Aerial view of a futuristic architectural building with a geometric, lattice-like exterior and surrounding landscaped areas with trees and pathways.
Architectural digital renderings of a modern building with a geometric design, glass facade, and surrounding landscaped greenery and trees.
A modern architectural building with a geometric, lattice-like design, surrounded by a landscaped park with trees, flowering bushes, and paved walkways under a partly cloudy sky.
A futuristic building with a geometric glass facade covered in greenery, stairs leading up to the entrance, and people walking around in a landscaped outdoor area.
Modern glass skyscraper under construction with lattice and scaffolding visible, including a worker planting greenery in a small landscaped area.
Construction workers on the roof of a modern glass building under construction, with a highway and greenery in the background.
Modern building with geometric, triangular glass windows, surrounded by trees, a parking lot, and a few pedestrians.
Empty paved walkway with some dirt patches, landscaped areas with small plants and trees, modern buildings in the background, and a construction crane, under a hazy sky.
Interior of a modern building with escalators, green wall, and people in traditional Middle Eastern attire.
Interior view showing a modern ceiling with a geometric glass pattern, a spiral staircase with black railing, and a balcony with a black railing.
Indoor green wall with plants being installed, construction workers in yellow helmets working on ladder, scaffolding in the background.
Construction site of a modern, geometric building with a glass exterior, surrounded by dirt and construction equipment in an urban area

KAFD Conference Center

URBAN CENTER OPEN SPACE DESIGN

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

  • The Conference Center emerges at the southern terminus King Abdullah Financial District’s ‘Wadi’ circulation and entertainment network. The project’s mega roof evokes the landforms of the desert terrain while conforming to the district guidelines for faceted enclosures. A custom hypertufa growing substrate was developed to mimic regional limestone cliff growing conditions and deployed over one third of the rooftops’ triangular containments to support arid vegetative plant growth throughout the center’s varied roof planes. The exterior strategy flows inside as a labyrinth of living walls and planting beds to improve air quality and human comfort. The innovative collaborative design reduces pollution, energy use, and material waste helping advance key goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 National Transformation Plan.

  • Credits: Sam Lawrence; Design team leader through Design Development as Principal / Sr. Project Manager with HMWhite

    Client: Skidmore Ownings & Merrill / Riyadh Investment Corporation

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