AlUla Developments - Ashar Electrification Project

AlUla and it’s Journey Through Time is an incredible adventure towards creating smart and conscious tourism. The Masterplan 1 is a cornerstone to kick off developments, including the Maraya landmark and strongly innovative hotels. The masterplan evolves into the Ashar valley leaving all infrastructural intervention outside. A back-of-house area includes an electrification power plant facility to initially supply the growing demand that will later back up the upcoming sustainable energy production. The architecture investigates how buildings can relate to the epic cultural landscape with minimal and well spaced massings. While Maraya uses reflection to enhance the site’s incredible beauty, the industrial building uses the natural perforation of rocks, as well as the vernacular design to relate to the site. A fil rouge of visual communication and identity that could be re-proposed in other projects of similar or dissimilar nature. Nature and Man come together through Land-Art Architecture for the future of service buildings. The dwellings will be interwoven into the landscape and palm groves will create a “filter zone” for shade, shelter and will contribute in creating a microclimate. Being a sensible infrastructure, hidden security measures like “ha-ha”’s will preserve the project’s see-through visual qualities and uninterrupted views to the landscape beyond. By researching construction techniques, the structure investigates and explores architectural expressions for service buildings through a contemporary vernacular language. The Electrification Design combines transparent layers and minimal massings, into a dialogue between modern industrial necessities, artisan expressions and the overwhelming landscape. Clearly identified as a contemporary building, the precast perforate skin serves in ventilating and cooling units in the most natural and efficient way. The skin and tectonics contain vast areas of “natural” air flow to guarantee a sustainable cooling of the electrical switchgears. The modular facade plays with light to produce dimensional designs whilst responding and sensitively interpreting the needs as a contextually sensitive development. The colour choice was made to consciously prevent any clashing with the surrounding area, but rather to spark a little flirt, reinforcing the material coherence and overall identity of AlUla. The landscape of AlUla is panoramic, comprised of sweeping vistas and dramatic horizons. Crushed and washed local stones from construction waste are reused as weights and protection layers, to blend the roof into the surroundings, even if viewed from the mountains, respecting the local philosophy of “ground, horizon and sky”.