Diriyah Oasis Park, as part of the Diriyah Season 2019 in Saudi Arabia, is a cultural event dedicated to the beginning of the formation of the nation, the "Land of Origins". It is a temporary object aimed at political integration within society and the opening of the country to the world. The author of the general concept of the park and the general contractor was DesignlabExperience
from Dubai, which invited our studio to design and build one of the three thematic central zones of the park and its key central compositional-pedestrian axis.
According to the developer's concept, there are three planning rings in the center of the park. The saturated territory of the central plaza, which plays the role of the historical and cultural core of the entire park, is dedicated to the origins of the place. On this site, the Italian architect Edoardo Tresoldi designed the GHARFA memorial museum. The objects of the next ring, made by DesignlabExperience, embodied the business activity that traditionally takes place for local businesses in the functional space of restaurants. The third planning ring was a recreation area, formed as a space for people reflecting themselves in an active context. This territory was assigned the role of an intermediate space between the ideological and business parts of the park and the four territories of thematic activations. We were involved in the design of this site.
Sheds, playgrounds and various recreational areas were placed in the space of the ring. Rest areas are complemented by a light service infrastructure in the form of cafes with drinks.
In the park, in addition to the main axis and three central annular spaces, four thematic zones of cultural activations were conceived, the planning centers of which are theatrical venues. We designed radial amphitheaters with canopies to match the shape of the squares for the theatrical cores.
DesignlabExperience created a complex spatial-compositional, lighting, and scenario-event program of various events in these areas. Its compositional and planning essence was based on an associative array with a symbolic "petroglyph", formed on the basis of the traditions of the carpet weaving culture of Saudi Arabia. Working in the context of the author's main spatial and planning composition, we needed to find an organic way into the general idea.
Color and light played a significant role in the complex project.
The team of authors of the presented part of the project:
Author, Chief architect – Alexey Myakota
Co-author, architect – Lidiia Gribakina
With the participation of architects: Marina Turovinina, Anna Yakimova
Location: Saudi Arabia, Riyadh city
Design and construction: 2019
Design and organization of the Diriyah Oasis event: DesignlabExperience
The following people took part in the Diriyah Oasis project:
Studio Studio Studio led by Edoardo Tresoldi, Dasic Fernandez, Alexey Myakota (OOO "ADM" ("Architecture Design Modeling"), Krasnoyarsk)
The photo shows the work of Studio Studio Studio Edoardo Tresoldi, the work of Dasik Fernandez, the work of Alexei Myakota. Creatively led by Designlab Experience.
Photographers: Alexey Myakota, Roberto Conte
