Qiddiya Investment Company, in conjunction with Bjarke Ingels Group, recently unveiled the master plan for a new “Giga-Project” that will become the “Capital of Entertainment, Sports, and the Arts” in Saudi Arabia.
The project will bring together the elements for an active, healthy lifestyle and will be arranged in a way that complements the natural landscape to create a series of pedestrian-oriented spaces. The new green-belt network will carry visitors throughout the property on roads, bike paths, and walkways built within the enhanced landscape environment. Only 30% of the project site will be developed with the rest dedicated for natural conservation.
The Resort Core will be the project’s heart and include four gated attractions around a central specialty retail, dining, and entertainment district and a portfolio of resort hotel offerings. An outdoor entertainment venue capable of hosting events from 5,000 to 40,000 people and punctuated with skating and skiing facilities is also included.
The Eco Core is designed around a series of nature and wildlife encounters, an ecologically-sensitive golf course, outdoor sporting adventures, and unique hospitality offerings that take advantage of the desert environment. A Golf and Residential Neighborhood will connect to the 18-hole golf course and also includes resort hotel and spa and equestrian facilities that can all be accessed from villas, townhomes, and private retreats.
The Motion Core will sit to the southeast of the Resort Core and comprise events, experiences, residential offerings, and hospitality offerings that are driven by the science and technology of people in motion.
See Also: The Challenge Museum includes a two minute walk through farmland to reach the building
Six Flags Qiddiya will offer a family-oriented park with rides and attractions distirbuted throughout six themed lands. A second water-oriented feature park will include an integrated resort hotel. A “Speed Park” focuses on the world of motorsports with equal emphasis on the spectator and the driver. This feature will include tracks, showrooms, retail, a driver’s club, and a luxury hotel.
Sitting 200 meters up on the edge of the Tuwaiq escarpment is the City Centre, a mixed-use village dedicated to sports and the arts. The City Centre is home to a collection of sports venues such as a 20,000 seat cliff-top stadium, an 18,000 seat multi-purpose indoor arena, an aquatic center, and a sports hub capable of hosting individual sports activities and events. The City Centre connects to the entertainment core below by a funicular transportation system.
Qiddiya will also feature a creative campus with workspace, media production, and education facilities; a grand mosque; retail, service, and dining options in a mixed-use, high street setting; a private school; a sports medicine hospital; a variety of residential offerings; and a “Race Resort” with homes and club facilities that access a 15 kilometer performance driving course and on and off-road driving experiences.
All together, Qiddiya will be organized around five development nodes that each serve a unique purpose. Phase one of the project, which includes Six Flags Qiddiya, is slated to open in 2022.
Related Stories
| Aug 28, 2013
Federal Government Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest federal government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 22, 2013
Sports Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest sports facility design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 21, 2013
First look: Petersen Automotive Museum's dramatic facelift
One of the world's largest automotive museums unveils plans for a stunning, sculptured metal exterior and cutting-edge interior upgrades.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Jul 22, 2013
Hotel business continues to shine [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Despite some economic stressors, hotel operating fundamentals are poised to remain strong in 2013.
| Jul 22, 2013
Transportation Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from airport terminals and other transportation-related facilities, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 22, 2013
Convention Center Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from convention center projects, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 22, 2013
Cultural Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from cultural facility projects, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.