Case Study: Jenan City

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Client: Jenan Real Estate
Architect: NORR Consultants
Location: Saudi Arabia

THE PROJECT

Jenan City is a 44,655m² mixed-use development in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, which will include offices, apartments, a mall and a hotel. Spread across two adjacent sites, Jenan City will provide upwards of 100 luxury apartments, a 250-room hotel and a mall on the first plot and a medium density residential development on the second, providing homes for Saudi Arabian families. It has been designed by NORR consultants, and it is one of two major projects the firm is currently working on in Saudi Arabia.

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THE SITE

The 340,000m² site is split into two plots on the main thoroughfare in Al Khobar. The commercial component of the project – including the mall and hotel – fronts onto King Saud Road, while the residential section, targeting Saudi nationals, is to the east of the site. By splitting the development 50/50 across the two plots, the architects have created a shared open space running east to west through the centre of the site.

THE CONCEPT

The buildings have been conceived as abstract sculptural masses, and the exterior expression of these forms is a play between solid and transparent materials. NORR’s concept combines horizontally massed low-rise buildings punctuated by seven towers, varying in height from 12 to 37 floors as they move from east to west across the site. The office and hotel towers anchor the master plan and are designed to prominently identify Jenan City as a landmark for Al Khobar and the larger region.

THE DETAILS

The designers had to balance local cultural needs for privacy with the constraints of a high-density development. They focused on providing both shared areas between the buildings as well as private roof terraces. Yahya Jan, design director at NORR, explained that external areas had to be usable, and simply providing balconies would not suffice. “We have proposed solutions that celebrate both indoor and outdoor spaces,” he said.

The designers sought to take into account Al Khobar’s hot and dry climate from a very early stage. To reduce the impact of solar gain to the interiors the buildings are rectangular in plan, and oriented to reduce the extent of their east and west facades. “We have worked closely with our environmental consultant to study the impact of the environment, including land and sea breezes,” Jan said. The massing of the project, with the highest buildings in the west and building heights progressively decreasing to the east, is intended to help make the most of the cool east winds.