Heatherwick Studio is transforming a former desalination plant by the Red Sea into the Jeddah Central Museum in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The new museum will serve as the centrepiece of an upcoming waterfront district “for the next generation of artists and makers”, according to the architecture firm.
It will be home to production spaces including studios and ateliers, as well as a public exhibitions and large-scale commissions.
The main turbine hall will be turned into a “dramatic exhibition space”, while the old desalination plant will be transformed into a souk for makers.
The Jeddah Central Museum is just one element of the development in Jeddah, which will cover 5.7 million square metres.
The project will offer entertainment, health and cultural amenities, as well as commercial and residential facilities.
“It seeks to be a place of inspiration and creation for both residents and visitors, promoting creativity and artistic endeavour in the kingdom,” says a statement.
Myriad major projects are now under development in Saudi Arabia to diversify the economy and reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil.
“The museum will play a major role in the city’s transformation from its fossil fuel past to a new economy focused around creativity, helping to release the potential of its young population,” Heatherwick partner and group leader Mat Cash told Dezeen.
Museum projects in the kingdom
“The project takes a disused desalination plant that people in Jeddah have always viewed from afar and turns it into a new home for craft, making and production,” he added.
“Somewhere everyone in Jeddah can use and explore.”
Elsewhere, France’s Centre Pompidou has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to open a new contemporary art museum in the kingdom’s AlUla development.
Saudi is also creating the world’s largest downtown area in Riyadh, called New Murabba. The development includes a museum, an immersive theatre, and more than 80 entertainment and cultural venues.
Images: Heatherwick Studio
