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With the presence of architectural experiments such as the Maraya Arts Centre, artistic festivals including Desert X Alula and now the opening of Design Space AlUla, what was once a quiet oasis town with a backdrop of majestic rock formations has been transformed into a destination for design, art and tourism: such is the recent evolution of the northwestern Arab city of AlUla in Saudi Arabia, marking a shift in its urban and natural landscape.
Designed by Gio Forma, Design Space AlUla – which opens today (February 16), during the AlUla Arts Festival – marks the first permanent gallery space dedicated to showcasing design across AlUla, where collaborations and exchange between design practices from across the globe will be on display – be it architectural, graphic, product or urban planning.
Besides supporting young design practices and students, the new design centre aims to strengthen AlUla’s legacy across the cultural sphere as a place for creative inspiration and design building.
Set in the AlJadidah Arts District, the contemporary building made of corten-steel, glass and polished concrete includes spaces for exhibitions, workshops and archives – a homage to the breezeblock that was widely used in buildings across the surrounding District. Shaped around a public plaza, Gio Forma’s light-filled courtyard design is complemented by the exposed geometric brickwork that appears as an intricate lattice façade, drawing in natural light and ventilating the building throughout.
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Much of what is and will be on show – directed by architect and urban planner Sara Ghani – will explore design principles and creative processes through the lens of AlUla’s natural and cultural landscape.
“With each creative dialogue, we are challenged to tell the story of AlUla anew. How does this timeless place speak to contemporary life? What can it show us about ourselves as humans and the way we live now?” Ghani reflects.
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“The opening of Design Space AlUla will help us to explore some of these questions. It will invite designers from all over the world to experience and distil the material essence of this extraordinary place, and create new interpretations at the crossroads between ancient and modern life,” adding that the space has become a catalyst for a diverse community of creative minds, generating dialogues between designers across Saudi Arabia, and with international practitioners.
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“It will build design networks and create opportunities for global cultural exchange,” she says.
The inaugural exhibition, Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design showcases 10 different works inspired by AlUla including architectural projects such as the renovation plans for its first arts and design centre Madrasat Addeera, designed by Hopkins Architects, Roth Architecture’s Azulik Eco Resort which draws inspiration from the stories of wind and erosion, SAL Architects’ renovation of the historic Ammar Bin Yasser Mosque – for which the studio collaborated closely with the community to ensure a respectful and harmonious transformation – and AlUla’s Cultural Oasis District Masterplan, guided by Prior + Partners in collaboration with Allies and Morrison.
Other projects – on a smaller scale, but still just as vital symbols of AlUla's contemporary influence – include designs such as Sara Kanoo’s wearable clasp that draws on motifs from Nabataeen tombs at Hegra, as well as Shaddah Studio’s multi-purpose Tawa that doubles as a chair and Al Sadu weaving-inspired prayer mat.
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Launched in parallel to the Design Space AlUla is the first edition of AlUla’s Design Residency, curated by Bahraini architect Ali Karimi and featuring five design practices from France, Saudi Arabia, India, Bahrain and Denmark to tackle globally resonant issues through the lens of AlUla’s public realm.
“The notion of ‘the public’ encompasses everyone from the several thousand inhabitants of AlUla to increasing waves of regional and international visitors,” Karimi explains of AlUla’s community. “These groups coalesce in key places around the city, sharing infrastructure, buildings, spaces and objects. For the first iteration of the AlUla Design Residency, designers are tasked with reimagining these communities and their overlaps through shared objects. Ranging from the scale of a bench to small installations, and tackling human and non-human audiences, these interventions draw on AlUla as a space for exploring ways in which diverse communities in a new Saudi Arabia might interact.”
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The results range from exploring byproducts of date cultivation and architectural materials of the old city to exploring mud-brick construction and looking at the history of communal seating and meeting spaces as public objects.
“Our ambition is to fuel the design economy, and achieve an enlightened dialogue between the vast, untamed wilderness and the creative, human compulsion to connect with our environment,” Ghanim states. “From AlUla’s Palaeolithic hand tools to today’s contemporary design projects, it’s a conversation that’s still happening.”
The exhibition Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design is open until 1 June 2024.
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