designed to retain the site's industrial feel.

The museum will play an important role in the city's transition from a fossil-fuel-based economy to an economy based on creativity, helping to unleash the potential of its young population.