KAFD Info.HUB
King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), Riad, Saudi-Arabien
Gerber Architekten international GmbH,
Dortmund | Hamburg | Berlin | Riyadh
Architecture | Landscaping Architecture | Interior Design
Owner, Overall Direction:
Professor Eckhard Gerber
Managing Director: Thomas Lücking
Design Director: Nicole Juchems
Project Team:
Gordon Lauder, Carsten Nagel, Sarah Meinke
Landscaping Architecture, Design Director:
Tim Kraus
Project Team:
Magda Cieslicka, Timo Thorgauer
Interior Design: Annette Korte, Mareike Köhler
Client: Rayadah Investment Company,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Area including parking: 38,160 m2
GRF: 44,026 m2
Gross volume: 148,854 m3
As the most significant commercial real estate development in Saudi Arabia King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) will cover an area of 1.6km². Currently under construction the development is a mix of commercial office, hotels and serviced apartments sitting alongside museums, education and civic amenities which all have a connection to the vibrant financial community.
Gerber Architekten international GmbH are in the process of designing the unique public library and community center, conceived as a visionary information hub and networking center combined with a hybrid and fluid library. It will be equipped with the latest media resources and will serve also a forum for cultural exchange.
The integrated functionalities of library, tourist information, exhibition space, community services and informal communication zones will help the inhabitants, the employees and also the temporary visitor to get a better understanding of the development, its community and its cultural context. The building is divided between a lower open public area and an enclosed upper level which contains the library functions and provides shading for the levels below. The public areas connect the street level functions of the Financial District with the landscaped park (the “Wadi”) which runs through the site.
Structural engineer: Werner Sobek GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany
Mechanical Services Engineer| Fire Fighting: Buro Happold, Berlin | New York
Library Consultant: Olaf Eigenbrodt, Hamburg University, Germany
Quantity surveyors: Sweett Group, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates