Located on the Red Sea, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has deep historical and religious roots. Known locally as “The Bride of the Red Sea”, Jeddah has a hot and humid climate. The new diplomatic campus provides a secure, modern, sustainable, and resilient platform for U.S. diplomacy in western Saudi Arabia. Our design is truly reflective of the contextual cues and references from this region that shape an American Consulate campus as an oasis in the desert.
The U.S. Consulate reflects the local architecture with large canopies and traditional design elements. Our design incorporated local stone and other finish elements into the overall campus design. Fabric canopies give the feeling of lightness and comfort in the extreme weather and landscape and ties all the functions together into a cohesive campus for work, living, and recreation.
The 60,000 square meter site is organized into four distinct zones: public access, private access, office, and service, all gently separated by structured or landscaped delineations. The urban design features of the campus are adapted to the specific context of the site. A consistent paving pattern with thematic variations at major plazas unifies and organizes this extensive campus. The central focus of the site is the Consulate Office Building located in the public access zone. The staff housing, Consul General’s residence, and the Marine Security Guard residence are situated in the private zone. Landscaping throughout the campus is indigenous, endemic, and well adapted to the site, featuring plantings that thrive in the local climate and have low water requirements. The exterior cladding of the residential buildings echoes themes of limestone cladding and aluminum panel shading devices established in the Consulate Office Building. The Consul General’s Residence echoes the vertical shading device horizontally as a cantilevered shady canopy.
