We are proud to see two projects in Riyadh that Spaceagency has contributed to recognised among the winners of the King Salman Charter for Architecture and Urbanism Award 2024: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Sports Boulevard.
The award celebrates outstanding architectural and urban projects in Saudi Arabia that embody the principles of the King Salman Charter, with a focus on six core values: Authenticity, Continuity, Human Centricity, Livability, Innovation and Sustainability.
https://internationalarchitectureawards.com/project/61802
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King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology
The KACST project was recognised in the Built Projects category for its contribution to innovation and liveability in Riyadh. The Innovation Tower, designed by LAVA, Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, forms part of a major research and science campus developed as a collaborative environment for scientists and researchers.
Spaceagency worked on the campus from 2011 to 2019, developing its Wayfinding and Graphic Communication System in collaboration with LAVA. Our approach was closely connected to the wider masterplan, using movement, orientation and visual communication to create a clear and cohesive environment across the campus.
The campus is organised around the concept of a “Motherboard”, with public space acting as connective tissue between buildings and encouraging interaction and knowledge-sharing. Spaceagency’s wayfinding strategy reinforces this idea of connectivity, helping people navigate the campus while expressing its identity through a visual language centred around innovation, collaboration and scientific exchange.
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Sports Boulevard
The Sports Boulevard was also recognised by the King Salman Charter Award, winning in the Unbuilt Projects category. Led by the Sports Boulevard Foundation, the project is a transformative 140-kilometre urban corridor connecting Wadi Hanifah and Wadi Al-Sulai across Riyadh.
The project aims to create a new ecosystem of sport, culture, entertainment and public space, including almost five million square metres of green space. The award jury highlighted its ambition to create a new environmental corridor for the city, as well as its landscape approach and emphasis on native planting.
Spaceagency has been involved in Sports Boulevard since 2020, developing Wayfinding and Signage strategies across multiple districts. Working with the wider design teams, we created a coherent family of elements that combines a consistent graphic language with an architectural expression tailored to the identity of each district.
Our work spans areas including the Arts, Entertainment and Athletics Districts, as well as the Wadi Al Yasen Center. Across these different environments, the wayfinding strategy is designed to make the wider development intuitive, accessible and recognisable, while contributing to the character and experience of each place.
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For Spaceagency, these two recognitions reflect the value of design that goes beyond individual buildings and considers how people move through, understand and experience places.
From a research campus focused on scientific exchange to one of Riyadh's most ambitious urban transformation projects, both KACST and Sports Boulevard demonstrate the importance of integrating wayfinding, identity and public experience into the wider design process.
We are delighted to have contributed to these projects and to see their ambitions recognised through the King Salman Charter for Architecture and Urbanism Award 2024.