flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

Luxury Hotel required faceted design

Luxury Hotel required faceted design


August 11, 2010
This article first appeared in the 200906 issue of BD+C.

Goettsch Partners, Chicago, designed a new five-star, 214-room hotel for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The design-build project, with Saudi Oger Ltd. as contractor and Rayadah Investment Co. as developer, has a three-story podium supporting a 17-story glass tower with a nine-story opening that allows light to penetrate the mass of the building. Every project within the 400-acre KAFD must be faceted in design, so the hotels slender north façade has an undulating skin composed of semitransparent glass and aluminum curtain wall with two layers of ceramic frits to create a moiré effect. The buildings south faaçde will be clad in stone to block the regions extreme sun and heat. The east and west faaçdes feature a saw-tooth design with continuous slab edges. The $130 million project is scheduled for completion in 2011 and should earn LEED certification.

Related Stories

| Aug 31, 2011

Sebastopol, Cailf., invites designers to submit ideas for renewing city center

The goal of The Core Project is to explore how the physical presence of Sebastopol can become a more economically thriving and aesthetically vibrant place, reflecting the naturally beauty of the region and the character of the community. 

| Aug 31, 2011

Wythe Confectionary renovation in Brooklyn completed

Renovation retains architectural heritage while reflecting a modern urban lifestyle.

| Aug 24, 2011

Deadline Extended: 2012 "Best AEC Firms to Work For” Awards

We’re looking for firms that create truly positive workplaces for their AEC professionals and support staff. In other words, this awards program will recognize those AEC firms that nurture and develop their most valuable asset—their people.

| Aug 23, 2011

Acoustical design education model

Pass this exam and earn 1.0 AIA/CES Discovery learning units. You must go to www.BDCnetwork.com/EnhancedAcousticalDesign to take this exam.

| Aug 19, 2011

Thought Leader: Boyd R. Zoccola, chair and chief elected officer of BOMA International

Boyd R. Zoccola is Chair and Chief Elected Officer of BOMA International. A BOMA member since 1994, he has served on the Executive, Finance, Investment, and Medical/Healthcare Facilities Committees. An Indiana Real Estate Principal Broker and a board member of the Real Estate Round Table, he is Executive Vice President of Hokanson Companies, Inc., of Indianapolis, and has been involved in the development of $600 million worth of real estate. On a volunteer basis, Zoccola was president of Horizon House and a board member of Girls, Inc. He holds a BA in biology from Indiana University.

| Aug 19, 2011

How and why AEC professionals choose flooring systems

Design and construction professionals who completed our flooring survey had strong opinions about their preferred flooring type. 

| Aug 19, 2011

Underfloor air distribution, how to get the details right

Our experts provide solid advice on the correct way to design and construct underfloor air distribution systems, to yield significant energy savings.

| Aug 19, 2011

Enhanced acoustical design

Ambient noise levels in some facility types are trending up and becoming a barrier to clear communication between building occupants.

| Jul 22, 2011

The Right Platform for IPD

Workstations for successful integrated project delivery, a white paper by Dell and BD+C.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category



MFPRO+ Special Reports

Top 10 trends in affordable housing

Among affordable housing developers today, there’s one commonality tying projects together: uncertainty. AEC firms share their latest insights and philosophies on the future of affordable housing in BD+C's 2023 Multifamily Annual Report.


halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021