KING ABDULAZIZ CENTRE FOR WORLD CULTURE°

The Cultural Center consisting of a museum, a library and spaces for events and conventions has a recognizable silhouette: Large rock-like formations are stapled on top of each other alongside an incision in the ground, forming a megalithic structure. As you approach the cultural center site the remarkable silhouette of the building – like a Fata Morgana – rises from the desert into the sky – announcing an unexpected experience for the next hours to come. Huge rocklike formations piled on top of each other assembled along a cut into the ground resembling megalith structures of long ago yet talking about man’s astounding capabilities making rocks fly. A museum – as we know – today has not necessarily a codified form. A new museum in a cultural environment that has – fortunately – not yet codified expectations of institutions like a library, museum, exhibition hall, auditorium permits an architectural freedom beyond already given expectations of content and container. As the content may deviate from existing schemes of topics and presentations, local history has other specifics, local culture and art put a different look and emphasis on the exhibits and the way to see the treasures of the World. The soil, the cultural center is situated on, will emanate to a global visitor a specific memorable experience. The sand coloured exterior of the structure – with interspersed glazed areas and fields of coloured tiles or metals – like silver, stainless steel and gold – is illuminated at night time and will be a beacon of the future in the Middle East