Al Khobar Mixed Use in Saudi Arabia by Avcı Architects

Article source: Avcı Architects

Architectural Approach

We have seen in our earlier analysis that the climate and culture of Saudi Arabia and specifically this location in Al Khobar has specific characteristics that when responded to in architectural terms will generate a unique approach to its architectural development. Clearly when there are situations of proximity between public and private or functionally disparate elements coming close together measures have to be taken to protect the privacy of residential functions. This is done through in part orientation of openings on the south side of the office units where openings are diverted away towards the east and west to avoid looking directly at the residential units. In turn residential areas, which have outdoor spaces whether this is on the ground or intermediate levels where these are looked down upon, or directly looked at pergolas or mashrabiya, are used to minimise overlooking. Such measures area also a way of controlling heat gains in to spaces where they are facing the sun. One of the main principles of sustainable design in architecture is to minimise the direct incidence of the sun on glazed façade elements to minimise heat gain. This works also in parallel with the desire to create privacy from neighbours looking at openings. Thus, the façades are layered in shading elements that are designed appropriately to the orientation of the buildings in relation to the sun.

Image Courtesy © Avcı Architects

• Architects: Avcı Architects
• Project: Al Khobar Mixed Use
• Location: Al Khobar / Saudi Arabia
  
• Project Type: Mixed Use
• Total Area: 60,000 sqm approx.
• Status: Under Construction

Image Courtesy © Avcı Architects

In our efforts to describe the massing approach to the development of the residential buildings we have illustrated how by ‘carving’ in to the solid elements of the residential block’s outdoor spaces, we can create apartments which have usable outdoor spaces even at high levels in the buildings. Our approach would be to create a massing and façade articulation that becomes reminiscent of old Islamic cities where a sense of community is created between neighbours by allowing them the opportunity to interact through some of the adjacencies of such articulated spaces at higher levels in the buildings. Therefore the silhouette of the buildings are no longer solid relatively ‘dumb’ masses but more articulated blocks that have micro scale relationships within the overall scenario. Similarly, outdoor spaces, which are public to a higher degree, need to be sheltered from the heat and the sun to encourage the use of such spaces by the public during periods of the day when the sun is high in the sky. In traditional cities streets and maidans were covered with shading all year around, and buildings were designed to be close to each other to minimise sun penetration into the streets. Clearly during some periods in the year, specifically between June and September, peak temperatures will reach very high levels, but during the rest of the year which is the majority, outdoor areas will be very habitable if they are provided with adequate shading and cooling devices such as shallow evaporative pools and pergolas that cover public areas. Our approach to the architectural design of the project would be to use these cultural and climatic factors as design criteria to shape the buildings in a modern idiom which responds to both today’s lifestyles, modern technology and how we see the city evolving in to the future.

Image Courtesy © Avcı Architects

Differentiation

The challenge of any developer in any environment is to create a vision that differentiates itself from others by telling a story that the market has not heard before. Through differentiation the model developed raises it over others and gives the development a natural and given story that is easy to speak of and which gets heard simply because of its different approach. Our approach has been to create a plan which naturally sets itself up to become a holistic, self-sustaining community, which has the right balance of functional mixes and a clear set of hierarchies between public and private domains on a macro scale which can become a model for other communities in the city. We wish to create a trend in development which looks at the city not as a series of dislocated compartments of functions which have no relationship to each other but one which like its older counterparts allows the functions of living, working, shopping and relaxing, and enjoyment of the public domain in one holistically conceived cell that naturally spawns off others as it proves its success. When we look at older city fabric, we see this same phenomenon of ‘natural’ integration of disparate functions in a closely nit community where one can live in a sustainable whole.

Community

In thinking along these lines, we saw the existence of the mosque on the site not as a disadvantage and a nuisance but an opportunity to integrate within a living community the idea of gathering in a spiritual setting. Such integration is a strong characteristic of cities in traditional communities, where all functions comfortably exist in close quarters. This intensity is what gives the community its authenticity and its character.

Here we find ourselves not only dealing with the community of the development itself, but also the existing and developing community that it engages with. Here clearly the site has a different functional zone dictated in part by the municipality zoning which sees the plots to the South of the site developing more as private residential areas, while emphasising the commercial street to the North. The plan responds to this by ‘blending’ these functions while clearly separating them with architectural devices to maximise privacy.

Image Courtesy © Avcı Architects

Flexibility and future proofing

Ultimately a good master plan also has to have sufficient flexibility to allow it to be responsive and to evolve in a way, which continues to sustain its strength as a master plan through its development stages. In that sense here we have developed an urban pattern that allows different interpretations through the development phases. Within the urban streetscape and zoning it proposes the exact characteristics of the functions that are created here should remain flexible and responsive to the time of development.

Having said this it is also important that the master plan is able to respond to changes in the future. Ultimately the success of any development is measured by how it sustains itself over the years and how relevant it remains. As the community develops and roles of individuals and society evolve the plan should foresee how this evolution will affect it in the future.

Image Courtesy © Avcı Architects

Phasing and Planning

Clearly every development of large scale needs to be conceived in phases, not only because in this case we have existing buildings, which will continue to function in part while development of other parts continues. We have described elsewhere how this phasing can take place, however we do not feel so confident that the quality of the master plan is sustainable without an overall controlling vision that is continually supported and managed throughout the development cycle. This means also the after cycle of the living community. We believe therefore that the divisions of the site in two phases should not necessarily mean parceling off and selling to others, unconnected, and allowing the development to take place without this overall controlling vision. From the point of view of use of overall FAR over the whole site, we have taken the view that to create a public domain in the heart of the site, some sacrifices have to be made in use of available FAR. In that sense a close dialogue with the municipality over the value of introducing a public domain, it should be possible to readdress the issues of height in the overall development to regain the FAR sacrificed in phases (plots) 1 and 3.

Image Courtesy © Avcı Architects

Public and Private

In a closely knit community set in Saudi Arabia, one of the main challenges is the ability of the design to respond to issues of privacy. This has to be effective at both macro scales, at the level of the street pattern, and micro scale, at the level of architectural design and the treatment of facades and private / public interfaces. Brining living and working close together will mean the architecture has to support the idea of privacy at all levels so that the community can sustain family living, and where strong traditions can live on even in a modern 21st century setting.

Vision Driven

The brief for the development of the master plan is a vision driven narrative, which throughout the process of design development has been the main driving factor. The concerns of a vision in any development are multi-layered, and hierarchically driven. Certainly, just simply maximising the development in terms of sellable area that the site can take and then selling off the site in plots to others has not been the vision of this brief. This is how most plot development takes place in Al Khobar. However here we have had the opportunity to define a holistic vision on the one hand in terms of maximising commercialisation and on the other hand in urbanistic and community terms. The best master plan is one, which keeps all of these concerns in a balance.

Image Courtesy © Avcı Architects

Tags: Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Categories: House, Housing Development, Master Plan, Mixed use, Residential

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