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 11, 2010
Casino Queen breaks ground on $2.15 million entertainment venue
The Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Ill., is raising the stakes in its bid to capture a larger share of the local gaming market with the start of construction on a new $2.15 million sports bar and entertainment venue that will enhance the overall experience for guests.
| Aug 11, 2010
Outdated office tower becomes Nashville’s newest boutique hotel
A 1960s office tower in Nashville, Tenn., has been converted into a 248-room, four-star boutique hotel. Designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with PowerStrip Studio as interior designer, the newly converted Hutton Hotel features 54 suites, two penthouse apartments, 13,600 sf of meeting space, and seven “cardio” rooms.
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
10% of world's skyscraper construction on hold
Emporis, the largest provider of global building data worldwide, reported that 8.7% of all skyscrapers listed as "under construction" in its database had been put on hold. Most of these projects have been halted in the second half of 2008. According to Emporis statistics, the United States had been hit the worst: at the beginning of 2008, "Met 3" in Miami was the only U.S. skyscraper listed as being "on hold". In the second half of the year, 19 projects followed suit.
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
New website highlights government tax incentives for large commercial buildings
Energy Retrofit Group (ERG), the subsidiary of 40-year-old, award-winning Adache Group Architects, Inc., has announced the creation of their new energy conservation web site: www.energy-rg.com.
