Riyadh Dream Villas

The speculative proposal works with environmentally friendly cutting-edge technology and modern interpretation of traditional atrium and dome typologies to produce a habitat of luxury, tranquility and harmony with surrounding nature. The project is a competition proposal for two spacious villas located in the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The program requirements include habitats with multiple zones, public and private areas, places for meetings, work and rest of its inhabitants, totalling over 2000 sq. meters per each villa. Despite being located in the proximity of the city, the immediate surroundings of the villas are dominated by the rocky desert.

Villa A consists of multiple domes grouped around garden atrium spaces. The intersection of the domes and atriums produces varying geometries and allows to fulfill the required complex program with elegant and timeless design. The radical climate conditions mean that the living spaces are oriented to the shaded atriums rather than directly to the exterior, to be protected both from the sun and the wind. The atriums contain intensive greenery, an oasis in the desert. An overall exterior appearance of the residence refers to a traditional settlement harmoniously supplementing the grandeur of the surrounding environment.

While the outer appearance of Villa B is conceived as a negative form of Villa A (and vice versa) as the domes and the atriums are carved of the monumental volume of the residence, the interior follows the same logic and design principles. Referring to a mighty rock structure its unifying appearance is perforated with atriums and roof windows which hint at the marvels hidden inside. The single rooms are densely packed around the garden atriums and their varying height and size reflect their roles within the residence.

The geometries and the materiality of the project are the logical consequence of the main construction principle - additive manufacturing, produced of local materials. Depending on the function and structural role of the elements those are local soil, clay and concrete made (and coloured) of local sand and gravel, robotically 3d printed and, when necessary, supplemented using more traditional building techniques.

The used geometries are particularly fitting for the given construction system, both in regards to production process, as a centrally located robotic arm can produce dome or atrium walls around itself, and in regards to structural requirements of the used materials, as dome geometry produces compressive forces.