LANDSCAPE ARCHITURE DESIGN STUDENT

RECENTLY, OUR TEAM IS DOING A BIG PROJECT ABOUT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. SO, THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUT AND TAKE A LOOK AT OUR PROGREES. ENJOY!

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SAUDI ARABIA

NATURAL LANDSCAPE:

THE DESERT

The Arabian Desert is located in Western Asia. It is a vast desert wilderness stretching from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman toJordan and Iraq. It occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of 2,330,000 square kilometers (900,000 sq mi). At its center is the Rub'al-Khali, one of the largest continuous bodies of sand in the world. Gazelles, oryx, sand cats, and spiny-tailed lizardsare just some of the desert-adapted species that survive in this extreme environment, which features everything from red dunes to deadly quicksand. 

The climate is mostly dry (the major part receives around 100 mm of rain per year but some very rare places receives down to 50 mm), and temperatures oscillate between very high heat and seasonal night time freezes. It is part of theDeserts and xeric shrublands biome and the Palearctic ecozone. This ecoregion holds little biodiversity, although a few endemic plants grow here. Many species, such as the striped hyena, jackal and honey badger have become extinct in this area due to hunting, human encroachment and habitat destruction. 

Other species have been successfully re-introduced, such as the sand gazelle, and are protected at a number of reserves. Overgrazing by livestock, off-road driving, and human destruction of habitat are the main threats to this desert ecoregion.

RURAL LANDSCAPE :

AL BAHAH

Al Baha is also known for their traditional towers, called in Arabic "qasaba". "Apparently unique to Asir architecture are the qasaba towers. Controversy surrounds their function—some argue that they were built as lookouts, and others that they were keeps, or even granaries. Perhaps it is a combination, although the right position of a watchtower, on a hill top, is the wrong place for a keep or granary.

Dhee Ayn Village (Arabic: قرية ذي عين) is situated at about 24 km. southwest of al-Baha across 'Aqabat al-Baha, also known as Aqbat King Fahad. The famous village of Dhi Ain is sometimes known as "marble village" as it is built on a small marble mountain. The grove of palm trees is lush due to a small stream nearby. The villagers say that the marble village glows at sunset. It also has a steep escarpment road, running into and out of tunnels on the way up and down. Dhi 'Ain was famous for its fruits and banana plantations which still grow there. The village dates back about 400 years, and it witnessed the battles between the Ottoman Turks and its inhabitants.

"Even the road that leads to the (Dhee Ayn) village is impressive, and several historical stone and slate towers dot the way. Al-Bahah Region is known as the region of 1001 towers, once built to protect villages, roads and plantations from rivalling tribes. Today, these towers are abandoned, and many of them are partially or completely in ruins."[3]

"Al-Baha region is rich in ancient mining sites. The sites of Khayal al Masna' and al-Aqiq were major gold mining areas; while the village of Kuna, where over one hundred building structures are located date back to South Arabian Civilization.

URBAN LANDSCAPE :

RIYADH CITY

Riyadh is the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 7.3 million people, and the urban centre of a region with a population of close to 9 million people.The city is divided into 15 municipal districts, managed by Riyadh Municipality headed by the mayor of Riyadh, and the Riyadh Development Authority, chaired by the governor of Riyadh Province, Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud. The current mayor of Riyadh is Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Almogbel, appointed in 2012. It has been designated a global city.

Contemporary architecture:

Kingdom Tower

The tower is built on 94,230 square meters of land. The Kingdom Centre is owned by a group of companies including Kingdom Holding Co. headed by Al-Waleed bin Talal, a prince of the Saudi royal family, and is the headquarters of his holding company, the Kingdom Holding Company. The project cost 2 billion Saudi Arabian Riyals and the contract was undertaken by El-Seif. The Kingdom Centre is the winner of the 2002 Emporis Skyscraper Award, selected as the "best new skyscraper of the year for design and functionality". A three-level shopping center, which also won a major design award, fills the east wing. The large opening is illuminated at night in continuously changing colours. The shopping centre has a separate floor for women only to shop where men are not allowed to enter.

The Kingdom Tower has 99 stories and is the third tallest structure in the country (behind Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Mecca andBurj Rafal in Riyadh), rising to 300 m. A special aspect of the tower is that is divided into two parts in the last one third of its height and linked by a sky-bridge walkway, which provides stunning views of Riyadh.

Burj Rafal

Burj Rafal is the tallest skyscraper in Riyadh and towers 1,010 feet. Construction of Burj Rafal started at May 2011 and opened on June 2013, approximately it took two years to finish. The skyscraper has about 350 rooms and it is also one of the tallest hotels in the world. The building had a total cost of about $320 million. It is located on King Fahd Road and is built by P&T architectures. This luxurious 5 - Star hotel is part of the renowned German Hotel chain of Kempinski.

Burj Al Faisaliyah

Al Faisaliyah Centre (Arabic: برج الفيصلية) is the first skyscraper constructed in Saudi Arabia, and is the third tallest building in Riyadh after the Burj Rafal and the Kingdom Centre. The golden ball that lies atop the tower is said to be inspired by a ballpoint pen, and contains a restaurant; immediately below this is an outside viewing deck. There is a shopping centre with major world brands at ground level. Al Faisaliyah Centre also has a hotel at both sides of the tower while the main building is occupied by offices run by different companies. The Al Faisaliyah Tower has 44 stories. 

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REMODELLING!!

Our recent model for ‘Saudi Arabia’ was not accepted and it was way too far out of Saudi Arabia. 

