The joy of knowledge

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Jeff Roberts talks to the various architectural teams behind Saudi Arabia’s Knowledge Economic City

The US$ 7 billion Medina-based Knowledge Economic City (KEC) project – directed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and a consortium of Saudi corporations – is considered the most important of Saudi Arabia’s Economic Cities (ECs) because of its proximity to the Holy Mosque. The fourth of six greenfield privately-developed centres of industrial and economic development in Saudi Arabia, KEC was designed to attract knowledge-based intellectuals and entrepreneurs from around the world.

“The reason for locating a knowledge-based development in Medina, which might seem like an odd choice because of the predominance of religion in the city, is that millions of Muslims are eager to live and work within a short distance of the Holy Mosque. They would do anything to get there; all that’s stopping them is living and working visas,” says Dr. Abdullah M.A. Telmesani, vice president of project development for Quad International Real Estate Development and concept designer for KEC.

Since the concept was launched in 2006, KEC has been declared a special economic zone under the regulatory jurisdiction of SAGIA, which will facilitate a collaborative and productive environment for knowledge-based businesses. “Approximately 75% of Saudi professionals in knowledge-based industries go to the UK, Canada and the US. So, KEC is hoping to encourage intelligent professionals to create and run this knowledge-based city,” says Telmesani. “Locating this development in Medina makes it attractive for Muslims in knowledge-based industries to remain in Saudi Arabia.” 

The Masterplan Process

To the surprise of all those involved, the initial conceptual design process was, by industry standards, extremely efficient.

 Telmesani worked with the Dubai branch of LA-based Creative Kingdom for three weeks to move the initial concept from an idea to a schematic design. After three weeks, Creative Kingdom and Telmesani worked with the existing schematics for an additional 14 weeks to complete the conceptual masterplan. “Creative Kingdom helped to create a conceptual masterplan complete with perspectives and animations. Just two-and-a-half months after we’d started working together, we made a presentation to the King of Saudi Arabia with full visual support including models,” recounts Telmesani.  

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After attaining approval from King Abdullah Aziz, Quad hired HOK Architects to develop a technical masterplan that included critical infrastructure components. “Some of the original principals were kept but there was a lot of rigor to go beyond the conceptual level of the plan. Traffic impact was added into the mix in terms of creating the appropriate rights-of-way and tying them to the existing infrastructure,” explains Daniel Hajjar, vice president and regional manager of HOK in the GCC.

“We consulted with IBI Group for help with developing infrastructure and another firm to help with sewage and water, just so that, when we approached the various authorities, we had an idea of the demands of the project.”  

Joint masterplanning between major players is often fraught with tension and difficulties but, while the KEC project has had its share of both, Quad and HOK eventually arrived at a masterplan that was congruent with the original concept. “Of course, being the conceptual designer, you get attached to what you have created, so HOK and I had some fun times trying to make sure we could meet somewhere in the middle. Fortunately, we are all still friends after a lot of hot sessions,” laughs Telmesani.

“In terms of development of the project, the original schematic has pretty much been kept, along with the different infrastructure mixes as well. The project has actually gone quite smoothly,” adds Hajjar. “We’re pretty positive about the experience and, obviously, it’s great to see it move forward into reality instead of remaining just a set of pretty pictures and drawings.”

The ease of moving from concept to completed masterplan was a process that Telmesani extols. “Perhaps it was something mystical, but things have gone so well in getting to this point. On a project of this magnitude, things are never 100% effortless but, when it came to technical aspects, it really went very smoothly and very quickly.”  

Land use at KEC

The 4.8 million m² development is built on land originally owned by King Abdullah Aziz before he donated it to his charitable organisation, the King Abdullah Foundation (KAF); it is five kms from Medina’s Holy Mosque, and will incorporate 8 million m² of built space, creating 20,000 new job opportunities. The development will include 30,000 residences, housing an estimated 150,000 residents and accommodating up to 10,000 visitors.

The knowledge-based component of the KEC site, which includes the medical, health, science, multimedia, education and biotechnology services, has been allocated 600,000m². KEC’s Centre for Medical Sciences & Biotechnology will help to develop regional solutions to common illnesses and provide medical resources and rehabilitation for residents and visitors. The biotechnology ventures will conduct medical and environmental research into water conservation and waste management as well as genetic engineering and development of palm-based products.