Jeddah Design District

Effat University

Project idea

Jeddah Design District is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Targeting the western side of Hiraa St. from the intersection with king Abdulaziz St from the East to the intersection with Prince Faisal Bin Fahad St from the West.
The street is considered as quiet to an extent, it has an identity of a residential street with few commercial projects and hotels. From an urban point of view, the street is under utilized in many aspects, due to the number of brown fields, the low level of social engagement, and finally, the ineligible side walks for any pedestrian or urban activities not even on a minimum level. According to socio-economical observation, the location of the street in relation to the Cornish rises the value of the street. Accordingly, it determines the social class of the residents. Also, the cars observed were ranging between fancy to moderate cars. However, This economical level of residents and users is not reflect on the street appearance and services. Accordingly, residents stay in their own property and keep their fancy lifestyles within their own boundaries specially that the street does not serve them in a social nor in a commercial or economical level.

Project description

Jeddah design district response to the socio-economical level is to create a vibrant luxurious Design District. This District attracts and serves the residents of the street as well passersby and users from all over the city. Accordingly, Jeddah design district focused on five objectives which are: utilizing the empty lots with commercial projects, urbanize the street while maintaining the privacy of the residents, create an artistic district to connect with jeddah’s open museum, and finally to identify the street with a hook or an iconic commercial project.

Technical information

Jeddah Design District proposed an Open mall adjacent to King Abdul Aziz St. that will act as an iconic hook for the district. The open Mall provides an indoor out door experience with zones of art, music, fashion urban spaces in between. The open Mall Is Divided into three main zones, to fulfill the interest of all users from all ages. In addition, The urban spine passes through the project to pull together the urban fabric and to create a source of connectivity and a continuous urban experience.
On the other hand, the project utilized another brown field and turns it to Gourmet Blvd, since food, beverages and restaurants act as a main attraction point to many users. Gourmet Blvd is characterized by its vibrant indoor out door experience on different levels. What connects The Open Mall, Gourmet Blvd, with the rest of the urban district, is the Spine. The Spine is an urban strip that is located in the middle of the street wrapped by a cycling loop lanes and vehicular lanes.
The spine’s positioned in the middle to serve both sides of the street as well as to maintain the privacy of the resident, besides its role in enhancing the social interaction. The spine is divided into four main zones. The first zone is where it introduces the site to the user as an artistic space. Users would experience out door activities, and artistic sculptures, few shops, and sitting areas. The second zone is is characterized by the enclosure and the division of the spaces, where people would experience a different journey through the colonnades and the wet lands. The Third zone is all about the food trucks and its vibrant atmosphere. Providing a food trucks space will guarantee a different experience on each visit The spaces are shaded by Mushroom like canopies, the Sitting areas are centralized, and the pedestrians path goes on both boarders. The fourth and the last zone links Hiraa st with the open museum. This zone is specialized with the interactive spaces, ground boards, Art sculptures and exhibiting spaces. This zone is very strategic as it is not only linking between the two sites. In fact It’s also the gate way and the path leading to the cultural and social project the theatre.

Co-authors

Wed W. Al Yamani
Azzah A. AlQarni
Atheer M. Al Mehmadi
Supervised by Dr. Anna Klingmann