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QIDDIYA ACADEMY

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2020 - Shenzhen-Hong Kong, China

QIDDIYA ACADEMY VISIONING

Year: 2021
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Area: 0.2km²
Contribution: Strategic Advisory and Urban Design/Place-making

Collaborators : Bain & Company
Tekuma Frenchman was selected to strategize and conceive of a 21st century hospitality institute in the heart of the largest entertainment destination project under construction in the world, Qiddiya. The project focused on designing an innovative urban solution for the future campus and its integration with the rest of the district.  This vision has inspired us to conceive of the future academy at a level equal to the vision: ambitious, innovative, oriented to the future of the Kingdom, and inclusive of concepts of training and education emerging in the 21st century. And so, rather than presenting the guidelines as a conventional punch-list of standard requirements with numerical parameters, we have cast the guidelines as a narrative, a scenario for design and development of an academy which embodies the unique context and aspirations of Qiddiya.

Unique Solutions

  • A three-layer infinite corridor as the heart and spatial structure of the campus. The academy is inspired by MIT’s own infinite corridor and is composed of three types of scientific spaces (1) Idea Space where the community of researchers come together, (2) Lab Space where experiments and equipments are held, (3) Incubation Space where innovative products can be commercialized for the market with the support of established industries.
  •  A flexible and sensible park at the center that leverages modular construction to create a dynamic programmable campus for events.  
  • An iconic research think tank at the heart of the institute that becomes a beacon in the field of hospitality and entertainment education.