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Royal Arts Complex

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

º£½ÇÊÓƵ provided multidisciplinary engineering and advisory support to help shape the Royal Arts Complex into a major cultural landmark for Riyadh, featuring the National Theatre, the landmark Museum of World Cultures, cinemas, exhibition halls, indoor and outdoor performance spaces, a sculpture pavilion, art studios, the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts, and a new library.

It will stand at the western gateway of King Salman Park, one of Riyadh’s four megaprojects launched by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, in 2019. Built on the site of a former airport, the Park will provide a variety of sports, cultural, artistic and recreational opportunities to the residents and visitors alike, enhancing quality of life in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, creating a vibrant society and elevating Riyadh’s standing as a world-class destination.

Many consultants are involved in this long-term vision across the Kingdom, and º£½ÇÊÓƵ is honoured to be working among them, under the leadership of the King Salman Park Foundation (KSPF).

The Royal Arts Complex will feature a range of arts and cultural spaces, including the National Theatre, Museum of World Cultures, and The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s multidisciplinary team led concept and schematic design, providing advisory oversight through detailed design and construction.

The 110-metre Museum of World Cultures presented some of the most significant engineering challenges, due to its striking triangular form and 60-metre cantilever.

Passive cooling measures included the design of two large shading structures over the outdoor amphitheatre.

Challenge

A multidisciplinary team from º£½ÇÊÓƵ led the project through concept and schematic design stages, before handing over to engineering firm Typsa for design and development. º£½ÇÊÓƵ retained an overarching role in peer review and in general advisory services, with continued involvement in the design and optimisation of people flow. The team, comprising more than 100 experts, developed the early-stage designs during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020–21, requiring collaboration and technical analysis to be conducted remotely.

The site of the Royal Arts Complex is bisected by a primary arterial road, separating the new Royal Institute of Traditional Arts from the rest of the complex. A pedestrian footbridge will connect both halves, ensuring ease of movement between the two zones.

The entire development is being constructed above a two-level underground parking facility, which will serve as a major hub for both the Royal Arts Complex and the wider King Salman Park.

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts will include a range of lecture and teaching spaces, two large performance venues and an exhibition hall built beneath an architecturally striking elliptical dome.

The main arts complex includes a Museum of World Cultures at its easternmost end, as well as a series of arts studios. The complex also features a large exhibition hall beneath a striking 60-metre-diameter dome, a sculpture pavilion, a library, and a cinema. Two primary theatre venues are planned for the site: the 2,000-seat National Theatre and a 500-seat mid-sized theatre offering a more intimate performance experience. The 110 metre-tall, landmark, Museum of World Cultures presents some of the most complex structural engineering challenges, due to its striking triangular profile with a 60 metre cantilever structure overlooking King Salman Park.

Solution

Our teams delivered engineering and advisory services across several elements of the Royal Arts Complex up to the design development stage. This included devising complex structural strategies to realise the architectural vision for the Museum of World Cultures’ iconic triangular profile and 60-metre cantilever. The scope also encompassed a wide range of technical assessments, including wind analysis and mitigation strategies for both the museum and the adjacent outdoor amphitheatre.

Our MEP teams developed integrated building services strategies, utilising basement-level plant rooms to efficiently serve the entire complex.

The National Theatre auditorium will incorporate a series of plenums that supply cooling air directly beneath each seat, ensuring audience comfort during performances, even during Riyadh’s hottest months. This approach allows for targeted climate control, cooling only the occupied zone rather than the entire auditorium volume. A similar strategy was applied in the Museum of World Cultures, where cooling is focused within the first few metres from floor level in each gallery, the areas most frequented by visitors, minimising energy use in cooling the upper air volumes.

Additional passive cooling interventions include the design of two large shading structures over the outdoor amphitheatre, the integration of water features in the inter-building gardens, and the strategic use of tall walls and tree planting within courtyards to create naturally shaded micro-climates.

Value

The Royal Arts Complex will play a pivotal role in the transformation of Riyadh in line with Vision 2030 positioning the city as an international cultural destination, while enhancing the artistic and cultural offerings available to its residents. Key components, such as the Museum of World Cultures and the National Theatre, will serve as cornerstone institutions in Saudi Arabia’s outward-facing cultural evolution, celebrating the diverse civilisations and heritage of the region.

Our broad multidisciplinary team played an important role in bringing to life the vision, developing the strategies required to deliver a project of this scale, and enabling the realisation of its ambitious architectural intent, seamlessly integrating the complex into the wider King Salman Park masterplan.