Diriyah Gate Cultural Assets Concept and Feasibility Study, KSA
“With a huge variety of educational institutions planned including academies, cultural institutes, museums and universities, we will be developing a place of great learning and intellectual curiosity.
"Filled with wonder and discovery, Diriyah Gate will leave our visitors relaxed, inspired and culturally connected, and it is destined to become one of the world’s greatest gathering places.” DGDA CEO, Jerry Inzerillo
Diriyah Gate in Riyadh is one of Saudi Arabia’s ‘giga-projects’. The $20bn cultural and lifestyle tourism destination, set around the At Turaif World Heritage Site, is part of the enormous and rapid move to develop an in-Kingdom leisure offer.
TGAC was commissioned by the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA), to carry out a feasibility and concept study for key visitor experiences in the Wadi Hanifah Zone - a large and historically important oasis environment.
Collaboration is at the heart of our work. Alongside project managers Fraser Randall, we assembled a multi-talented (and multi-national) team of science experts, designers, business planners and researchers to deliver the project over ten weeks.
Narrative at the Heart of the Wadi
Rapid familiarisation was essential. Information and guidance were provide by Dr Karen Exell, DGDA’s Senior Development Director for Cultural Assets, and Rajai Mneimneh with the Strategy Team. We also worked closely with landscape designers Cracknell, who had developed a detailed design vision for the Wadi.
Our creative approach shaped this information around a core narrative, centred on the link between the natural world (The Stuff of Life) and how people work with it (to Adapt and Thrive). This unifies the visitor’s varied journey through a heritage demonstration farm, along a raised ‘sky walk’ among the date palms, to a bee keeping and honey centre and an advanced agri-tech laboratory complex.
Our ambition was to create a new typology of experience for Diriyah Gate – the Natural Heritage Attraction – engaging visitors with the natural world at local scale, and inspiring them to value the wider landscape and global environment.
Research Insights
The Saudi leisure market is changing rapidly, and we needed consumer research to guide our thinking. Riyadh based agencies Charisma and 4Sightprovided this, working with focus groups that included teachers, families and young singles.
This was the first time such a concept had been tested and it revealed fascinating insights into people’s aspirations to escape from technology, engage with the environment, and connect with natural heritage across generations.
Remote Collaboration
With meetings restricted and boots-on-the-ground exploration impossible, it was more important than ever to make creative collaboration effective. Online Workshops and focused development sessions proved highly successful. We were able to engage with scientists from London’s Natural History Museum as well as local experts who gave guidance on how to keep bees safely and productively in the Saudi climate.
The Final Report included a full space and occupancy analysis, business and operational plans, and a budget and timeline for procurement and delivery of the three visitor experiences.
Team
Many thanks to the great team who worked with us on this inspiring project:
· TVAC
· Charisma
· 4Sight
