Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Hayy Jameel is a mixed-use arts center in Jeddah, a first-of-its-kind in Saudi Arabia that encourages the broader public to interact with art, music, film, architecture, and local innovation.
Fundamental to the project is the main central courtyard, which acts as the driver of the architecture and the programmatic heart of the community. On the building’s upper levels, the courtyard is surrounded by shaded, staggered terraces that serve as extensions of the courtyard, and allow it to be conceived as a spatial whole that connects every level of the project. On the ground floor, the courtyard is enhanced by seating among natural vegetation and greenery. With its strategic placement in the programmatic arrangement, the courtyard’s central position provides direct, continuous connections to the architecture’s services: art exhibition spaces, media offices, comedy club, theatre, library, artist studios, restaurant, commercial art vendors, and multi-use spaces.
