We are extremely pleased to announce that BMC has worked on the prestigious King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture project, also known as Ithra. Located in the city of Dhahran, developed by Saudi Aramco and inaugurated by HRH King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Ithra is an arts center that incorporates a museum, library with over 200,000 books, cinema, auditorium and several exhibition halls. Ithra offers a range of specialised cultural, educational and youth leadership programmes and activities, to promote a positive impact on human development and culture within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The building was designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snohetta and features a unique facade that incorporates stainless steel tubes that wrap around the structure. The stunning design for the project is made up of five pebble-shaped buildings that, while separate and different volumes, are gathered together to resemble a rock mass.
The project is a highly sustained development that was designed to LEED Gold standards despite being in a desert climate. The project’s engineers needed to incorporate sustainable construction techniques such as efficient energy use and optimum building performance throughout to ensure that the building met the LEED Gold targets.
BMC’s scope of work on the project included waterproofing, which was applied using special material and the installation of an advanced leak detection system that has never been used in Saudi Arabia before. Ithra has officially launched and is open for business.