Museum of the Built

Environment
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is a new 55-million-square-foot mixed-use
urban community in Riyadh. Among its public buildings under construction is FXFOWLE
Architects Museum of the Built Environment (MOBE), which explores the role of social,
economic, and environmental issues in the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiaand
the larger region.
The museum will exhibit works related to the history of the arts and architecture on the
Arabian peninsula, as well as document trends in sustainable thinking and their role in the
future of the built environment. The museum puts the traditionally private culture of Saudi
Arabia on display, creating a building for residents and visitors.

The design principles of MOBE are bound with the planning of KAFD as a whole. A
sunken wadi a dry desert riverbed that becomes wet during heavy rains runs
through the development, bisecting the museums site, a large plaza. Central to the
inhabitation of the desert, a wadi allows limited agriculture in a severe environment.

At KAFD, the wadi has been transformed into a linear pedestrian park that connects
key buildings: Madin Slih and At-Turaif, two Saudi Arabian UNESCO World
Heritage sites that inspired FXFOWLEs design. The juxtaposition of worked stone
and natural rock, formed by erosion and other geologic processes, is echoed in a
dynamic carved volume that nestles around the artificial topography of the wadi.

The program draws the public into the building, activating the space at all times. Along
with permanent and temporary exhibition galleries are a restaurant, bookstores, research
and education center, auditorium, public spaces including atrium, administration and
support spaces, monorail, and parking.

Three district-wide circulation systems are integrated into the fabric of the building:
the building connects to KAFD via the monorail (two levels above ground), a skywalk
(one level above ground), and the wadi (one level below ground). The MOBE station
on the monorail offers direct views into the galleries, and the adjacency of the wadi
creates visual porosity and emphasizes synergies between interior and exterior.

The complex program requires divisions between public and private spaces; secured and
unsecured spaces; and spaces that have traditional admission hours and those that are open
twenty-four hours a day. Blurred boundaries between private and public, internal and
external, promote a setting that is welcoming to museum-goers and others.

The internal distribution of the program is expressed by solidity and opacity on the
museums upper floors and transparency on the lower levels.

The facade of the upper portion consists of laminated glass panels that create a
textural quality and allow daylight into select locations. This strategy borrows from
At-Turaif, the first capital of the Saudi dynasty. An oasis city dating from the fifteenth
century, the citadel incorporates climatic responsesadobe construction, small
triangular aperturesinto its expressive architecture.

At MOBE, the apertures recall those of At-Turaif in both visual presentation and
function, but in a contemporary manner. The facade, likewise, adopts the role of its
ancient counterpartminimizing heat gainbut with an up-to-date reflective system.
The outer wall of laminated glass covers an inner insulated, weather-tight envelope.

The interior circulation is clear despite the intricate arrangement of program elements. Visual
cues draw visitors into the site and through the building. A large interior atrium, publicly
accessible and open around the clock, connects to parking, monorail, and skywalk. Half
interior and half exterior, the atrium marks a bridge over the wadi; it also links levels within
the museum.
Museum administration and support are located at grade and a level above. The exhibition
areas and restaurant are on the upper floors, encouraging visitors to tour the entire building.
Elevators manage vertical movement between museum spaces; horizontal circulation is
organized by virtue of proximities between similar program components. Staircases traverse
the interior of the museum, providing access to the lobby, exhibition spaces, and
transportation.

The elliptical auditorium, wrapped in rapidly renewable woods, floats independently

in the atrium.

Integrated passive and active strategies maximize sustainability. We used building

performance modeling to help shape the building envelope and to incorporate solar
shading.

Along with the reflective, highly insulated building envelope, advanced HVAC
systems reduce energy use. Other energy-saving components include LED lighting,
automated lighting systems, and mechanical shading devices.

Rainwater is collected and graywater is treated on site. Open offices and internal stairs
encourage active work spaces and better internal environments. Sky gardens bring the
landscape into the architecture.