King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture

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Futuristic Saudi Cultural Complex Gets Underway

Rising from the desert outside the Saudi city of Damman like some melted bars of platinum is the planned King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture, a project designed by Norwegian architects, Snøhetta. The idea behind the project is to make a cultural centre to celebrate the 75th annive...
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King Abdulaziz Library : Architecture Information

The King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture is a bold new initiative on the part of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development within the Kingdom. Following an invited architectural design competition in 2007 Snøhetta has been selected to design this prestigious cultura...
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Started construction

Asharq Al-Awsat (Arabic newspaper) report in Arabic that the construction of King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture has started construction and that pouring concrete is well underway.
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Maarten commented...

nice new renders, thanks for posting!

2 years ago

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added images.

2 years ago

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In celebration of Saudi Aramco Oil Company’s 75th Anniversary, the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture seeks to be a breathtaking tribute to the founder of the modern state of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz. Located on Dammam Dome, the awe-inspiring structure will stand alongside the site of Prosperity Well No.7 which was the first well in the nation to yield oil in commercial quantities.

Conceptualized by Snøhetta, winner of the invitational architectural design competition held by the Saudi authorities, the bold new structure has a featured construction budget of $300,000,000 and upon completion in 2012, will be used to promote cultural development within the kingdom with its multiple facilities like a world-class library with a café-like atmosphere and digital access to information and connectivity to knowledge centers spread across the world.

>> Project description by Snøhetta:
Situated in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the new Cultural Center will be sited at the heart of the oil fields that have been central to the formation and development of the Kingdom. This initiative to promote the development of culture and knowledge in Saudi Arabia is undertaken by the Saudi Aramco oil company as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations and is particularly relevant in the context of the Saudi Arabian demographic with a very large young population, thirsting for cultural programs.

The Center has a total area of over 70,000 square meters hosting the following program: a Library of some 200,000 books; a 930 seat Auditorium; a 315 seat Cinema; The Great Hall, a high quality multifunctional space; a Museum; a Life-Long Learning Centre; a Children’s Discovery Zone and all necessary support functions including an Administration Area. The conceptual theme for the project is derived from the idea of cultural Interdependency in space, time and context.

The idea of culture extends both back in time, searching for historical roots, and reaches into the future to new possibilities. This theoretical time line connecting past present and future is embedded in the architecture: partially dug deep into the rock and partially stretching 86 meters up toward the sky. The concept of cultural interdependency is at the heart of the building’s spatial organization. Each element of the building is given its own discrete and recognizable form as a “pebble”; however, these individual pieces are put together in such a manner that they visually and physically support each other. No single object can be removed without the collapse of the larger composition. Culture is not a collection of singular independent efforts but a collective ensemble of interacting forces and ideas that together create a context. Culture in Saudi Arabia is about individual character belonging to, and contributing to a group. The many architectural elements each have their own character, logic and aesthetic while at the same time adhering to the overall conceptual theme.

The physical and spiritual heart of the project is an area referred to as the Source, around which all of the other elements are arranged. Placed three floors down into the bedrock, the Source is a metaphor for the Source of Arabian wealth to be found in the oil fields deep beneath the building. The Source also provides the physical setting for the roots of Saudi Arabian culture displayed in the museum that spirals down around it.

The 4000 square meter Plaza is the entrance space for all of the cultural components. It is conceived as an urban space providing a setting for the many visitors and the cultural events in the building. In the vertical time line through the building, the Plaza is at grade level between the sunken museum and the elevated pebbles. It lies between the past and the future, representing the present. Surrounding all four sides of the Plaza is a ring wall constructed of rammed earth. This wall binds the urban plaza together with a visual element that is constructed from the very earth on which the building rests; a direct reference to Saudi cultural roots and the context of the Center itself.

All of the projects elements that are elevated out of the landscape and into the sky refer to the future and are clad in a reflective tubular metal skin. The metal is the counterpoint to the rammed earth wall; it is man-made, futuristic and reflective of the strong Arabian sun. The tubes are wrapped around the shapes of the pebbles, flowing from a predetermined starting point around the objects in a manner that creates a unique but related pattern to each of the pebbles. This tubular system provides for virtually 100% passive solar shading of the project’s enclosure.

The setting for the Cultural Center is a man-made landscape using minimal methods of maintenance, and sustainability known as “xeriscaping”. This area called the Monosurface is planted with vegetation indigenous to the desert region, requiring a minimum of irrigation. Walkways are interwoven with the planting to provide a natural setting for social gathering during the pleasant winter days or under the starlit Arabian night sky.

2 years ago

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2 years ago

Christian added company Snøhetta
2 years ago