JAX 现代化办公室丨沙特阿拉伯丨BRICKLAB

Architect：BRICKLAB

Location：13732, Diriyah 13732, Saudi Arabia; | ;View Map

Project Year：2021

Category：Offices

Since the 1980’s, Saudi society witnessed a period of extremely conservative governance, supported by a skepticism towards the wholesale changes the local population witnessed after the discovery of oil. This period of introverted affairs vehemently limited public displays of cultural practice under the banner of religious reform. After decades of relative isolation, the Ministry of Culture was established in 2018 with the mandate to support cultural expression and celebrate national heritage across different sectors. Emancipated from the limitations imposed by religious extremism, cultural practice may once again thrive as a soft power that has the ability to engage in dialogue, contribute to economic growth, and enhance quality of life. Originally located in the iconic Rasem Badran Mohammed bin Abdulwahab Foundation in Al Bujairi, the ministry quickly outgrew its headquarters demanding additional office space.

Set on a 12,300 m2 plot along the eastern periphery of Ad Diriyah’s former industrial quarter, the new location is only a few meters away from the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and the upcoming JAX creative district. Its strategic site is perched on an elevated plateau overlooking a tributary extending from Wadi Hanifa. In response to the unique juxtaposition between the natural topography of the wadi and the manufactured materiality of the industrial buildings, Bricklab developed a conceptual framework around the duality between nature and culture. Their approach for the design of the 7,300 m2 facility is informed by the various ecosystems that characterize Wadi Hanifa on the one hand, and the familiar warehouse typology on the other.

An array of narrow pitched roofs are strung together to form an iconic silhouette that assumes a distorted continuity of the industrial district as visitors approach the offices from the street. Along the wadi, these forms become increasing staggered with large openings offering views towards an open public garden overlooking the natural landscape. A simple material palette of corrugated steel sheets and an earthy tone of stucco are set against the 6,000 m2 park designed by the Beirut/Dubai/London based studiolibani. Through their research on sustainable landscape practices in arid regions, their approach recreates a series of environments that mirror the changes in Wadi Hanifa as it pours from the Tuwaiq mountains in the north down to the Empty Quarter southwards.

The general outline of the wadi is transcribed into the walkway that crosses the length of the park, while different bouquets of local fauna reflect the nuanced varieties that populate the wadi bed. This formal approach, along with its landscape principles, is carried through in the interior of the offices. Undulating walls in a deep burnt beige simulate the passage of water along Wadi Hanifa to create the building’s main circulation spine. Office quarters are organized around three large planters along the spine to echo the micro-environments of the wadi. The central planter, positioned in the entrance lobby, is composed of small palm trees in reference to the agricultural history of Ad Diriyah.

The architecture of the Ministry of Culture offices in JAX is a meditation on the origins of culture as an act of tending and cultivating the land. By highlighting the mutual dependency between the natural and the man-made, a contemporary architectural language may be developed. Seemingly in resonance with the distant past, and in constant dialogue with nature, this language attempts to foster a critical outlook to the climatic and environmental challenges facing our cities today in a poetic manner.

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