King Abdulaziz Road, ‘Gateway to the city’

Saudi Arabia, Mecca

In collaboration with DHV, KuiperCompagnons have studied possibilities for the King Abdulaziz Road Mecca and touched the mystic of the Holy City of Mecca. The plan builds on already developed ideas and designs. The aim is a long-term sustainable development scheme and details, which is geared towards a high quality urban fabric, an urban fabric which can cope with uncertainties and challenges, is adaptive to change, flexible, differentiated and open to a rich urban life to make people proud of their town and say: " Mecca is my city".

The studies and workshops resulted in the presentation ‘'Ingredients for a Master plan and the Design Development''.

A brief summary of concepts.

Social and cultural
Large numbers of pilgrims from all over the world visit Mecca. The master plan embraces diversity providing local centres within a cohesive framework. The design seeks to engage with the local population through education, social improvements and involvement, thereby increasing ownership, job opportunity
and civic pride.
The urban structure relates directly to the context of Mecca with opportunities to develop characteristic areas that reflect the diversity of Islam.

Physical
The physical structure responds to the existing geographical context of built and natural forms to develop identifiable and distinct urban areas.
The connections, visual and physical, aid orientation and enhance the importance and positioning of Al Haram and the Ka'Bah, as the centre of Mecca and the centre of Islam worldwide.
The transport connections respond to the requirements of the city’s wide connectivity and circulation whilst also ensuring a logical hierarchy and movement within and through the project area.
The public transport is considered as a fundamental element in the success of the project. Therefore it is provided with an importance and adaptability that improves the appeal of development plots and also allows the project area to function smoothly and to develop in the course of time.

Economy
The urban structure provides an adaptable framework for the entire project area which seeks to enhance the diversity of the economic base through the provision of a logical sequence of space, building forms and development use opportunities. The primary concept is to expand economic opportunities beyond peak period tourism during Ramadan and the Hajj.
The design seeks to engage and educate the local population to develop a skills base for job opportunity in construction and service industries, thereby establishing a stronger base for the economy of the city.

Religious and Spiritual
The urban structure respectfully places the central great importance on Al Haram and Ka'Bah as the orientation and arrangement tools.
A hierarchy of religious facilities is established to form community centres within the urban framework. Daily Neighbourhood mosques are located to form local centres supported with education, social and community facilities.

Architecture
The urban framework establishes a structure and logic in the arrangement and placement of buildings, scale and mass. The design substantiates in context, with opportunity for architectural style to develop and enhance the identity of Mecca.

Scale
The scale is developed in response to a physical context of built and natural form. It considers the context of projects locally, city-wide and globally, as being the centre of Islam. The scale of development is also influenced by climatic constraints, opportunities, appropriate potential usage and an optimum development of the area. However, the human scale of streets and people’s perceptions is considered a primary design tool.

http://www.kuiper.nl/index.php?section=Projects&id=205