The Grade A corporate HQ office buildings designed by RMJM Dubai are located next to Al Mishraq – a significant mixed-use development in the heart of the City. The precinct is situated in a prime location to attract selected global corporations to occupy Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City as their new HQ in Saudi Arabia.
Open and integrated at street level, the innovative 26,398 m2 development comprises of three office buildings which step down to a public realm. The site provides direct views and accessibility to the various features of the site: the Wadi, the promenade with convenient pedestrian connections to the Misk Foundation HQ and Conference Center and the ilmi Science Discovery and Innovation Center via the forum pedestrian bridge, which is also a short walk to an upscale lifestyle hotel and serviced apartment building.
The conceptual approach was to create a family of buildings bound by common design elements. The office premises are laid out in a way to create visual connections between the ground level and offices above while drawing greenery deep into the site. The use of glazing, and perforated aluminium panels unifies the scheme.
The distinctive façade has a strong vertical emphasis in consonance with the surrounding area’s prominent views. Its careful, environmentally friendly design is composed of three main elements: blades, screens, and a glass envelope for the ground floor level. The optimized geometry responds to structural efficiency, minimizing energy and material consumption.
The lighting on the buildings subtly enhances the jutting waves in the façade by placing lights at the step. The lighting features at the tops of the fins provide a sense of the mass of the structure. To emphasize the repetitive fins, a 360° luminaire is placed in the window, without glare entering the space.
The fluidity of the internal spaces contrasts with the building’s structured exterior. The expressed circulation along the internal edges of the development adds to the vibrancy of the internal spaces, with communal spaces for informal meetings and break-out areas.
Like the configuration of the project’s basic plan, the technological and environmental elements of the development are highly adaptable and energy efficient. The thermal envelope performance follows the LEED rating requirements and the architectural design intent. The building’s façades, with glass envelopes, provide further passive environmental control.
Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City is the first nonprofit city of its kind which will contribute to achieving the goals of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Foundation “Misk.” The vision behind the City is to serve as a model for the development of the nonprofit sector globally, and as an incubator for youth as well as local and international institutions. The City will contribute to achieving the goals of Misk in supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, and qualifying future leaders by defining nonprofit work in its internal operational concept, and in terms of opportunities and youth training programs it will provide. In addition, the City will provide services that contribute to creating an attractive environment for all beneficiaries of the City’s offerings. For more information, please visit miskcity.sa.
Location: Riyadh, KSA
Client: Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City
Sector: Commercial, Mixed Use
Size: 26,398 sqm
Scope: Architecture, Interior Design
