The Al Faisaliyah Center . It is a skyscraper, with its thirty floors and more than two hundred and fifty meters high, Al faisaliah constitutes the tallest building in Riyadh and what most clearly characterizes its profile.
Summary
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- 1 The Complex
- 2 Situation
- 3 Concept
- 4 Spaces
- 5 Structure and Materials
- 6 Sources
The Complex
The skyscraper is part of a larger complex comprising a large plaza raised seven meters from the street plan, a luxurious hotel with more than two hundred rooms, a shopping center, a mega car park with 1,200 spaces and a residential area with about 100 apartments.
Situation
The Al Faisaliyah Complex is located in the city of Riyadh. Riyadh, which in Arabic means “The Gardens” is the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located in the Nejd region. It is also the capital of the province of Riyadh. It is in the center of the Arabian Peninsula, on a large plateau surrounded by oases and the great desert. The significant aridity of the Saudi soil means that the water has to be brought, in part, from the Persian Gulf sea.
Concept
The pyramidal structure of the tower makes us more “friendly” by adopting its edges a slight curvature. Although this pyramid is developed mainly in height it does not stop having its part of homage towards the great pyramids of Egypt . Just as the pyramids of Egypt remain in history as the memory of one of the greatest civilizations in history, this new pyramid dominates the city of Riyadh , the capital of Saudi Arabia., which is today one of the countries with the most power and international influence thanks to having some of the largest oil fields on the planet. The large sphere located on the top floor of the tower in perfect balance does not escape anyone, but nevertheless it seems that it was going to roll and fall at the slightest blow of wind. Simple figures like triangle and circumference also had an important meaning in Egyptian civilization.
Spaces
In the upper part, in correspondence with the sphere, the cement envelope assumes a lighter and more rhythmic consistency, with large openings that offer a wide panoramic view of the city. The innermost part of the building is occupied instead by elevators, technical spaces and stairs. On the top floor of the building is the large sphere, 24 meters in diameter, where the restaurant is located, distributed on the three floors that make up the interior of the sphere. On the other hand, below the plaza, a space destined for banquets is developed, but whose use function can change thanks to an interior structure that uses removable and mobile panels. It is a space that can hold up to three thousand people, and it is presented as a huge open space,
Structure and Materials
Another element that characterizes it is the course of the facades, whose tapered profile is concluded with a more marked narrowing, which in the upper part designs a sharp arch. The horizontal lines that make up the three blocks of the facade correspond to parapets that protrude from the plane of the facade to protect it from the harsh sun that falls during the 12 months of the year in those latitudes. The square plan of the tower, therefore, undergoes a gradual transformation throughout the vertical development of the building.
Even when viewed from the outside, it is inevitable to notice how it is structured in three blocks of nine, ten and eleven floors, separated from each other by “transverse” beams that transfer column loads to the pillars. To support the weight of this enormous building, a reinforced concrete structure was chosen for almost the entire work. The material that has been used the most for facades is glass, which gives the tower a particularly light and light appearance, despite its notable dimensions; other materials used are also local stone and wood, used together with glass in a multilayer system.
