KAPSARC

A groundbreaking crystalline desert complex

The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in collaboration with Arup and GROSS. MAX.is situated in a unique 50-hectare landscape designed to provide a testing ground for experimental landscapes as response to the prevailing dryness of the climate.  The defining structure of the campus is its hexagonal and prismatic honeycomb cellular structure and courtyards. In nature, hexagonal prismatic honeycomb structures use the least amount of material to create a lattice of cells. The specific arrangement and form of buildings contribute to softening the strong light and heat of the Riyadh Plateau. The hexagonal shapes extend as green oasis into the wider landscape of the sublimated natural wadi setting. The landscape is predominantly planted with indigenous plants and consists of a variety of landscape typologies ranging from extensive desert type vegetation of dry land ecosystems to semi-intensive cultivated landscape to filter the dust and modify the microclimate to small distinct sunken garden pockets strategically located within the building complex as contemporary interpretation of the traditional Islamic courtyard garden.