| Title: | Red Sea Airport, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Markets: | Infrastructure |
| Client: | Confidential |
| Services: | Landscape architecture |
| Region: | Middle East and Africa |
| Date: | Ongoing |
| Team: | Gillespies, Foster + Partners, WSP |
| Photography: | Gillespies |
Located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, this new state-of-the-art Red Sea International Airport will form a gateway to one of the most exquisite and luxury resorts in the world. Our landscapes will create a calm, memorable and luxurious journey through the terminal, offering millions of visitor’s opportunities to connect with nature and each other.
Designed by Foster + Partners, the flagship airport will be the gateway for visitors to the iconic Red Sea development with its rich offer of hospitality and natural assets. Furthermore, it will act as a staging post for adventure, both inland and at the coast, and will, for many, be the first view and impression of this destination.
Gillespies is providing the landscape design throughout the airport, crafting internal and external gardens that will offer visitors a tranquil respite before taking off or driving on to the resort. The gardens mimic the organic form of the building, bring the beauty of Saudi Arabia’s colourful and textured landscapes into the heart of the building, with a mix of local and native species that aim to enrich the experience and wellbeing of travellers.
The use of local and native species will reduce the overall water consumption of the project, which aims for LEED Platinum. Extensive research and environmental modelling of the internal garden environments ensured the most responsible and appropriate mix of plants were specified for the scheme. In contrast, the harsher outer environment dictated a rich and diverse yet resilient mix of exclusively native species.
A designated drop-off/pick-up point overlooks a landscape of desert dunes, awash with native plants and Date Palm oasis. Shielded from the sun by the orientation of the building and a line of carefully positioned shade trees, the entrance is paved in high-quality stone and offers a comfortable, attractive and memorable first and lasting impression of the region.
Gillespies is also delivering a wayfinding and signage strategy for the airport. The strategy provides an unobtrusive suite of signs and pictograms that establish a clear system of arrivals, departures and landscape amenity movement patterns, supporting clear, comfortable circulation and highlighting the many amenities available to international travellers.
