schiattarella associati’s digital art center in saudi arabia draws from najdi architecture

Diriyah Art Futures by Schiattarella Associati

Schiattarella Associati unveils Diriyah Art Futures, a distinctive digital art ‘incubator’ in Saudi Arabia designed for exhibitions, education, and art production. Covering an area of 12,800 square meters, it is situated northwest of Riyadh, close to a significant historical and archaeological site in the Arabian Peninsula. The design approach of Schiattarella Associati emphasizes a connection with the surroundings, considering not only the physical characteristics of the context but also engaging with the cultural values and the memory of the location. Inspired by the organic nature of traditional Nadji architecture, which was historically designed to sustain human life in the challenging desert environment through ancient techniques, the project reinterprets key features such as massivity, permeability, complexity, and human scale in a contemporary context. The design investigates the intersections between identity and future, drawing from the stark sunlight, dense shadows, and essential volumes characteristic of Nadji architecture.

from the art center to the sculptural park

Founded in 1970, architectural firm Schiattarella Associati operates within the fields of design, architecture, urbanism, research and development across the world. The Rome-based office has been involved in a significative number of projects in Europe, starting to approach international projects in the early 2000s and looking towards Asian and Middle-East countries. Since the beginning, Schiattarella Associati has been combining its professional engagements with equally intensive efforts of research, taking part in both national and international competitions while working to disseminate architectural culture.

Awarded with Rethinking The Future Awards – Concept (winner) in 2022, the 2016 Iconic Award– Concept (winner), and the 2016 American Architecture Prize – Cultural buildings (honorable mention), Diriyah Art Futures sits on an elevated natural terrace running north to south, marking the transition where urban development concludes and blends with the natural landscape. Given the prominence of the site, the project is intended to serve as a boundary marker for the town. The aim of the architects is to reconnect the built area with the Wadi’s valley floor by removing the existing retaining wall, restoring the hillside’s natural slope, and designing the Art Center as an open, permeable complex. This in turn creates a pedestrian link to the Sculpture Park planned for the valley floor in future developments.

Urban Integration Along the Wadi

To dive deeper into the architecture, Schiattarella Associati sought to create a segment of town reminiscent of the historical settlements of Diriyah along Wadi Hanifa, rather than constructing a standalone building. The majority of the structure is below grade, with volumes emerging from the escarpment organized to form a complex urban fabric. This cluster of volumes, characterized by a scale mirroring the landscape on the Wadi side and a more human scale on the urban side, is permeable and features an articulated sequence of spaces. The openness extends not only towards the Wadi but also internally, as public spaces flow seamlessly into the lobby and the triple-height entrance space without any thresholds.

‘We are convinced that any architectural design should be grounded and rooted in the site where the work is to arise. To this end, the visits to Addiriyah were of critical importance to understanding how nature’s all-important role in the surrounding territory sees it serving not only as the setting for farming and as the underlying visual landscape, but also as the irrefutable framework for the placement, the configuration and even the material essence of the architecture,’ says Schiattarella Associati.

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project info:

name: Diriyah Art Futures
designer: Schiattarella Associati | @schiattarellaassociati

team: Amedeo Schiattarella, Andrea Schiattarella, Paola Schiattarella, Claudia Sacristan, Alberto Riccioni, Carla Maresca, Sara Al-Mutlaq, Silvia Cimini, Olimpia de Sanctis, Francesca D’Uffizzi, Rossana Gangale, Manuela Iorio, Francesca Luciani, Alessandro Mattei,Vincent Pepe, Margarita Rodriguez, Martina Spione, Eric Scortegagna, Arianna Uzzeo

client: Ministry of Culture, Diriyah Gate Development Authority

location: Diriyah, Saudi Arabia

photography: Hassan A. Alshatti, Mohamed Somji