Ajdan Infinity Complex
Asia Pacific
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Ajdan Walk
- Client
- Ajdan Real Estate Development Company
- Services
- Architecture
- Sector
- Retail
- Location
- Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
- Awards
- Prix Versailles Awards, 2020: Shopping Malls – Special Prize Exterior (Africa and West Asia)
Reimagining the traditional Saudi village
Ajdan Walk sits in the wider Ajdan Waterfront development and offers an indoor retail experience, outdoors. Part of the first food village in the Eastern Province, the scheme comprises 8-10 individual two-storey blocks, each treated separately to create enough variety to contribute to the village feel, a new typography for Al Khobar.
Dates2019
Size
15,120 m2
Blurring the outdoors and the indoors
The design envisioned a retail hub that would be airy and verdant, encouraging residents and visitors to relax in the distinctive plazas and terraces in a flexible environment. The concept focuses on blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces to create public and private areas, taking inspiration from the surrounding streets and buildings to ensure cultural relevance throughout.
Seamless pedestrian flow
The entrance to the retail and cultural hub opens onto pedestrian-friendly spaces, allowing people to move about seamlessly thanks to the wide pathways. The overall effect is an urban oasis centred around community with a strong natural flow around the hub with connections to bordering waterfront developments. A wide array of international restaurants makes the outdoor mall an attraction for residents and tourists alike.
Bespoke to Saudi culture
The low-rise design is unique in the area and offers an alternative to the looming skyscrapers typical in the region. The circular geometry found throughout the corniche where the development sits is echoed here, where everything gently spirals towards the heart of the scheme.
