The King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture is a bold new initiative on the part of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development within the Kingdom. Following an invited architectural design competition in 2007 Snøhetta has been selected to design this prestigious cultural facility.

Located in Dhahran in the Eastern Province the Cultural Center will provide for a wide range of activities serving the local population and becoming a cultural landmark on both a regional, national and global horizon. When completed, the project will contain some 45000m2 of diverse cultural facilities, including an auditorium, cinema, library, exhibition hall, museum and archive.

The auditorium will seat 1000 visitors and will provide for a wide range of events ranging from opera, symphony concerts, musicals and speeches etc. Together with the smaller cinema, this will be an unrivalled venue for the performing arts in the Kingdom. The library will become a center of learning containing some 300 000 books on open access and catering for all ages and categories of users. The great exhibition hall will accommodate large scale travelling exhibitions,as well as providing the setting for social events, banquets and conferences. The museum and archive facilities connect the vibrant cultural life of the center to the past and to the very roots of the society from which this center is conceived.

The architectural concept is based upon the following six principles:

//The Past and the Future
Culture grows out of the past, without culture no community or company can create a future. The design for the Saudi Aramco Cultural Center embraces both past and future, captured in the present. Both in terms of architectural expression and internal logic this proposal digs down into the past and reaches up in to the future.

//Introvert and Extrovert
The concept is both introverted and extroverted. Below grade the museum and archive functions are grouped around the inner void looking inwards to the truths and knowledge to be found within Saudi Aramco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Above grade, the composition reaches out of the ground, connecting to the world beyond.

//Repository and Beacon
Located below grade the Museum and Archive becomes a true repository of knowledge, in protective surroundings and stored for posterity. In contrast the Library, Children’s Exhibit and Visitor Centre are expressed as beacons to scholars across the world.

//Diversity and Unity
This design takes the form of a complex composition, consisting of a number of individual and discrete components. Balance and harmony is created through interdependence. Each component is fashioned as a unique and tailor- made entity, conforming to and expressive of its own individual needs and requirements.

//Teamwork
No one component can be removed. All are interdependent and rely upon each other. The resulting composition is an expression of team work. Each part can be endlessly adjusted to suit the individual and specific needs. This form for flexibility is not general or universal, but specific and individual.

//Energy
The balance and harmony of the composition is not static, but dynamic, expressive of the team work and above all of the energy to be found in the people that comprise Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabia. Evoking wonder and bearing memory of the steadfast endurance and hard labour under severe conditions in the pioneer striking of oil.

‘The Center’s museum will showcase the rich history and legacy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its programs and exhibits will connect the past with the future and fire the imaginations of visitors of all ages.
An exhibition hall will be the focal point for bringing cultures of the world to Saudi Arabia through exhibitions that stimulate cross-cultural engagement and appreciation.

A Children’s Education Center will offer an innovative and creative museum and library designed specifically for children from 2-12 years old. The purpose of this facility is to spark in children a love of learning. Children will discover captivating objects and immersive multimedia exhibits that will incorporate storytelling, video, audio and self-directed study to encourage interaction and true hands-on learning.’

On May 20th 2008 The foundation stone was laid by King Abdullah, the Cultual Center will be completed in 2011.

Fore more information and pictures visit: www.snoarc.no