Endless possibilities, Infinite progress
Set in the vibrant city of Abha, this cultural destination reimagines tradition through a modern lens.
Designed as a continuous journey from earth to sky, the center unites theaters, galleries, and learning spaces into a single flowing experience.
Inspired by Saudi Arabia’s deep roots and forward-looking vision, it becomes a place where stories are told, shared, and evolved.
42,000 m2
Area of site
Abha, SA
Location
2024
Year
Cultural Center for Arts and Knowledge Exchange
Typology
Site
The site presents a unique blend of natural and urban surroundings, offering strong visual connections, varied topography, and multiple access points. These contextual features shaped the project's early design strategies, prioritizing orientation, environmental responsiveness, and experiential quality.
Components
Lobby | Galleries | Theatre | Multipurpose Hall | Cinemas | Library Souvenir shop | Restaurants & Cafés | Administration & Facilities
Concept
The phrase "Rooted Authenticity towards Visionary Destiny" can indeed provide a compelling explanation for Saudi Arabia's approach to preserving its history and legacy while simultaneously developing a vision for an innovative and limitless future.
The main form of this concept can be visualized as a linear experience that begins at ground level, reflecting the country's rich heritage and deep roots. As the journey progresses, it gradually ascends towards the sky, symbolizing the boundless nature of the vision and the passion to achieve it.
Experience
The central staircase forms the core spatial and experiential axis of the project—guiding visitors through a choreographed journey that blurs the boundary between movement, narrative, and landscape.
As visitors ascend this open-air path, they encounter a series of indoor storytelling galleries nestled along the route. Between each stop, sculpted walls on both sides of the staircase become animated with projected stories, enriching the ascent with continuous visual narration and reinforcing the building’s expressive massing.
Each pause invites them to step inside, engage with curated cultural content, then emerge once more onto the rising stair, continuing toward the next moment. This interplay between enclosed and open spaces creates a rhythmic sequence of pause and progression.
As they climb higher, the surrounding context slowly unfolds, offering panoramic views of Abha, the sky, and distant mountaintops. Upon reaching the peak, the path transitions inward, leading visitors down through the interior until they arrive back at the ground-level lobby, completing a full spatial loop.
Site plan
The site plan integrates a variety of outdoor experiences that respond to Abha’s natural environment, taking advantage of its cool climate, elevated terrain, and scenic surroundings.
Elements such as the cloud gazing zone, reflective light passages, and seating terraces enrich the user experience beyond the building.
The outdoor theater, carved beneath the lifted mass of the structure, further reinforces the concept by extending the architectural expression into the landscape.
Structure System
Diagrid Continuous Frame
Loads follow diagonals, gravity and lateral loads can be transferred by the system to the ground, Steel is typical because of high tensile and compressive strengths , Essentially Carrying columns, diagonals and bracings into one system.
