Qiddiya is an innovative water theme park near the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. The extraordinary project spans 337,948 square metres of desert land. It boasts nine distinctive districts intrinsically inspired by native habitats and indigenous animals. The districts will include Camel Rock, the Herding Grounds, Arabian Peak and the Den. The park is almost 138,000 square metres larger than any such water park across the globe. Upon completion, it will be home to 22 rides, nine of which will be world-firsts.
Project Name: Qiddiya Water Theme Park
Studio Name: Dewan Architects + Engineers
Dewan Architects + Engineers has imagined extraordinary landscapes, futuristic cities and residential communities for almost four decades for their impressive portfolio. Since its conception in Abu Dhabi, Dewan has been the forerunner of the Middle East’s booming architectural design sector. The multidisciplinary team has reimagined and shaped iconic skylines, connected cultural icons to native and visiting people and radically raised the bar for sustainability. Dewan is ranked as one of the top three firms regionally and within the top 50 firms globally.
The water park is a part of the overall vast project that is budgeted to cost around $750 million. Qiddiya is situated in the landlocked Arabian Desert. To protect the environment and align its sustainability efforts, Dewan will use Smart technology and other highly advanced conservational systems that will allow 75 per cent less water than traditional practices and consider technology for efficient evaporation reduction. The state-of-the-art facilities will allow Qiddiya to host world-class water tournaments.
Throughout the decades, Dewan has harnessed technology in the designs, architecture and construction to deliver maximum sustainability and create ground-breaking designs and large-scale projects. The multidisciplinary design team has been globally recognised and won numerous industry awards for their complex and demanding projects of all sizes. The team recurrently encourages an architect’s role to create thriving societies and communities.
The Qiddiya project is enveloped by nature’s beauty, strength, diversity and fragility in the heart of the Tuwaiq Escarpment Environmental Reserve. Dewan is working diligently with the Qiddiya Investment Company to be mindful and considerate as they create this extraordinary destination. Their actions will be held accountable for protecting various ecosystems, their natural inhabitants, the future of the environment and new generations of visitors. Dewan is proud to contribute to and deliver this once-in-a-lifetime project and looks forward to growing and developing other boundary-breaking projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.