So, we came out with an idea to remove the pyramid,reconstruct the natural landscape and the rural landscape side.As you can see, on the natural side, we make the desert sand from polystyrene and  incised the side of each the desert sand to show it has a pattern and texture. 

For the rural side, we make another research on the place called ‘Al-Bahah’.Al-Bahah was located at south-west of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia between Mecca and Aseer.This tourist city is situated in an area characterized by natural tree cover and agricultural plateaus. It consists of six towns, the most important of which are Beljarshy, Almandaq, and Almekhwah, in addition to the Baha city in the center of the province. 

The province comprises 31 administrative centers and has a population of 533,001.The mountain road links Al-Baha to Tihama plain.The province is known for its beauty and has forests, wildlife areas, valleys and mountains that attract visitors from all parts of the kingdom and the Persian Gulf area. Some of these areas are the forests of Raghdan, Ghomsan, Fayk, and Aljabal, and many other historical and archeological sites. It contains more than 53 forests.

this shows that Al-Bahah was onced and still a rural landscape which become a good example of relationship between human and nature.It also shows that human needs to rely on the environment by doing agriculture.

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URBAN LANDSCAPE IN SAUDI ARABIA

  When the era of rural comes to an end, the arabian people began to create buildings with high technology and featured a great architecture. Most of the buildings created have a unique design which it become an attraction to other people around the world to come to Saudi Arabia. Most of the attraction are towards the high skyscrapers buildings such as Burj Rafal, Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel, Kingdom centre and other more. 

As you can see, these proved that even in the desert, human can still create many things and and invent things. Even if the climate is high, the human architecture will based on the things that can overcome the problem.

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Urban Landscape in Saudi Arabia

The beginning of industrialisation in Saudi Arabia begins 1970′s, where people start to develop technologies and enhance their knowledge about technology.

During the last three decades urban growth has been very rapid in almost all Arab countries, especially in oil-producing countries in the Arabian Gulf region. In Saudi Arabia, Dammam Metropolitan Area (DMA) has faced an unprecedented rapid and massive urbanisation. Although such rapid urbanisation was of some economic advantages, it has created a web of serious urban and environmental problems. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the urban and environmental problems associated with the rapid urbanisation in DMA. Also, this paper aims to define the necessary measures for managing such rapid urbanisation. In doing so, the paper starts by examining the rate and directions of urban growth in DMA. Then, it examines the nature and extent of the associated environmental and urban problems and their socio-economic impacts. And finally, the paper proposes some measures for controlling rapid urbanisation and for minimizing its environmental and urban impacts.

THe buildings builded are mostly a really high sky-scrapper type. This brings negative effect to the nature. So, the nature is not conserved and soon will become depleted and vanished.

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Rural landscape in Saudi Arabia 

Before the beginning of of the urbanisation in Saudi Arabia, most of the people there are strongly to spread their holy religion which is The Islam. They focused on praying and spreading the Islam over the whole country.The religion is spread through the trading session or during the marketing. The people survived by feeding on their own agriculture and the animals such as the camels and the goats.

Commonly, the they sale their own harvested such as the the date palm,grapes,citrus and olives.They also reared animals like camels from the young until it grown up and become valuable for the people;.

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The Art in Design (and the Design in Art) Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs [and rivers] in the earth; then He produces thereby crops of varying colours; then they dry and you see them turned yellow; then He makes them [scattered] debris. Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.

(Qur'an, 39:21)

[islamiclandscape-blog]

The art in design (and the design in art) Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs [and rivers] in the earth; then He produces thereby crops of varying colours; then they dry and you see them turned yellow; then He makes them [scattered] debris. Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.

(Qur'an, 39:21)

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Natural landscape in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia occupies about 80% of the Arabian Peninsula (the world's largest peninsula), lying between latitudes 16° and 33° N, and longitudes 34° and 56° E. Because the country's southern borders with the United Arab Emirates and Oman are not precisely marked, the exact size of the country is undefined. The CIA World Factbook estimates 2,149,690 km2(830,000 sq mi) and lists Saudi Arabia as the world's 13th largest state. It is geographically the largest country in the Arabian Plate.

Saudi Arabia's geography is dominated by the Arabian Desert and associated semi-desert and shrubland . It is, in fact, a number of linked deserts and includes the 647,500 km2 (250,001 sq mi) Rub' al Khali ("Empty Quarter") in the southern part of the country, the world's largest contiguous sand desert.

There are virtually no rivers or lakes in the country, but wadis are numerous. The few fertile areas are to be found in the alluvial deposits in wadis, basins, and oases.The main topographical feature is the central plateau which rises abruptly from the Red Sea and gradually descends into the Nejd and toward the Persian Gulf. On the Red Sea coast, there is a narrow coastal plain, known as the Tihamah parallel to which runs an imposing escarpment. The southwest province of Asir is mountainous, and contains the 3,133 m (10,279 ft) Mount Sawda, which is the highest point in the country.

It is clearly stated in the Quran that Allah are the only one  who has the power to create the universe 

Tectonic plates and mountain 'pegs'

"And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided," (Qur'an, 16:15)

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Saudi Arabia is officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is an Arab state in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. With a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), Saudi Arabia is geographically the fifth-largest state in Asia and second-largest state in the Arab world after Algeria. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast, and Yemen to the south. It is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf of Aqaba. It is the only nation with both a Red Seacoast and a Persian Gulf coast, and most of its terrain consists of arid inhospitable desert or barren landforms.