Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh is one of Henning Larsen’s most significant projects. Its poetic combination of Nordic simplicity and local building traditions has spearheaded the development of our projects since its completion, and still does today.

Project details

Client

Typology

Civic

Status

Completed

Although designed in the 1980’s, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh remains a modern office building of international class. Within its protective walls, the building opens up as a labyrinth of intimate and monumental spaces, narrow corridors, and vigorous courtyards.

This also represents the prevailing quality of the building – its unique balance between monumental representation rooms and intimate spaces in human scale. In developing this balanced hierarchy, the use of indirect daylight has played a very special role. In 1993, we completed an extensive restoration and upgrading of the historical building, including the integration of an extra floor level in the roof.

The building's geometric shape holds a contrast of sharp protective facades, and open courtyards.

“Larsen has created a building rich in intentions with many levels of meaning. He has managed to fuse together regional, Islamic, and modern sources.”

William Curtis

Jury Chair, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1989

Designing with light

Henning Larsen worked with daylight as a prominent feature in many of his designs, and in his design for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the incorporation of daylight once again shines as a prominent feature of the structure.

In Riyadh, where temperatures often reach extreme levels, it was important to control the flow of sunlight into the building in order to maintain comfortable temperatures within its walls. The structure’s facades are large and closed off from the outside, keeping harsh sunlight and heat from the interior. However, the spaces found inside are made open and green, with various rooms, spacious courtyards and fountains.

The building was rotated slightly in relation to the original plans, and skylights and windows were positioned so that the sun’s movement can be followed throughout the building as the day progresses. The sun’s journey ends at the exit of the building, where employees leave from the workday facing the setting sun.

Everything inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is white, except the floors. This results in a constant change of the spatial experience, as patterns of light and shadow change throughout the day. Richard Bryant, 2008