Nine major infrastructure and architectural projects across the Middle East’s Gulf countries received inaugural awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects on Wednesday during a ceremony held in Dubai.
“This year’s projects celebrate the architectural ambition and diversity of the Middle East. From inspiring new civic spaces to sustainable places for learning and community, the winning designs show how architecture is reshaping the future of the built environment in the region,” RIBA said.
Most of these mega-projects, which featured internationally acclaimed architectural firms, involved massive budgets, often hundreds to billions of dollars, reflecting a race by the Arab world’s wealthiest nations to cement themselves on the global stage of landmark architecture.
In return, the aim is to attract foreign investment and luxury tourism in order to diversify economies long reliant on oil, now strained by energy market volatility.
Here are three of the top projects:
Buhais Geology Park Interpretive Center
Designed by the Hopkins Architects in Britain, the park received the RIBA member award. It features shell-like buildings inspired by fossilized sea urchins. Located in the desert southeast of Sharjah, the 25,000-square foot center opened in January 2020.
The site contains marine fossils over 65 million years old, mountain ranges, and burial sites from the Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages. Each pod serves a different function, connected by an outdoor trail that passes natural rock formations and ancient tombs.
Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women
RIBA has praised the winner of the “social architecture” project as a “groundbreaking landmark of equality and innovation.” Located in Doha, the first purpose-built contemporary women’s mosque in the Muslim world was conceived by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, wife of the late emir of Qatar, and designed by the New York architectural firm Diller Scofidio Renfro. It was inaugurated in 2024 and spans 50,000 square feet.
The facility supports education, research, and faith to promote women’s self-growth and empowerment, according to its designers, inspired by the legacy of a historic Muslim female figure whose appeal led to reforms in divorce law in the Islamic religion.
King Salman Park
King Salman Park in Riyadh, designed by Gerber Architekten of Germany, was launched in 2019 as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to create sustainable urban spaces. The park is a vital green intervention in the capital, providing sports, cultural, artistic, entertainment, commercial, and residential facilities.
It is one of four giga-projects for green spaces in Riyadh, valued at approximately $23 billion. The project earned RIBA’s “future project” award. It is being developed over an area of 6 square miles, nearly five times the size of New York’s Central Park, which has an area of an area of 1.31 square miles.
The park’s estimated completion is set for 2027, but no date has been officially announced.
Other Projects
The RIBA Middle East Awards recognized several projects in the United Arab Emirates, including Al Wasl Plaza in Dubai, designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture; the Thematic Districts of Dubai’s Expo 2020, by Hopkins Architects; the Singapore Pavilion at Expo 2020, by WOHA; the World Food Waste Teahouse: Arabi‑an in Dubai, by Mitsubishi Jisho Design; the Serai Wing by Anarchitect; and the Jafar Center at Dubai College, designed by Godwin Austen Johnson.
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