Zaha Hadid Architects has won a competition for the design of the Urban Heritage Museum Administration Centre in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The center will serve as the head office of the Heritage Museum, an educational institution established to preserve the historic UNESCO world heritage sites of Diriyah and the surrounding Wadi Hanifah valley.

Zaha Hadid Architects has won a competition for the design of the Urban Heritage Museum Administration Centre in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The center will serve as the head office of the Heritage Museum, an educational institution established to preserve the historic UNESCO world heritage sites of Diriyah and the surrounding Wadi Hanifah valley.

Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects
The 8,780 square meter (95,000 square foot) building will contain a permanent exhibition gallery, library, lecture hall, and student/adult educational spaces, and will also serve as the home of a new scientific institution aimed at conducting field research and documentation of the many archaeological sites in Diriyah.

Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects

The project design draws inspiration from Diriyah?s status as a natural oasis within the harsh Wadi Hanifah valley and greater Najd central plateau. This context is translated architecturally by organizing facilities around a central atrium containing a prominent water feature, and the intru...