Heatherwick Studio has unveiled a new project to transform an old desalinization plant into the centerpiece of a new cultural district on the waterfront of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The industrial structure is set to be reconfigured to become The Museum, large complex offering production spaces, studios, and ateliers for artists and makers. Its program also includes exhibition spaces that can accommodate large-scale commissions to help visitors to learn and feel inspired by the next generation of artists.
The project includes the conversion of the main turbine hall into a dramatic exhibition space that creates parallels between the human scale and the large industrial character of the site. The intervention also aims to turn the structure into a souk, or a marketplace, for makers in a variety of creative fields. It includes spaces for making, learning, interacting, and exchanging ideas between visitors, artists, and makers interested in exploring and reflecting on all of Jeddah’s historical and contemporary cultures.
Renders of the reimagined desalinization plant, created by the wearenarrativ team, reveal an elongated structure covered in insulation and solar shading as an adaptation to the Saudi Arabian climate. The new Museum is part of a larger cultural development covering 5.7 million square meters in the heart of Jeddah. In its totality, the district will provide tourist, entertainment, sport, cultural and commercial amenities, in addition to creating residential spaces. The project is still in the early stages of design.
The project continues in the tradition of the city of Jeddah to present itself as a gathering place for artists and makers and to engage actively with the creative community. Earlier this year, the Islamic Arts Biennale took over the Western Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah to transform it into a cultural space focused on exploring the history and heritage of Islamic arts.
The Museum will play a major role in the city’s transformation from its fossil fuel past to a new economy focused on creativity and a young population. The project takes a disused desalination plant that people in Jeddah have always seen from far away and turns it into somewhere they can use and explore. It takes a building designed for machines and turns it into a space designed for people. - Mat Cash, Partner, and Group Leader at Heatherwick Studio
Recently, Heatherwick Studio has been commissioned to redesign the Harley-Davidson Campus and community park in Milwaukee, US. In collaboration with KPF, the architectural office has also revealed the design of the fifth terminal of Changi Airport in Singapore. Another building designed by Heatherwick, the Toranomon-Azabudai in Tokyo, Japan, has made it to ArchDaily’s list of most anticipated buildings expected to open to the public in 2023.
