Aedas is delivering a portfolio of hospitality projects in collaboration with Diriyah Company, contributing to the development of Diriyah as a cultural, heritage and lifestyle destination.
The portfolio comprises four major assets: The Oberoi Wadi Safar, Four Seasons Hotel Diriyah, Capella Diriyah and Orient Express Diriyah. Together, these projects form part of a wider effort to position Diriyah as a global destination rooted in Saudi Arabia’s historical and cultural context.
Ignacio Gomez, global design principal at Aedas, says: “Understanding the beauty and ingenuity of Najdi architecture is not about replicating its motifs or aesthetics, but about respecting the intelligence behind its typological solutions, its massing, materiality, and sense of place shaped by time and culture. This understanding guides how we place human scale at the heart of our developments. Najd is, above all, about people.”
Diriyah, often referred to as the ‘City of Earth’, is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif and holds a central place in the Kingdom’s history. The development aims to establish Diriyah as a cultural capital that integrates its Najdi identity with contemporary hospitality and urban environments.
Aedas’ architectural approach across the portfolio draws from the region’s landscape, traditions and cultural memory while responding to modern operational and guest experience requirements.
Across all four projects, Aedas incorporates key elements of Najdi architecture, including the falaj, courtyards, walls and sikkas.
These features influence planning, massing, circulation and spatial sequencing, shaping how guests move through and experience each property. Material choices and spatial organisation are informed by local building traditions, creating continuity between the projects and their setting within the Diriyah masterplan.
