Ibraheem Hassan

Arqa Project

A leisure and hospitality concept along a wadi corridor in Arqa: Najdi-style earth buildings, shaded plazas, pools and palm gardens set against the escarpment, organised by a clear zoning plan.

  • Master planning
  • Landscape
  • Hospitality
  • Najdi architecture
Location
Arqa, Riyadh
Zones
Built facilities, recreation, landscape, circulation, future expansion
Character
Najdi earth architecture
A two-storey earth-toned building with timber pergolas and palms, framed by a white tensile canopy, the escarpment rising behind.
Arrival under the shade canopy

01

Zoning & master plan

The scheme follows a green corridor through the neighbourhood: built facilities at one end, recreation and pools at its heart, landscape along its length, a circulation spine, and land held for future expansion.

Zoning diagram over an aerial photograph: the project boundary in red, with future expansion, built facilities, recreation and amenities, landscape and open space, and circulation zones.
Conceptual zoning
Illustrated zoning sketch of the corridor, its numbered zones drawn among trees, pools and buildings.
Zoning sketch
Rendered master plan over an aerial photograph: the planted corridor, pools and buildings at its centre, and two future expansion areas.
Landscape master plan

02

Courtyards & buildings

Earth-rendered buildings in a Najdi idiom — carved openings, stepped parapets, timber screens and lanterns — gathered around courtyards, lanes and pools.

Pool court in front of two earth-rendered pavilions, with daybeds, palms, a palm-frond screen and the escarpment beyond.
Pool courtyard
Two-storey Najdi-style building lit by wall lanterns, carved openings below a screened roof terrace, palms and flowers in front.
Lantern-lit building
Arcaded courtyard with a central fountain, potted shrubs and climbing roses under screened parapets.
Fountain courtyard
Earth walls and an arched gateway behind a garden of cacti, agaves and grasses.
Arched gateway
A lane between earth walls with an arched doorway, a palm trunk in the foreground and buildings on the ridge beyond.
Village lane

03

Shade & landscape

Tensile canopies and timber pergolas shade the plazas and walks, set among palm groves, desert planting and terraced seating.

View from above over white tensile canopies, a timber pergola walk, palm groves and terraced seating, the escarpment and town beyond.
Canopies and pergola walk
Open plaza with broad steps up to a timber-and-earth pergola, framed by palms and agaves.
Pergola plaza