U.S. Embassy Riyadh

Today, Saudi Arabia is preparing for a prosperous future, with transformation across broad sectors from infrastructure, education, and technology to tourism, sports, and entertainment under the country’s Vision 2030 initiative. Catalyzed by this momentum, the United States and Saudi Arabia are expanding upon eight decades of partnership to drive research and development that will enhance high performance design in the Kingdom and around the world in the decades ahead. At this pivotal moment in Saudi Arabia’s history, the United States is revitalizing its diplomatic buildings across the country. The new embassy in Riyadh represents an opportunity to highlight our shared ideals while providing enhanced facilities for embassy staff and their families and improved services to the thousands of U.S. citizens residing in Saudi Arabia, and the millions of travelers who journey between our nations each year. The values and energy of this moment shape the design of the new embassy, located on a new site in the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh next to the dramatic landscape of Wadi Hanifa. With particular attention to supporting the family-oriented nature of the post, the team aligned its approach with goals to provide the most effective facilities for U.S. diplomacy abroad ensuring the United States is safer, stronger, and more prosperous. The new embassy’s design engages with Riyadh’s unique natural setting and cultural heritage to create a public symbol of our countries’ mutual respect, enduring partnership, and optimism for the future.

Fitting into the Site and Context

The new embassy harmoniously integrates with the local context, both in terms of the built environment and the natural surroundings. The buildings are oriented in low horizontal bands, respecting the modest building heights prevalent in the Diplomatic Quarter. This alignment also mirrors the horizontal character of the adjacent wadi, creating a sense of visual continuity between the buildings and the landscape. In selecting materials and finishes, an effort has been made to blend with the surrounding landscape while also establishing a connection with local architectural styles and building traditions. The outward surfaces feature earthen hues of light-colored concrete, natural stone, and golden metal rain screens punctuated by trees and greenery. The perimeter of the site is screened by bermed landscaping and low walls constructed using local stone and regional building techniques.

Connection with Local Landscapes

The landscapes around the site are characterized by curving riverbeds and eroded earthen bowls lined with trees and plants fed by the variable flow of water through the wadis. These natural watercourses, such as Wadi Hanifa, inspire the design of paths and outdoor spaces in the new embassy. Planted, shaded walkways flow across the landscape, connecting people to the surroundings as they move across the site. Drawing from the bowl-like spaces found in wadis, the design also focuses on creating outdoor rooms within the buildings. At main entry points, courtyards are carved out and enclosed by walls and canopies. Inspired by the shaded spaces of the wadi landscape, these courtyards serve as welcoming areas, offering a sense of enclosure and tranquility. They become gathering spaces where visitors can interact, appreciate the surrounding landscape, and enjoy a peaceful retreat within the built environment.

Creating a Cohesive Embassy and Community

The organization of the new embassy responds to the context, adjacencies, orientation, and approach to the site. The site organization is dictated by the transitional location between the diplomatic quarter development and the natural landscape of Wadi Hanifa. A diverse program of community amenities for staff is integrated throughout the embassy, offering spaces for recreation and wellness, along with outdoor areas that support both small gatherings and large events. Outdoor walkways are thoughtfully supplemented with landscaping and canopies, providing shaded and inviting pathways for pedestrians. Additionally, courtyards and outdoor passages are strategically designed to connect office spaces, the community center, and residential buildings, to create a walkable environment.

A Self-Shading Embassy

The design of the embassy incorporates a self-shading concept, achieved by strategically orienting buildings in long narrow bands. This orientation creates outdoor corridors along the long faces of the buildings, forming clear visual and physical connections across the site shaded by the height of adjacent structures. This network of landscaped outdoor passages seamlessly connects courtyards, office spaces, the community center, and residential buildings, fostering a harmonious and shaded environment.

Façade Design that Responds to Climate and Local Influences

The building façade is designed to address the harsh conditions and enhance occupant comfort. The embassy’s façades were designed to balance these functions with sensitivity to cost, durability, maintenance, and aesthetics, especially considering the environmental stress the façade will experience from the heat and sunlight of Riyadh. The long façades of each building feature a perforated metal panel screen, serving as a continuous protective skin that shields the interior from direct solar exposure. This design approach ensures occupant health and comfort by mitigating both glare and excessive daylighting levels. The façade walls of the buildings are adorned with horizontal striated paneling that reflects the surrounding Wadi Hanifa landscape. These geologically-inspired patterns unify the buildings and reinforce the east-to-west directionality of the site layout. This textured approach, reminiscent of the walls of a wadi, weaves throughout the site, defining both the linear passages and the communal spaces.

High Performance

High performance design is a guiding principle for the new embassy, shaped by the extreme performance demands of the Riyadh climate. Water conservation measures such as low-flow fixtures and reclaimed irrigation are incorporated, with consideration to the scarcity of water resources in Saudi Arabia. The health and wellness of embassy staff are given paramount importance in the design, with a focus on using non-toxic natural materials, bringing natural light, airflow, and landscape views to work spaces, and offering a range of easily accessible indoor and outdoor communal spaces.