Not far away from Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO site famous for its monumental rock-cut tombs, this year took place the first edition of Desert X out of the US. The Californian public art biennial, is taking place in the Al Ula desert with a series of 14 site-specific installations created in collaboration with the Royal Commission of AlUla (RCU), until the 7th of March 2020.
Desert X visitor centre inspired by the hortus conclusus
KWY.studio designed the visitor centre of Desert X Al Ula in Saudi Arabia with circular frames that open up to the spectacular desert landscape.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Colin Robertson.
Project: KWY studio. Photo: Lance Gerber.
Project: KWY studio.
Project: KWY studio.
Project: KWY studio.
Project: KWY studio.
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- La redazione di Domus
- 02 March 2020
- Al Ula, Saudi Arabia
- KWY studio
- Desert X visitor center
- 2020
These monolithic structures mentioned above were the first reference of KWY.studio who designed Desert X Al Ula’s visitor centre. The shape is a squared parallelepiped with circular voids which refer to the hortus conclusus – their second reference – frequent in Arab culture: a garden characterized by a precise limit towards the outside and a symmetrical design.
The structure hosts an information centre, a café, and a courtyard shaded by a roof with a circular opening, which at the same time gives generous views to the context. The building’s few precise openings towards selected viewpoints create a clear contrast between the domestic scale and the immense surrounding rocks.
- Visitor Center Desert X Al Ula
- Al Ula
- visitor center
- KWY.studio
- Royal commision of AlUla
- 2020
Diagrams
Roof plan
Ground floor plan
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