764 Al Ghadeer
Al Ghadeer, Riyadh
Masterplan
Competition: 2007
Design: Eckhard Gerber
Project team: Thomas Lücking, Florian Rist et al.
Client: Alsheikh Saleh A. Al-Rajhi
The dynamically expanding city of Riyadh is not only reinventing itself but gaining international recognition as a site of economic prosperity and as laboratory for new ideas regarding city and architectural spaces for the 21st century.
High rises and cultural “light houses” are not just conquering the Arabic skies over Riyadh, but are literally new prominent coordinates in the changing arrangement of internationally competing metropolises. Urban planning and architecture can and must find an adequate framework, form and expression.
The Al Ghadeer project provides the unique opportunity to significantly expand the coordination system within this oriental city as well as extend it’s vocabulary in a timely manner and search for a new ways to let the city speak contemporary thoughts.
Almost ideal prerequisites are offered by the site. In the up and coming years the entrée to the city can be reformulated. Instead of a diffuse transitional zone between country and city, the opportunity for a very upbeat entry arises. The Al Ghadeer project will provide an impressive calling card for Riyadh as well as document the coming of age for the city as a metropolis in a spectacular way. It is the chance to expand the prominent skyscrapers to the north, enhance the skyline and continue to strengthen the city backbone.
