CLIENT /

 

LOT AREA /

BUILT-UP AREA /

 

AWARDS /

FIRST PRIZE WINNER - 'OMRANIA LIMITED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN COMPETITION' - 2009

Competition launched in April 2009 and managed by Omrania & Associates - Riyadh, KSA

 

CHALLENGE /

The project objective is the construction of a high-end living Residential Compound comprising a main villa, three typical villas with their annexes, a Diwaniyah building with annexes, common outdoor playgrounds, swimming pool and pool house, services areas, and two main plots of land allocated for future developments.

 

CONCEPT /

The complex is located in the North Western area of Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia, within a four streets residential block that has a total land area of 83,000 m².

The master planning of the site is derived from two main conceptual approaches that are studied in parallel: the dichotomy between two separate yet interrelated zones - the formal and the family; and the different buildings’ interactions vis-à-vis each other and hence their location on site.

Volumes and Materials, concept and approach: we envision a large piece of stone that is sliced, cut, carved and displaced according to the different happening functions. The stone piece is composed of a beige-yellowish skin layer (ex.: Riyadh stone) and a polished pinkish marble core (ex. Julie Rose marble). The following typology produces a harmonious play in materials at each slice and displacement showing the stone skin on the side and at the top of the building and the marble core underneath, extending to the inside. The 50 cm stone skin is composed of double insulated walls to reduce heat levels. At each cut, one of three elements is introduced inside the building, the different elements being: entrances, gardens, and services/common spaces. The services and common spaces are engulfed in wood-cladded volumes (ex.: parklex wood) with louvers covering all openings for both privacy and screening purposes, as well as lighting and heating issues. Openings strategies differ according to the materials’ difference, which itself expresses and highlights the relationship between spaces vis-à-vis each other and vis-à-vis the landscape.

For instance, the yellowish stone material or what we refer to as the skin acts as an interface between the landscape and the spaces whereas the pinkish marble core acts as an interface between the spaces themselves. Also, screening devices follow the same strategy and are unique to each material, yet work in harmony due to their intricate design that is influenced from Najdi patterns.

 

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